Breaking Barriers: How Cloud Collaboration Transforms the Management of Large, Complex Rail and Urban Projects

KARTHIK KUMAR NARAYAN: Hello, everyone. A warm welcome to each one of you. We are absolutely thrilled to have you all here today for our presentation on Breaking Barriers-- How Cloud Collaboration Transforms the Management of Large, Complex Rail and Urban Projects. We have got an exciting session lined up for you packed with insights, fresh perspectives, and actionable takeaways.

But, before we dive into this good stuff, let's take a moment to introduce ourselves. So, I am Karthik Kumar Narayan, a civil engineer by background, with an MBA in construction project management specializing in AEC and Civil Infrastructure BIM industry. Over the years, I have had the privilege of collaborating with major and government and private organizations across India, Saudi Arabia, UK, and now in France, managing projects from concept to execution.

My expertise lies in comprehensive BIM implementation, including multidisciplinary coordination, creating digital delivery strategies and methodologies, information management, common data environment management, BIM automation, and 4D and 5D BIM strategies.

I am a Autodesk-Certified Professional and a Certified Information Management Professional accredited under ISO 19650 standards. I'm originally from India, and currently holding a position of Lead BIM Coordinator at SYSTRA Headquarters based in Paris. It's a pleasure to be here today, and I look forward to sharing my insights with you. Alongside with me, I have a co-speaker, Nicolas.

NICOLAS BOUTET: 2 Hello, everyone. I am Nicolas Boutet. I am Digital Engineering Manager at SYSTRA Group. I started my career as both an architect and engineer. Since 2008, I have worked as BIM Expert Consultant for major firms. My role has been to help them implement BIM process and technologies.

Over the past 15 years, I have co-founded three companies. One of them became a leader in PropTech, focusing on building management and operations with advanced technologies and AI tools. Currently, I lead the Digital Engineering Department at SYSTRA Group. I'm happy to be here today and excited to share how we have improved collaborative process using Autodesk Cloud Platform.

KARTHIK KUMAR NARAYAN: So let's get ready because this is going to be a dynamic and engaging experience. Let's jump right in. So let's kick things off by giving you a quick overview of what we'll be covering today. In this summary, I will be walking you through the key topics we'll explore, including overview of SYSTRA, introducing you to who we are and what we do.

From there, we'll move on to the discussing on current problems and challenges in infrastructure industry, issues we are all facing that demand. Innovative solutions. Next, we'll dive into the importance of cloud collaboration, explaining why it is such a game-changer in addressing these challenges.

After that, we will share a case study that highlights how these concepts have been successfully applied in real-world scenarios. Following the case study, we will outline SYSTRA's approach to cloud collaboration detailing our strategy and the unique steps we take to ensure successful collaboration in this project.

This naturally leads into a discussion of our design delivery strategy, showcasing how we manage project design and execution efficiently. We'll also touch on the key potential outcomes that can arise from implementing these strategies, illustrating the benefits and results we anticipate.

Afterward, we'll explore some of SYSTRA's digital engineering solutions, showing how we leverage technology to push innovation forward. Finally, we'll all wrap up with a conclusion that ties everything together and emphasizes the core takeaways from today's session. So let's begin. First about SYSTRA. Over to you, Nicolas.

NICOLAS BOUTET: SYSTRA is one of the world's leading engineering and consulting group in public transport and mobility solutions. SYSTRA operates in various markets, such as urban transport, railway infrastructure, bridges, tunnels and system, among others. For many years, SYSTRA has been working on the largest infrastructure project in the world. Our mission and expertise cover planning and consultancy, design studies, project management and construction supervision, testing and commissioning, digital engineering, of which Karthik and I are a part, asset management, and cybersecurity.

We formed the value of excellence, connected teams, and bold leadership. According to the 2024 ENR Rankings, SYSTRA is ranked in the top 3 for Mass Transit and Rails. SYSTRA is also in the top four in field of Bridges, top 8 in Transportation, and among the top 22 International Design Firms.

There is also a map of main location around the world. As you can see, SYSTRA has 11,000 employees conducting engineering activities in 80 countries. Karthik will now tell you a bit more about our processes and how cloud collaboration has allowed us to transform the way we manage very large and complex infrastructure projects across the globe. Karthik, the floor is yours.

KARTHIK KUMAR NARAYAN: Thank you, Nicolas. So now let's begin. So basically, let's have a closer look at some critical statistics that highlight the challenges we are facing in the infrastructure industry. First, up to 70% of total rework in construction and engineering project comes from design-induced rework. This is a significant inefficiency that cost time, money, and resources, making it clear that getting the design phase right is absolutely crucial.

Next, 82% of project owners believe that they need more collaboration with their contractors or design consultants or external stakeholders. This shows a strong demand for better communication and teamwork, which is critical to avoiding costly misunderstandings and ensuring projects stay on track.

We also see that up to 30% of the initial data created during the design and construction phase is lost by project closeout. This data loss creates inefficiencies and can result in project delays, making the handover process more complicated than it needs to be.

And lastly, about one-third of project teams report that project poor data has led to bad decision over 50% of the time. This highlights that importance of accurate data management and underscores how errors in data can ripple through a project, impacting decision-making and overall success. These statistics really set the stage for why cloud collaboration and digital engineering solutions are so critical in addressing these challenges.

So, another major and most important and critical challenge we face is the disconnected nature of data across different departments. Each team operates within its own silo using separate tools and systems which significantly hinders real-time collaboration. For example, the BIM design and coordination team uses its own BIM coordination production tools while the project management team relies on the business intelligence dashboards. The cost estimation team has its own estimation tools, and the project control and management uses different scheduling systems.

Meanwhile, information management and workflow management team have their own data trackers which helps makes its own database at its place. And the external stakeholders, like subcontractors, often use integration tools that aren't aligned with the rest of the project.

Because these systems aren't interconnected, each team ends up working in isolation, leading to inefficiencies, delays, and missed opportunities for collaboration. This siloed approach makes it difficult to achieve a seamless flow of information across the project lifecycle, which is essential for project success.

So let's dive in to the main topic that is importance of cloud collaboration. So the first and the most important part is the cloud platforms centralizes the data and tools, making it simple to review and manage and monitor project progress from anywhere. It also helps for having improved collaboration and coordination among the stakeholders across the globe.

It helps you to have real-time data access so that each and every stakeholder who is working in this project has the latest information in front shared for further processing. It also helps the data administration team and the data management team to have enhanced data security based on, say, stakeholders' or task teams' roles and responsibilities.

It gives you a clear project visibility for the senior management team, like the senior design managers, project directors, to have a complete understanding about the progress of the project and what are the issues which needs to be rectified for seamless production. It has a very good advantage of having data synchronized across all locations. So as we mentioned, SYSTRA has globally different offices, and they are connected at one place in real-time. And ultimately, it will reduce errors and rework, resulting into efficient and effective project delivery.

So, now, let's talk about our case study. So this case study is about Neom's Oxagon Project. It is a groundbreaking industrial city in Saudi Arabia designed to be the world's largest floating structure, merging cutting-edge technology, sustainability, and innovation. Part of the larger Neom vision, Oxagon aims to revolutionize global trade and manufacturing while operating with the minimal environmental footprint. Redefining the traditional industral city, Oxagon is a greenfield opportunity that puts people, innovation, and sustainability at its core.

So let's dive into the project overview where you can understand what exactly is project about. So it's an industrial hub focused on advanced industries like robotics, biotechnology, and renewable energy. It has a design called world's largest floating structure of around area 50 square kilometers, with a population projected to house around 90,000 residents.

Its main industry focus has seven different sectors, including sustainable energy, autonomous mobility, water innovation, and advanced manufacturing. The city is designed to operate on 100% renewable energy, resulting it as a zero-carbon-footprint project. It also has a good advantage in terms of port capacity of handling 3.5 million TEUs of cargo annually, positioning it as a major logistic hub.

So, let's talk about what are SYSTRA's approach to deliver this project in terms of cloud collaboration strategy and making this project effective and smooth enough to produce.

So, the most important thing our strategy includes three pillars, and that is why we call it as P, that is Plan, I means Integrate, and E means Execute. So these are the main three pillars we will be talking ahead in this presentation. Let's start with the phase 1 that is Plan.

So, in Plan, we have further subcategorized into three different categories that is Analyze, Strategize, and Communicate. Let's have a quick look on what we call it as Analyze. The most important thing is to first analyze the project scope and requirements where you can understand what exactly needs to be delivered to the client or appointing partner.

Once you know all the requirements, you move forward for identifying the project objectives and deliverables. And then identify key stakeholders with their roles and responsibility so that the project delivery is on track.

Once you have all these requirements done, the most important part is to have a training need analysis of each task teams so that the project delivery is smooth and efficient. And yes, at last, you need to also analyze the existing project data and information to have a complete idea of this project.

Once we have this analyzing done, we will move for Strategize. The first thing to strategize is to identify the delivery and task teams based on ISO and project requirements. Conceptualize a folder structure as per ISO for this project. Once the folder structure has been conceptualized, develop a conceptual plan for approval levels required in this project. Outline project constraints and assumptions so that there is no obstructions during the delivery of the project. And yes, most important thing is to establish the project success criteria.

Once we have this phase done, we move for the Communicate. Communicate is also one of the most important part, which first has to identify kick-off meeting data and its agenda, highlight key milestones, and detail project timelines for deliverables. With this, we need to create a conceptual plan for the communication and coordination between delivery and testing for seamless project delivery. And yes, we also need to add the communication with the client.

Now, let's talk about the phase 2 that is the second pillar of our cloud collaboration strategy we call it as Integrate. Now Integrate is also further subcategorized into Define, Implement, and Connect. So let's first look about what information or what details needs to be defined.

So first is we need to establish access control protocols based on the roles and responsibility of each and every stakeholder. Once it's there, it will help us to develop a common data environment strategy by establishing the naming conventions for documents and models as per ISO 19650 standards and the client standards.

It will help to define review and approval workflows based on different levels and stages. Once we have these approval workflows defined, we will outline quality control measures. And then, the most important part, is to identify BIM tools and its integration so that the project teams have seamless production.

Next thing after we defining is to have to implement. Now what-- first thing is to implement is to create a new project space, a setup in CDE platform, in which, in our case, we have ACC or BIM 360.

Develop folders or repository structures as what we plan in our phase 1 that is Plan. Input naming convention protocols in the CDE platform. Once done, develop the data security and access control policies as per the client and project requirement so that there is no conflict or breach of any confidential data.

Then initiate the design collaboration and model coordination strategy in CDE platform, and develop the procedure for clash detection and resolution for the respective task teams.

Once we are done, we move for the Connect. Now this connect means to initiate access to all stakeholders who are working in this project based on their roles and responsibilities. Once the access has been provided, we connect the design collaboration and model coordination space for the task team to start in terms of production. We help team to connect BIM models to initiate collaboration in ACC or BIM 360 within task teams.

Set up collaboration and communication protocols to avoid non-compliance. Also establish access control protocols based on roles and responsibilities. And at last, initiate a setup for a dashboard in ACC or BIM 360 Insight for tracking, project milestones, and deliverables by the senior management team or the project director.

Once we have integration done that's the second pillar of our cloud strategy, we move for the phase 3, and that is execute. And that's the third and the most important pillar of the cloud collaboration strategy. It's also now further subcategorized as develop, coordinate, and collaborate. Let's first talk about develop. The first and the most important part is in terms of document management. We need to develop connections for the folder structure in terms of WIP-- that is, Work in Progress-- shared and published.

Then, once we have everything in setup, we move to level-based approval workflows so that each auditing person has a clear understanding of how SYSTRA is delivering and auditing the deliverables throughout the project. Once we have this in place, we will start enforcing the naming convention as per the ISO 19650 and the client project standards.

We'll also have the application to notify issues and marksups to the concerned task team through the Issue and Markups Management tool in ACC or BIM 360. And yes, finally, we help to generate and monitor project activities to control data security through the data control management system in the CDE platform, and that is BIM 360 or ACC.

Once we have this developed, we will move in terms of production side where all the task teams will create their BIM models in the work-in-progress area where we are using Autodesk Revit for architectural and structural element assets like bridges, box structures, culverts, and pump stations. And we have Civil 3D on the other side for the linear infrastructure, and assets like highway, rail, dry and wet utilities network, and so on.

So all of these authoring tools are synced during the development of the models or the asset, and it's going to be updated live in the BIM 360 or ACC as our CDE platform. The working has been based on zones and packages to help us progress tracking and understand the conflicts with the authors and the models.

Once we have this production done from the task teams, the next phase is the Collaborate. This subcategory needs to be first initiated by having a real-time collaboration within task teams to work from different locations. As we mentioned, SYSTRA had different departments at different countries. It helped us to create a real-time data at no time and helped us to have delivered project seamlessly.

Once disciplined BIM models are ready, it needs to be shared in the design collaboration for other task teams so that the other task teams can consume and reference it back to their models for further modifications. It helps us to have a live tracking of the progress of different task teams using the design collaboration timeline, and this is the most important part for all the senior management teams to understand the progress.

Once it's done, it also helps you to create best practices to maintain the model collaboration strategy, which results in optimizing the model design with a single source of truth strategy, providing awareness between different teams across different countries about the latest version shared in the project; and also, version comparison for task teams showcasing elements what are deleted, modified, and added through the Change Visualization feature.

So let's talk how it is possible through a proper workflow. So then the production has been done by the task team, the models are-- multiple models have been shared from the task team-- for example, from Civil 3D side, from Revit side, and they include Navisworks as well where we have a lighter model format. All models are shared as a package in design collaboration by the task teams, and this, then, is consumed by other task teams in the shared folder, which they link it back into their Civil 3D or Revit model for further modification.

So let's have a quick video explaining about what exactly we have done in our project. So this interface is nothing but the design collaboration interface with the timeline showing you different packages shared by multiple task teams or disciplines during the project period. And you can easily able to understand which project teams or the task teams or the disciplines have shared at what time different packages.

Once the other task teams consume these packages, they are able to view this in this model viewer, as you can see, with a clear understanding about how other task teams has developed their models. There are different features to visualize to have a first check about whether this model is correct on their side.

So we have this first tool called as Explode where it helps you to understand how other task teams are developing their models in terms of the families or the elements used in the modeling process. So as you can see, it gives you a brief idea about, for an example, an abutment, shown here, how information has been-- how the geometry has been created and developed during the modeling process. It gives you a understanding about the modeling procedure from the task team.

It also has a feature to have a section developed by cutting it on different planes. As you can see, we have different planes. Let's select one plane. And in this, we also have different axis to rotate as per what you need to see in that section. And once you cut a section, you have a very clear, detailed idea about how the geometry of that particular structure has been developed.

Alongside with this if you want to move forward or backward to see the complete detail of the other structures, you can see it very effectively. Like here, you can see the [INAUDIBLE] sphere [INAUDIBLE] and the deck. And you can see how detailed it gives you an understanding about the model that was developed by the task team.

Once you have this information, you also have a tool called Measure where you have the calibrated data and you can see in real-time what type of and how much clearance has been provided. It has this understanding where you when you click on the Measure tool, it has to-- like for an example, when you have this point to be selected, it will give you an approximate value showcasing what is the clearance here. And you can have the Measure settings with changing the unit or precision as per your requirement.

Once you have this tool developed, we also have another feature in this model viewer, and that is first person view. This first person view helps you to visualize this particular structure in a perspective view seeing that how it will look, when it will be constructed at site, giving you a very detailed idea about the site reading, about the location of the pillars, about the design of the deck, and other structures simultaneously.

It gives you also a map showcasing where exactly you are right now standing to give you an understanding of the whole asset. Also, this feature helps you to move upward and downward to visualize at different levels. For an example here, you can see I'm at the deck level showcasing whether there are some drainage networks provided, or the curb design, or the utility network provided.

So ultimately, this will have a very good idea to the task team to understand what and how the further modifications can be provided. This is how all the task teams can visualize in this project through the Design Collaboration module.

Once we have this, we will showcase another video where it gives you a clear understanding about change visualization. As you can see, there are different colors showcasing on the green, yellow, and red where what are the elements which are been added, modified, or deleted. This comparison is between two different versions of the same model-- for an example, version 1 and version 5.

Let's take an example here. Like, for an example, if I only want to see what all things have been added, I can just enable other points and just see what elements have been added in the latest version of that particular asset. If I want to see what all things have been modified, I can click on the Modify Data, and I can click on specific element-- for an example, abutment.

And here, if you see abutment, we have different information on the right-hand side showing the model of version 5. And if I want to compare it with version 1, I can easily click on that version 1 to see what are the modifications done in the latest version. So as you can see, the design is completely different. The size of the abutment is less as compared to what it was in the version 5. So it gives you a very clear idea about how the information has been updated.

Similarly, if you see at the top, at the deck level, if you want to see the comparison, as you see, it's a version 1, and now it's version 5. So this gives you a very clear idea of what information has been updated in terms of geometry as well as the dimensions.

And also, we have another point that is what all elements have been deleted. Which this gives you a very clear idea about each and every task in that how and what information has been updated during the delivery of this or sharing the latest package of this particular asset. And this is how we call it as Change Visualization tool in the Design Collaboration module.

So, now, let's talk about Coordinate, because once we have developed, collaborated, now we move for the coordination progress. So the first thing is to initiate coordination space, and based on the packages and zones, where the task teams are uploading the models for automated cloud-based clash detection.

And based on those clashes, the sitewide team will raise issues on the type of clash and its tolerance to the relevant task teams. It helps us for active tracking of clashes and their metrics for record and audit purposes. And it will always help you to ease to showcase clashes in Cloud Model viewer for coordination meetings alongside with the senior management teams or the task teams for the clash resolution.

Once this is set up, let's have a quick look on the workflow point of view. So, the first thing is, the discipline teams or the task teams will develop their Civil 3D models and Revit models. They will have this exported in the format of Navisworks, which will help us to have a lighter format of the model.

And this will be shared by the task team in the Model Coordination space so that the output would be the sitewide team will able to have a multidisciplinary check through the automated clash coordination and detection in cloud. And if there are any clashes as the first level, it will be assigned back to the respective disciplines for resolution.

So let's have a quick overview about how we have done it in this project. So as you can see, this is the model where we have all different clashes highlighted here. And if I want to quickly need to see a specific clash, there is a very good feature that it will jump right in to that particular view where you want to see the clash. So once you click at one point, you see how the clash has been created here.

So as you can see, there is a clash between the wall and the conduit. So as you can see, it's a very complex structure. It makes you ease to understand where are the clashes and with whom the clashes are. For example, here, you can see, it has a clash with the cable trays and fittings and the wall. This gives you a very clear idea which clashes needs to be considered and raised to the respective discipline. But how to do that?

So let's take an example by taking one clash and see how we can raise it to the discipline team. The first is we click on that particular clash, and then we see whether this is an issue or not. If it is an issue, we click on Issue, but if it is not, then we click on not. Let's click it as an issue.

On the left-hand side, we have all the information. But first thing, what we need to do here is pinpoint to the clash area. Once we have this, you can see, all the details are manually developed-- automatically filled, like due date, location details, owner, and who needs to be assigned to, and the root cause where you can highlight what are the design coordination issues, what is the-- is it a design deficiency issue. And describing all the information you need. And just click on Create.

And that's how we can raise this information to the respective task team with the due date so that they can resolve it back, and this will be recorded in the CDE platform.

So this was all about our cloud collaboration strategy. Now, let's move in to our design delivery strategy, what SYSTRA's approach is to deliver the project seamlessly.

The first and the most important point here is, first, we need to have a work-in-progress space where different task teams or discipline teams across the globe are developing their models at one place having the model implemented by incorporating all the element properties and classification code based on the project requirements.

Once the model has been produced based on the level of development or detail, it will be, first, have a Level 0 check by the BIM lead or the CAD lead of that particular discipline. And if there are some issues or errors to be rectified, it will be going back to the task team again for the further modification. But if it is good to go, it will move forward for the Level 1 check, and that is Engineer Review.

Once we have the Engineer Review done, here, the engineer, if he feels-- he or she feels that there are errors in this project, it will be going back again to the task teams. And if it is good, then it will move forward for the Level 2 that is the Discipline Lead Review. This will be a final review for the disciplines for their models or drawings so that they are good to go for the environment.

But if there are some issues, again, it will go back to the task team. But if it is good and it has been approved, it will be moved forward for the shared concept area. And that is where the task team will start sharing their packages, and the other disciplines will consume those packages so that they are able to link it back to their respective modules for further modification. This whole process, we call it as design collaboration.

Similarly, task team will also share the models in the Model Coordination space where the disciplines have a first-level coordination check through the Automated Cloud-Based Clash Detection tool. And if there are issues or clashes, it will be headed back to the respective disciplines.

And then there will be a detailed check-- we call it as Multi-Discipline Class Check-- by the [INAUDIBLE] team where all the consumed packages are provided to the multi-disciplinary team. And if they see that there are clashes through the Navisworks tool, then it will go back to the task team again. But if it is good to go, it will move for the federated model based on the zones, packages, and the master model.

Once the federated model has been developed, it will have, including the discipline models, it will move for the Level 3, that is the final check, which we call it as Project or Design Director Review. Once we have all information in place, and if they feel that there are some issues to be resolved, it will go back to the discipline lead and so and so to the task teams for further modification.

But if it is OK and it is ready to move forward, it will be sent for the Submission Document Set to the document controller so that the document controller can create the transmittal and issue it to the client. So this is nothing but the entire design delivery strategy, what SYSTRA follows for every project for having a seamless and smooth project delivery.

Now let's talk about what key potential outcomes we obtained as in this project. First and the most important thing is ease of access to all relevant models, drawings, and reports for the project team. We had an enhanced communication and collaboration with external stakeholders and clients, giving us an upper hand in the project delivery.

It helped to optimize model design through a single source-of-truth strategy between senior engineers, discipline coordinators, BIM and information managers. It helped us to embrace version control management. Save time in model production and its coordination between various stakeholders and delivery teams. Help us to have a live tracking of issues with the due dates for efficient conflict resolution. And the active notifications helped us to have a tracking of data for the latest transmittals published to the client.

So moving on, now we'll talk about SYSTRA's digital engineering solutions, what we have in the leveraging the innovation and the digital tool in the infrastructure industry.

The first and the most important part of our tool is BIM in One Click. It is an exclusive solution for faster and more reliable BIM modeling of linear infrastructure. It helps in adapting the level of modeling detail to the study phase and gives a better understanding of design choices.

SYSTRA has different BIM in One Click addons for viaduct, for tunnel, culvert, rolling stock, [INAUDIBLE], and so on for optimisation to avoid repetitive tasks for the BIM authors and make the delivery effective.

Second to what we have is E-Loading. This is a web platform which analyzes, monitors, and secures the data for your BIM model through a dashboard showcasing all the non-conformities and which needs to be resolved for the project delivery. It helps you to view all the non-conformities on models easily and accurately for effective production management.

It gives you a clear idea, a record proof by exporting all the reports for the audit purposes so that we are always understanding what are the conflicts and we need to avoid it in the future projects.

Third tool is Pablo. Pablo is nothing but-- it's building the data for your future digital twin by accessibility and modification of BIM object properties for all the stakeholders. Implementation of information data on assets in BIM models for the project.

And finally, Carbon Tracker. It is nothing but a web application which helps to measure, manage, and control carbon emissions at every stage of your linear infrastructure project. It also helps in supporting decision making around sustainable design solutions. It is a multi-level analysis of emissions for a comprehensive and systematic review of carbon reduction opportunities.

So, at the end, let's wrap up this presentation by let me leave you with a powerful thought from Henry Ford that is "Coming together is beginning; keeping together is progress; and together is success."

In today's fast-paced world of rail, urban, and civil infrastructure projects, cloud collaboration unites connected teams, a unified data source drives progress, and secure data management ensures lasting success. Let's take this energy forward and turn collaboration into real-world results.

At last, I thank you very much for watching this presentation. We hope it was informative, and you had a better understanding about how we can embrace digital project delivery for large, complex civil infrastructure projects through the cloud-based collaboration strategy.