A prefabrication strategy allows for the practice of lean concepts, while delivering a successful project. Prefabrication of MEP systems has been used in our industry for some time. A lot of the same benefits are realized in prefabricating architectural building elements. Various projects types fit the mold for prefabrication, including hospitals, institutions, hotels, and industrial facilities. All of these types of projects have something in common: highly-repetitive building components and systems. By incorporating a prefabrication strategy, a number of benefits are achievable, including reducing material handling, construction waste, delivery impacts to a congested site, and schedule. In addition, the quality of work is increased and safety is improved due to the controlled working environment. This class focuses on a recently completed healthcare project in which prefabrication was used and also highlights the challenges that were overcome to deliver a successful project.

As the demand for productivity in construction rises in tandem with the need to stay cost-effective, many contractors are transitioning to off-site prefabrication. This session will cover how prefabrication can have a dramatic impact on schedule performance, construction cost, and workplace safety. We’ll also cover how you can fast track your success following the model of forward-thinking companies who use fabrication best practices and technologies.

The demand for the construction supply chain to improve productivity and to meet compacted schedules with decreased budgets has led to substantial industry focus in automated construction techniques and enabling workflows. Off-site prefabrication of construction components has become a key factor in the improvement of labor productivity and increase quality on construction projects. Schedule and budget constraints can often be met through the effective use of prefabrication introducing overlaps in schedules and offsetting labour into controlled environments. Much of these savings has shown to come from the introduction of economies of scale and repeatable tasks and assemblies. BIM responds to the overall decline in construction productivity as compared to other industries. Efforts made in the field of manufacturing to automate processes and workflows are being introduced into the field of construction using LEAN theory and interjection of computer-aided manufacturing (CAM) techniques.

It goes without saying that as an industry, we will use more data, not less, as time goes on. The word “data” gets thrown around a lot, but how do we narrow down the word data into only what is useful for generating real quality and efficiency gains in construction? What software exists to help us do this? Using strategic partnerships focused around solving specific problems, maximizing data goes from an overwhelming topic to a powerful conversation that drives quality and efficiency. This session will talk about the advantages of developing strategic partnerships centered around maximizing data with likeminded organizations within the construction industry. You'll see how custom software development within the Revit API can streamline data flow and solve age-old industry frustrations. And you’ll learn how data can be fed from the design phase into prefabrication. We'll review case studies where these tactics were employed and see the savings generated.

Prefabrication and automation in offsite construction requires building models to be rich in data. The generation of construction drawings, creation of a bill of materials and the application of fabricated information is required in the model. In wood construction for example, it requires modeling of accurate processing (precutting) and assembly of prefabricated items including tooling (e.g. nailing and milling operations). All this, including derived data in the form of CNC files, shop drawings, etc., needs to be accessible by all stakeholders - the builders, prefabricators and project managers. By combining Autodesk products and APIs, hsbcad has developed improved workflows to create and modify rich model content. Revit content is able to enrich cloud based BIM that drives CNC equipment and improves on site processes. This leads to increased efficiency and cost control for the complete construction process.Joint AU/Forge DevCon class

This session will demonstrate the Greenlee Bendworks add-in for Revit software. We’ll explore how the add-in enables prefabrication of conduits using Greenlee benders, and saves time on the documentation of prefabrication documents and conduit coupling placement. This session features Revit. AIA Approved

Showcasing the 100,000m2 University hospital of Stavanger we will introduce new workflows in Revit for the seamless design of cross discipline modular and prefabricated components. The Scandinavian hospital proposes a giant lego-like assembly in its construction and tests currently unreleased Revit functionalities which have enabled the efficient control and development of the prefabrication strategy parallel to the overall project design.

We will present an interdisciplinary BIM workflow for the drawing and analysis of prefabricated components and show new techniques in data management which have allowed us to monitor component changes, identify deviations, and align project outputs with the information demands of the building industry. This class will also demonstrate how this methodology can be applicable to schools, hotels and other repetitive or prefabricated projects.

The country’s leading mechanical contractors were some of the earliest adopters of Building Information Modeling (BIM) due to the vast potential for off-site prefabrication. Nearly ten years after its first BIM project, J.C. Cannistraro is sharing some lessons learned from modeling, fabricating, and building some of the most high-profile hospital and biotech projects in the Northeast. Using primarily Autodesk® Navisworks® and Autodesk® Fabrication software, we will explain how we use collaborative thinking, Lean methodology, and BIM tools throughout the preconstruction and construction phases to maximize the efficiency of delivery and installation on every project.

This class will discuss the uses of Revit families, data, scheduling, and the Revit API to push Revit content to the prefabrication factory floor. We'll discuss what goes into the families, how we condition the families for prefabrication-specific content, and how we pull that content out with custom tools to send to the factory floor. We'll cover the main issues of communication between the design team and the prefabrication team, how we've solved these issues, what we output for the team, and how they use it to create the preconstruction packages.

In-wall coordination is arguably one of the most complex workflows to manage throughout the whole lifecycle of a project build. But it doesn't have to be. There are many factors that go into designing and building the interiors of any project, and this can become even more complex in projects involving health care and life sciences. In the construction industry, it's not uncommon for the walls of a building to be coordinated by traditionally marking up construction documentation, or by field coordinating MEP rough-in. However, this approach can lead to a lot of RFIs and rework—and an overall quality reduction. Enhancing in-wall coordination through a virtual coordination process will not only improve the overall efficiency of your project build, it will also unlock many prefabrication opportunities for the general contractor and trade partners. And it will provide opportunities for multitrade layout through robotics, combat labor shortages, and greatly increase the overall quality output of the project.

Affordable construction is a serious problem that affects us all, and we face a growing housing shortage in the 21st century. It's widely believed that prefabrication and industrialized construction are strategies that can help the architecture, engineering, and construction (AEC) industry produce buildings much faster, less expensively, and of higher quality than traditional on-site construction methods. When done right, prefabrication delivers clear benefits to multifamily housing and hotels, but also comes with risks. The right issues must be de-risked to ensure project success, centered on establishing a digital fabrication approach of Rooms as a Product (RaaP). With RaaP, we can enable industrialized construction by connecting teams, processes, and partners. We give developers access to a vetted prefab ecosystem, standardized documents, and a modular certified process to manage workflows. We also digitize the fabricators' pipeline of orders to increase predictability and lower costs to support mass customization.

Effective prefabrication strategies can have a plethora of benefits for your company and the project you are working on, including just-in-time delivery, more efficient material handling, better jobsite installation practices, and increased safety in the shop and on site. In this class, RK Mechanical technical experts will step you through the best practices for preparing your model for prefabrication using the Fabrication CADmep spool sheet functionality, from how to get started to more advanced features such as multi-user spooling.

We had a discussion at Autodesk University Las Vegas 2018 that focused on what a BIM coordinator does for the general contractor through processes and workflows—do’s and don’ts and so on. We’ll now explore the process and workflow of a BIM coordinator from the subcontractor side! Our coordination team’s established methods not only help our field crews with install and on-site verification, but they help catch things that sometimes slip through the cracks. Learn how to utilize BIM coordination to improve project outcome for all parties. We’ll discuss how communication, safety, collaboration, prefabrication, quality, and cost can impact what we do to help the industry with tools like Revit software, Navisworks software, BIM 360 Glue software, and more.

We had a discussion at Autodesk University Las Vegas 2018 that focused on what a BIM coordinator does for the general contractor through processes and workflows—do’s and don’ts and so on. We’ll now explore the process and workflow of a BIM coordinator from the subcontractor side! Our coordination team’s established methods not only help our field crews with install and on-site verification, but they help catch things that sometimes slip through the cracks. Learn how to utilize BIM coordination to improve project outcome for all parties. We’ll discuss how communication, safety, collaboration, prefabrication, quality, and cost can impact what we do to help the industry with tools like Revit software, Navisworks software, BIM 360 Glue software, and more.

Discover the power of Autodesk Platform Services and artificial intelligence (AI) to revolutionize prefabrication processes. In this session, we'll explore core industry challenges, including time-consuming tasks, repetitive actions, errors, lack of standardization, and the sharing of information about increasingly complex models with people in the shop. Witness firsthand how Autodesk Platform Services—armed with reusable assemblies, customizable rules, and a machine-learning modeling assistant—propels you toward a new era of efficiency and consistency. Furthermore, experience captivating web-based viewers that foster dynamic collaboration, as you learn how to unleash fabrication models with enhanced visualization and precision. See how these elements form a seamless and transformative process for optimizing fabrication workflows. This talk will offer a fresh perspective on driving innovation in the architecture, engineering, and construction (AEC) fabrication industry, leading to improved project outcomes.

Join this session to hear about the steps your company can take—regardless of trade, software, or construction type—to facilitate flow of data and deliverables between modeling and fabrication in the shop.