Autodesk University Recap: eSUB’s Key Takeaways

Autodesk University Recap: eSUB’s Key Takeaways

Autodesk University wrapped up a few weeks ago. To say that the eSUB Team came back inspired is an understatement. The eSUB Team returned FIRED UP by Autodesk’s focus on construction and our joint efforts to improve the entire design and build process across all project stakeholders, which aligns closely with eSUB’s mission to advance integrated labor delivery. As Autodesk moves in this direction, eSUB is right next to them guiding the overall product development and go-to-market strategy for trade contractors.

Trade Contractors Matter!

Wendy Rogers, president and CEO of eSUB Construction Software, took to the stage as a keynote speaker at Forge DevCon. With over 25 years of experience working with trade contractors on improving internal workflows and increasing their labor productivity, Ms. Rogers highlighted the critical role that the skilled trades play in the construction project lifecycle. The skilled trades perform the labor on construction projects – they are the true builders in construction. Their needs are uniquely different from anything the general contractors do. The trade contractors are the critical piece in construction which can really move the needle in improving project delivery.

Innovation in construction starts with the data, and the data comes from the field. Most importantly, it’s the Trade Contractors that collect that valuable data and eSUB serves as the trade contractor system of record collecting field data, linking up with business operations, and closing the loop of collaboration.

Forge Connected Platform and the Importance of Open APIs

As a Forge Fund investment company, eSUB connects all that valuable data from the field to the BIM 360 ecosystem to eliminate the siloes in construction that hinder productivity. Through the Forge APIs, eSUB is enabling more connected workflows between the field and the office for the trade contractor. More importantly, eSUB and BIM 360 are closing the loop in collaboration. By connecting all the stakeholders—each working in their own system of record—to create a leaner, and more radically transparent process. BIM 360 serves as the single source of truth connecting different systems and stakeholders. With eSUB and the BIM 360 connected platform, no one stakeholder controls the data; because that doesn’t fix the problems. Connecting the data through the Forge platform links all stakeholders for a more streamlined process from design to construction and the field to the office.

eSUB is thrilled to join forces with Autodesk and the Forge Team to develop one connected voice in the cloud that links together all of the AEC in radical transparency and closing the loop in design, construction, and lifecycle of the building.

Site Efficiency with eSUB and BIM 360

A recurring theme throughout Autodesk University was the fact that “data is king.” BIM 360 platform breaks down the silos for the data to flow freely between different applications include data from trade contractors through eSUB. Benny Baltrotsky, eSUB’s Chief Strategy Officer, presented on the importance of leveraging trade contractors from design through the construction lifecycle.

The silos in construction create barriers in productivity. eSUB works to eliminate silos for the trade contractor eliminates the departmental silos between the field and the office, design, estimating, project management and accounting. The number one risk to profit on a project is labor. However, the time card process in construction is an extremely manual process filled with chaos.  Because trade contractors all work differently, eSUB delivers flexible time entry from the field to capture real-time labor productivity. With labor productivity information captured in the field in real-time, project stakeholders receive actionable insights to improve overall site efficiency.

Kickoff Meeting for the Consortium for Integrated Labor Delivery

Because trade contractors are the constructability expert, it is critically important to engage the trades earlier in the design process. This is the core premise of Integrated Labor Delivery—that labor begins at design and not construction. With Integrated Labor Delivery, construction moves towards a more industrialized model. This is the future of construction—to deliver better constructible buildings in which function and quality go up while cost and time to market go down.

The inaugural meeting for the Consortium of Integrated Labor Delivery took place during Autodesk University. Construction thought leaders from around the nation engaged in an interactive workshop to discuss ways to improve the construction delivery process.

The common problem is that disconnected stakeholders negatively affect a projects’ construction and lifecycle costs. The systemic nature of the construction process from the culture to contracts is a hindrance. Trade contractors must take a proactive stance to affect change. Trades must take accountability into adopting technology such as BIM and field data collection. Because the value is in the data, trade contractors must contribute data within a common data environment for upfront collaboration and productivity tracking. This enables radical transparency to the benefit for the owner. Most importantly, it opens the door for the trade contractor to serve as a prime for project team partnerships.

Planning for AU 2019 Begins Now!

The representation and focus on construction at Autodesk University were evident by the eSUB team. The Connect and Construct pre-conference was sold out and standing room only in many sessions. With the recent PlanGrid acquisition by Autodesk, AU 2019 will grow to be bigger and better than ever for construction professionals. Thank you to everyone at Autodesk for the gracious hospitality. Most importantly, we have extreme gratitude to everyone who stopped by the eSUB Booth. Every single person at AU had a jam-packed agenda. That is why we’re humbled that you spent some time to learn more about eSUB. We are already planning for AU 2019 and hope many more of our trade contractors will be there as well!