You’ve got a new title—building information modeling (BIM) / virtual design and construction (VDC) manager—and your role has changed from hands-on production to supervisor or manager. Now you’ve been tasked with writing a business plan for the next three to five years for your firm's BIM/VDC department. Join a roundtable discussion on how to approach this task, and get tips and resource tools to help you take the next step in your career and shift your mindset from "doer" to "thinker."

BIM (Building Information Modeling) and virtual design and construction (VDC) managers often lead organizations through digital transformation, investigating the latest technology and exploring new ways to streamline and improve both business and project outcomes. Join us for a panel discussion with BIM/VDC managers from leading construction companies. We'll discuss strategies and best practices for getting the most out of collaborative, 2D and 3D quantification workflows.

The concept of a BIM (Building Information Modeling) coordinator and virtual design and construction (VDC) manager/coordinator is still fairly new, and most of those with the responsibilities of BIM/VDC coordination came upon their duties, responsibilities, and titles in a roundabout fashion. Attendees of this session will see the paths that many BIM coordinators, BIM managers, VDC personnel, and BIM project team members responsible for project coordination took to get where they are. This session will also cover common duties, responsibilities, and best practices regarding the specific items for which most BIM coordinators are responsible. This session is intended for BIM managers, VDC managers, BIM coordinators, BIM job captains, and others responsible for coordination on BIM/VDC projects.

A BIM/VDC kickoff meeting is a crucial (but often neglected) component on any multidiscipline/multifirm project. This session will give attendees a chance to build their own BIM/VDC coordination kickoff meetings. We’ll discuss and put together a one-size-fits-all type of agenda (to be used as a starting point for your organization) for a typical BIM/VDC coordination kickoff meeting. As part of this session, we’ll discuss who needs to attend, what topics need to be covered, how to track the information that is discussed, and how to best document the meeting itself. A final result of our discussion will be a group-sourced, distributable, BIM/VDC coordination document that works for any project type. This session is intended for BIM/VDC managers, BIM/VDC coordinators, BIM/VDC job captains, project managers, and anyone else typically involved in the initial project BIM/VDC kickoff meeting.

This class covers how BIM and VDC managers can use blogging and social media to get the word out about their firm's best, most groundbreaking BIM work. BIM blogger Jeff Yoders, a contributor to Building Design + Construction and Architectural Products magazines discusses how to get traffic, share best practices, and connect with the larger BIM blogger community. Jeff mentions some of the great BIM blogs out there, such as Laura Handler's (bim)x (Laura is director of VDC at Tocci Building Cos.) and DesignReform (CASE's blog site), and of course, Lynn Allen's Blog.

Have you ever had a project that loads painfully slow? Have you ever received over-designed models from vendors that had an LOD greater than the agreed upon contract? Everything adds up, and though the sky is the limit, there are limits on time, money, and capacity of the Cloud. This discussion is centered around how we can make BIM 360 work for large-scale construction projects. It explores best practices and tools to work efficiently. It is a place for Project & BIM/VDC Managers to share ideas on managing vendors, subs, and all contributors to the project. We will review many solutions, from adjusting contract language all the way to custom API solutions. This class includes both classic BIM 360 and Next-Gen best practices. Though intended for management-level AEC professionals, all BIM contributors are welcome, provided they are experienced in basic workflows and processes.

It is important for BIM/VDC departments to stay connected to drawings, submittals, and other information in order to identify any gaps and ensure that all necessary elements are incorporated in a model. Often, subcontractors coordinate against each other to produce layout and fabrication drawings for installation, and elements such as bathroom partitions, supports, metal framing, kickers/bracing, and owner-provided equipment are not included within the model for full coordination. This course will explore how VDC/BIM managers and coordinators can utilize supplemental modeling in their coordination efforts.

Embarking on the journey to use technology to deliver electrical construction projects is both exciting and daunting. The opportunities to enhance field operations and use prefabrication are only limited to a team's imagination and ability to collaborate. In this session, James Sullivan will share his experience on this journey as a superintendent, department manager, and consulting firm owner, and help the small to mid-sized electrical contractor make the leap into the world of building information modeling (BIM) and prefabrication. Compressed schedules and the ever-increasing complexity of electrical systems means that BIM and virtual design and construction (VDC) capabilities are no longer a competitive advantage—they are a requirement for admission into the large construction market. Sharing experiences around team structures, roles and responsibilities, and integration will help attendees learn to grow their company's capabilities by using BIM/VDC workflows, and fully integrate them to augment the delivery of their projects.

Ever feel like your boss doesn't like you? You aren't alone. The battle of Management versus CAD/BIM Manager is real. It's not how well you know the software that will lead to your success, but how well you can manage management that will determine your outcome. This class gives you ringside seats as a non-tech principal and a CAD/VDC director go head to head. We will give you a glimpse into the dark side of business and explain why this matters. We will give you tips on how to overcome the roadblocks that principals will throw your way. Both sides will give you tips on how to articulate your CAD/BIM agenda in business terms that your manager will understand and respect. We will explain why CAD/BIM Managers shouldn't make their boss look stupid even when they can and why diplomacy and IT tact will go a long way. We will discuss the challenges management faces and how as a CAD manager, you can become a valued and respected leader in your firm.

Join Jay Ure, Customer Success Manager at NavVis for a live demo of NavVis technology and learn how it's supercharging BIM and VDC workflows across the AEC Industry. Austin will dive into operating NavVis VLX, processing the data, and show you how to work with the data in 3rd party software such as Autodesk Revit. You won't want to miss it!

You bring the construction knowledge, Autodesk brings the technology! In this interactive workshop, you will work with stakeholders across the project lifecycle to address challenges in project delivery. In each 60-minute session, you will tackle a construction challenge on topics that touch diverse aspects of project delivery. Explore how the GC can build productive relationships with architects, conquer the supply chain, build without drawings, or make prefabrication methods prevalent. In this session, you will learn from industry experts already implementing excellence, network with your peers as you build solutions, and connect with Autodesk teams for ongoing research efforts.

Facilitators will include:

- Laurie Spitler, Autodesk

- Josh Bone, Construction Technology Specialist, DEWALT

- G. Andy Leek, CM-BIM, VDC Director, Paric Corporation

- DJ Phipps, Construction Technology Group Manager, XL Construction

- Nathan Wood, Chief Enabling Officer, SpectrumAEC

- Lana Gochenauer, VDC Manager, Lease Crutcher Lewis

- Zach Scheel, P.E., cofounder and CEO, Rhumbix

You bring the construction knowledge, Autodesk brings the technology! In this interactive workshop, you will work with stakeholders across the project lifecycle to address challenges in project delivery. In each 60-minute session, you will tackle a construction challenge on topics that touch diverse aspects of project delivery. Explore how the GC can build productive relationships with architects, conquer the supply chain, build without drawings, or make prefabrication methods prevalent. In this session, you will learn from industry experts already implementing excellence, network with your peers as you build solutions, and connect with Autodesk teams for ongoing research efforts.

Facilitators will include:

- Laurie Spitler, Autodesk

- Josh Bone, Construction Technology Specialist, DEWALT

- G. Andy Leek, CM-BIM, VDC Director, Paric Corporation

- DJ Phipps, Construction Technology Group Manager, XL Construction

- Nathan Wood, Chief Enabling Officer, SpectrumAEC

- Lana Gochenauer, VDC Manager, Lease Crutcher Lewis

- Zach Scheel, P.E., cofounder and CEO, Rhumbix

BIM and terrestrial laser scanning have been well received within construction for the unparalleled accuracy delivered during the planning and development process. For VDC and BIM managers, the ability to accurately plan projects to scale, time and budget is just one of many benefits. Having the ability to compare the scanned as-built to BIM models doesn’t only prove its worth in the initial planning stages of a build, but also in quality assurance throughout a project’s lifespan. Cintoo has embedded its unique point cloud-to-mesh technology into Cintoo Cloud, a platform connected to BIM 360, to allow this QA/QC workflow. Learn from current Cintoo Cloud and BIM 360 users who has been successfully using this collaborative workflow on various jobs recently for a more efficient project coordination. Learn how Cintoo Cloud can also provide access to laser scan data in mesh or point cloud format to team members at home or at the office for efficient Scan & BIM modeling or clash detection.

Nine months ago Swinerton Incorporated’s IT Group was primarily focused on making technology tools and services available to our employees from a purely technical perspective. In order to continue our industry-leading position in project execution, we knew that we needed to embed more of our business processes into the delivery of IT services. The traditional understanding of what IT was responsible for delivering was thrown out of the window. We transformed the Information Technology Group to the Business Technology Group, with a significant emphasis on providing business support and training to get the highest return on our technology investments. As one of the most widely used tools on our job sites, BIM 360 Glue software and BIM 360 Field software got immediate attention under this new promotion, support, training, and cost-recovery strategy. From the "Country Club" cost-recovery model to our partnership with our virtual design and construction (VDC) and quality-control managers, learn how Swinerton is assuring our BIM 360 software return on investment.

Are you a glutton for the perfect CAD/BIM standard? Do you lust after other CAD/BIM managers who have the authority to get things done? Do project teams become greedy about their own standards, wrathfully rejecting the standardized and more efficient ways you proudly implement? You need not despair. This class will focus on ways to put yourself into the enviable position of having users who listen to you. Combining more than two decades of CAD, BIM, and IT support and management experience, plus years of working with numerous companies to help support their technical managers and staff, we will discuss the things nobody likes to talk about—the sins CAD and BIM managers commit while doing their jobs. What sins might you be guilty of, and what’s the path to righteousness? Join this session to learn some of the common pitfalls, missteps, and misconceptions that come with the job, and uncover why they happen, and learn how to avoid them.

Are you a glutton for the perfect CAD/BIM standard? Do you lust after other CAD/BIM managers who have the authority to get things done? Do project teams become greedy about their own standards, wrathfully rejecting the standardized and more efficient ways you proudly implement? You need not despair. This class will focus on ways to put yourself into the enviable position of having users who listen to you. Combining more than two decades of CAD, BIM, and IT support and management experience, plus years of working with numerous companies to help support their technical managers and staff, we will discuss the things nobody likes to talk about—the sins CAD and BIM managers commit while doing their jobs. What sins might you be guilty of, and what’s the path to righteousness? Join this session to learn some of the common pitfalls, missteps, and misconceptions that come with the job, and uncover why they happen, and learn how to avoid them.

BIM (Building Information Modeling) and virtual design and construction (VDC) managers serve pivotal roles in empowering stakeholders across multiple disciplines and teams to fully maximize the BIM data stored in the model. Design models often lack construction data needed for downstream use, but adding customized information to a conditioned and structured model can result in a model that can be utilized from design to construction to handover. Currently, siloed solutions force teams to maintain multiple sources of truth for project documents at different project phases, resulting in heightened confusion. In this session, we will cover how project teams can incorporate integrated workflows with Assemble software, and get the full benefit of a common data environment (CDE) used by other Autodesk construction solutions, facilitating collaboration between project members to avoid duplication and mistakes.

This will be a discussion about the impact an owner representative and client advocate—who is also a virtual design and construction (VDC) manager—employed specifically for engagement, collaboration, and leadership can have on a project team. We will discuss and evaluate the implementation of Autodesk Construction Cloud and VDC processes for internal engineering in a large manufacturing company. We will explore outcomes for project performance. And we'll look at the real implications for architecture, engineering, and construction (AEC) teams when there is an active VDC manager acting on behalf of the client needs in context of traditional design and construction project workflows.