Michael Gustafson
A larger than ever Fabrication Experience made a significant impact on attendees at the 2019 AU Connect & Construct Summit. With close to a hundred classes, presentations and exciting keynotes from industry leaders, everyone left armed with leading-edge knowledge about new products, important market disruptors and tangible ideas about how to stay ahead of the competition.
“Every year we look forward to the day where we learn about what is planned for development and what is accessible right now. Since we provide the full cycle of the “Construction of Buildings journey” we have a lot of interest of what is presented during Connect & Construct. This year, the front end of that process was well covered as well as the job site aspect with Assemble and PlanGrid. We can already see the potential for implementing what we saw. We cannot wait to see what will be presented next year that will also have an impact on our business.”
Sébastien Paré, Vice president of engineering and estimation services
CANAM Buildings
Taking Fabrication to the Next Level
This year’s Fabrication Experience attracted 3 times more participants than the year before. The one-day event kicked off with a C&C keynote, followed by numerous classes, workshops and thought leadership presentations that gave attendees an insider’s view into disruptive trends like Design for Manufacture and Assembly (DfMA), modular construction and the importance of digitization.
The C&C Keynote highlighted trends impacting the construction industry and strategies for reducing risk and creating greater predictability from small to complex projects.
Inspiring presentations comprised real-world stories from successful firms, providing examples on how to minimize risk, improve collaboration, and get the most out of investments in Autodesk products and solutions.
The rest of the day on Monday was filled with classes and workshops covering fabrication topics related to Structure and MEP. More than 700 Specialty Trade Contractors, Structural and MEP Engineers registered for classes focused on Fabrication. Classes provided hands-on practical information and training on the latest technologies, including new Revit workflows for fabricators, automated construction, and off-site manufacturing.
A thought-provoking closing Keynote wrapped up the day with Brian Helm CEO of Mechanical Inc. and President of the Mechanical Contractors Association of America. Brian’s unique industry perspective gave everyone the chance to hear about what specialty contractors can do to prepare for the future, and more specifically, what CM’s and AE’s can do to stay competitive. Brian also talked about three important and pressing trends that he believes are impacting the industry, including digitization, DFMA, and the interoperability of technology platforms.
As part of the closing keynote, attendees also heard Autodesk industry and product specialists present the current company product strategy roadmap and product vision for the Building Design and Engineering segment.
A Bigger & Better AU Experience
With a pass to the Connect & Construct Summit, attendees had access to the Fabrication Experience, the Forge DevCon preconference, the AEC Mainstage presentation, and over 80+ classes and workshops available within the C&C. Participants could also visit a larger than ever Connect & Construct Village, and see presentations and demos from our sponsors, top industry partners, visit multiple areas with networking opportunities, and receive 1-on-1 support from Autodesk experts.
For those attending the entire week at AU, there were more than 60 classes related to MEP and Structural Engineering, as well as detailing and fabrication. In addition, attendees could visit an impressive Expo that showcased groundbreaking projects across architecture, construction, engineering, and manufacturing.
As AU 2019 comes to a close, valuable customer feedback is already being evaluated for next year’s event. Whether you attended AU this year or not, make sure you don’t miss out on all of the excitement and important educational content planned for Fabrication and Autodesk University 2020!