Digital Builder

Even the largest organizations are not immune to the supply chain and labor shortage issues facing the construction industry around the globe, so we’ve invited Vanayak Pai, CEO & Managing Director at Tata Projects, and Rahul Sharma, CIO at Tata Projects, to explore how one of India’s leading engineering, procurement, and construction companies is navigating those challenges, their approach to tech deployment, and why increasing predictability is at the heart of their company operations.  

We discuss: 

• Tata Projects’ approach to becoming a technology-led EPC delivery organization 
• The increasing role of women in India’s construction ecosystem 
• Strategies for tackling global supply chain and labor shortage issues 
• How technology and connectivity driving safer and more efficient prefabrication 
• The importance of improving predictability in project delivery 
• Why Digital Twins and BIM are becoming must-have tools  

Digital Builder is hosted by Eric Thomas of Autodesk. 

RFIs are often considered a necessary evil in construction, where, on average, 10 RFIs get issued for every million dollars' worth of construction put in place. This can easily result in negative impacts to a project’s budget and schedule.  

But what if there was a way to eliminate the burden RFIs place on construction projects? What if we could take the hours, money, and effort that is currently devoted to RFIs and invest them elsewhere to complete projects faster, more efficiently, and more safely? 

Sidharth Haksar, Autodesk’s Senior Director & Head of Strategy and Industry Partnerships, believes just that, and in this episode, he shares his vision for how we can get there. 

Here's what we cover: 

• Why RFIs exist and continue to impact projects 
• The common results of RFI generation 
• The impact automation can offer to reduce wasteful processes 
• The lack of needed innovation in the pre-construction and planning phases and why organizations should invest more heavily in improving those phases 
• Why automating pre-construction processes can reduce safety incidents and bring faster risk assessment 

Assets Mentioned: 

• Blog: The End of RFIs: It’s Time to Stop Automating Wasteful Construction Processes 

Digital Builder is hosted by Eric Thomas of Autodesk. 

The core purpose that drives any impactful customer success program is understanding needs and desired outcomes. Without a foundational understanding of a client’s needs, achieving success can be like trying to find a needle in a haystack.  

In this way, Autodesk’s customer success team mirrors the exact way construction projects are brought to life: building strong relationships, identifying core needs and desired outcomes, collaborating with everyone involved to plan and execute, and utilizing all available resources and technology to achieve those desired outcomes and meet those core needs. 

And because of that process, the customer success team can often be the first to know how trends are changing in the industry and how organizations can and should adapt their strategies to remain competitive in this rapidly evolving industry—which is exactly what we are breaking down for you in this week’s episode. 

Guests: 

Brandon LeCourciere, Senior Director of Global Customer Success at Autodesk 

Allison Scott, Director of Customer Experience & Industry Advocacy at Autodesk 

We discuss: 

• How to find data-centric solutions for process optimization 
• How a younger workforce and accessible technology are pushing the construction industry to evolve 
• Why construction companies that embrace technology have a better chance of attracting younger talent and remaining competitive 
• How technology is helping to fill skills gaps in the construction industry 

Assets Mentioned: 

Autodesk Construction Cloud Learning Center 

Digital Builder is hosted by Eric Thomas of Autodesk. 

Construction in motion can be a sight to see, with so many workers on site completing their work alongside each other and so many moving parts working together.

But that marvel doesn't happen on its own. To be successful, these construction projects take careful planning, collaboration, and coordination to execute, and it takes motivated individuals with a passion for their work to do it right.

Without those motivated trades workers and general contractors, there wouldn’t be a construction project to marvel at, leaving our construction sites empty. That's why we are diving into the realities of trades careers, how to help young people generate interest in construction careers, and how efforts like Autodesk’s Make it Real program are empowering young people to build successful careers for themselves.

Guests this episode:

• Savy Francis, Pipefitter at E.M. Duggan
• Kelsey Gauger, National Director for Operational Excellence at Suffolk Construction

We discuss:

• How new technology adoption naturally creates opportunities for knowledge transfer between older and younger generations of skilled workers
• How seeing the results of their work empowers, motivates, and inspires workers and brings meaning to their contribution
• The myth about construction and trades being antiquated and dirty
• Why both collaboration and transparency are needed for successful innovation
• Savy’s involvement in Building Pathways, a pre-apprenticeship program in Boston, MA that empowers people to secure a trades careers in Boston
• Autodesk’s Make it Real program that encourages young people to engage in their communities through construction

Assets Mentioned:

• Autodesk’s Make it Real Program

Digital Builder is hosted by Eric Thomas of Autodesk.

Watch the video version of this episode on YouTube!

Many think of career growth as a set path one must take where they hit specific milestones to get to the next level. But  in today’s connected world, the paths to career growth and success have widened, and some may even surprise you. 

In this episode, Eric sits down with Natalya Cappellini, CEO of CURATO Design Build, and Kaitlin Frank, CEO of eMOD, two powerhouse leaders who have found success by embracing their own unexpected career journeys.  

Throughout the episode, we discuss: 

• How to identify and take smart risks to grow your experience and career 
• The importance of stepping out of one’s comfort zone 
• The challenges facing women in construction 
• Transitioning from hands-on work to leadership in construction 
• How to build confidence in your skills and knowledge  

Digital Builder is hosted by Eric Thomas of Autodesk. 

 Watch the video version of this episode on YouTube! 

The Massachusetts Port Authority connects Massachusetts with the world through airports, cruise ports, container terminals, and more, and with so many complex operations going simultaneously, Massport is where technology and innovation intersect to keep everything running smoothly. What’s even more impressive is they do this with a relentless focus on improving the passenger and customer experience.  

Dr. Lucianna Burdi is the Director of Capital Programs and Environmental Affairs at the Massachusetts Port Authority. Her team is responsible for delivering projects safely, efficiently, and sustainably, while keeping the overall experience as high-quality as possible. In this episode, Eric and Dr. Burdi talk about how a passion for customer service drives her approach to infrastructure development, how large organizations should think about tech adoption, and why sharing our learnings is key to the long-term growth and success of the AEC industry.  

We explore: 

• How to innovate while navigating highly regulated industries 
• How clarity and navigational efficiency drive infrastructure design decisions 
• Why interconnected digital twins and collaborative design are the future of infrastructure management 
• How Massport trials new initiatives and acquires fast feedback for improvement and iteration 

Digital Builder is hosted by Eric Thomas of Autodesk. 

Watch the video version of this episode recorded live at the Autodesk Technology Center! 

New technology, processes, and data standardization is great, but what happens when new processes aren’t well-maintained? Or when your team isn’t properly trained in the handover process on how to utilize these new processes to keep accurate records of construction projects?  

Amr Raafat, the Chief Innovation Officer at Windover Construction, is leading his team to innovate with BIM and digital twins to ensure problems like that become a relic of the past. Alongside the increasing adoption of new tech, Eric talks with Amr about the ways that BIM and digital twins are transforming the level of accessibility project stakeholders have and how Windover is leading the way in developing future-proof handover processes that minimize new skills training and maximize efficiency. 

We discuss: 

• How prefab is helping to reduce waste and emissions, and why AI has even more potential to do the same 
• How digital twin technology is enabling more effective and impactful facility management 
• Why new innovations in BIM and digital twins are transforming the handover process for clients 
• Establishing cultures of trust and honest two-way conversation are essential when introducing new tools and technologies. 

Digital Builder is hosted by Eric Thomas of Autodesk. 

Behind every successful project is a slew of operations processes and team members that ensure project stakeholders have everything they need to complete the job on time with consistency and high quality. Without robust operations practices in place, projects can be doomed before they even begin. 

With that in mind, we’ve invited Giana Morini, Operations Technology Leader at DPR Construction, to share how operations thrives at DPR Construction and how their operational success can be replicated at any organization. 

We discuss: 

• Why operations technology is the foundation for innovation and design in construction 
• Critical differences between office and project site environments 
• Listening, understanding business goals, and building relationships with vendors are key in building a world-class technology stack 
• How to successfully capture and utilize data 
• How self-perform work can alleviate some labor shortage issues 

Digital Builder is hosted by Eric Thomas of Autodesk. 

Construction continues to face ongoing challenges like labor shortages, supply chain limitations, and logistics complications. Strategic firms are looking for ways to proactively protect their margins in 2023 so they can not only withstand these issues, but so they can stay ahead and remain innovative and competitive. 

In this special round-up episode recorded throughout the last several months, Eric asked several of our recent podcast guests to share what companies should be focusing on in 2023 to protect their profit margins so they can continue to expand and innovate.  

Digital Builder is hosted by Eric Thomas of Autodesk. 

As digital adoption in construction continues to accelerate, companies face new challenges around data. Collection, verification, standardization, and utilization are all vital data processes for every company to implement properly—but where to start? 

During Autodesk University, Eric sat down with Jit Kee Chin, Executive Vice President and Chief Data Officer at Suffolk Construction, to discuss how companies can properly implement data standardization, how data transformation brings value to every level of an organization, and more. 

 We discuss: 

• Contributing factors to the acceleration of construction technology and digital adoption 
• How technology has made transparency easier to achieve 
• Why building trust in data is so important 
• The risks and rewards of data standardization 
• Why organizations need to build trust in the data they collect 
• How Data Democratization empowers workers at every level of an organization 

Digital Builder is hosted by Eric Thomas of Autodesk.