Top Reasons to Make a Move to Autodesk’s Flagship 2014 Products

Back in March, Autodesk announced its new 2014 software release. If you haven’t had a chance to learn what’s new in the 2014 line-up, help is at hand. Donnie Gladfelter (aka The CAD Geek) at CADD Microsystems, an Autodesk Platinum Partner and long-term friend of Acronym, has been busy blogging away for the past month offering an inside look at the new solutions.

How Government Agencies are Using LiDAR to Cut Costs Across Hundreds of Use Cases

Hearing a lot of buzz about LiDAR lately? We’ve been blogging about the benefits of LiDAR for a wide variety of public sector projects for some time, but it seems that only now is LiDAR getting the attention it deserves. In fact, according to a recent article by Government Computer News (GCN), LiDAR (which stands for Light Detection and Ranging) is revolutionizing how federal, state and local government agencies for mapping and geospatial projects. LiDAR, a remote sensing system used for mapping the surface of the earth, has been around for decades, but it’s only in the past few years that it’s undergone a boom and is now at the heart of many government data gathering projects – from mapping desert terrain in Afghanistan to creating forest height maps.

8 Traits of a Great BIM Manager

Excerpts from this article were originally published in Advantage for Construction, a newsletter for executives and managers in the field of general contracting. Advantage for Construction is produced by Longitude Media, the publisher of Cadalyst. The entire article, How to Hire a Great BIM Manager, can be read, here. The best leaders have several traits in common – and a few of them might surprise you. While some government agencies are “…yet to be convinced of the benefits that an intelligent model can provide,” others are embracing with open arms the time and cost savings that can be achieved by incorporating Building Information Modeling (BIM) into their workflows.

Arlington County to Put Energy Labels on Buildings.

Arlington County is at the forefront of an environmental trend that puts energy labels on county buildings. The Department of Environmental Services plans to label each building with energy efficiency information. The labels will be part of the county’s Community Energy Plan which hopes to make Arlington one of the leading counties in the reduction of greenhouse gasses. Arlington may have gotten the idea from the 2009 American Clean Energy and Security Act which included suggestions for building labeling, but died in the Senate. The plan will likely be implemented sometime this year but the details about what the label will look like and the information to be displayed are still undetermined. The goal of this program is to raise awareness about energy use and how to implement conservation. They also hope it will inspire private owners to apply energy labels on their own buildings. The labels may be similar to what the Environmental Protection Agency, Department of Energy, or the "Building EQ" label the American Society of Heating, Refrigerating and Air-Conditioning Engineers produces. Arlington may also be taking cue from the practices Europe has put into place.

7 Do’s and Don’ts for a Realistic BIM Implementation

In a recent guest article, Bryan Cowles, an Applications Specialist at IMAGINiT Technologies, observed that while more and more government agencies are moving ahead and incorporating Building Information Modeling (BIM) into their workflows, “…some are yet to be convinced of the benefits that an intelligent model can provide.” In his article - Teardown or Retrofit: A BIM Evaluation Gives the Answer - Bryan goes on to provide an excellent example of the time and cost savings achieved by retrofitting two existing structures into one larger structure, as opposed to going the demolition route – thanks to a BIM-based feasibility study. A study which also won over a team of doubtful engineers who thought demolition was the best option.

Teardown or Retrofit: A BIM Evaluation Gives the Answer

Numerous government agencies are moving ahead by incorporating the Building Information Modeling (BIM) process into their workflow, but some are still yet to be convinced of the benefits that an intelligent model can provide. Recently, we assisted a public sector client faced with a unique challenge; they had to decide whether to retrofit two existing structures into one or demolish both and build a new structure. Using the BIM process, we were able to help them identify substantial cost and time savings by changing the direction of the project from demolition and rebuild, to a retrofit.