Advancing your career in construction is almost like being inside a “choose your own adventure” story. There are many options to pick from, and it’s entirely up to you to decide which path to take.
In today's construction industry, tech skills are essential across all career paths. From design to engineering, mastering the latest construction technology can give you a competitive advantage.
This is yet another good reason to attend AU 2024: The Design & Make Conference. Taking place October 15-17 in San Diego, this event is packed with opportunities to help you advance your tech skills—and career.
We’ll cut right to the chase: embracing technology is key for advancing your business and career in construction today.
For one thing, construction software and hardware skills are in extremely high demand. This heightened demand is one of the top contributors to the industry’s labor shortage. Additionally, those who are employed are also concerned about gaps in their tech skills as the industry continues to invest in innovation.
When Monster.com conducted a survey asking employees which hard skills they needed the most, respondents cited technology and computer as some of the most important ones. The survey also found that 45% of workers are more likely to stick with their current employer if they had access to the necessary skills training.
One thing is clear in today’s employment landscape: tech skills aren’t just nice to have—they’re essential.
It’s no wonder, then, that investing in these skills was one of the top reasons people attended AU 2023.
The good news is that AU 2024 offers the perfect environment for learning new technology. This year, attendees will get to see and experience emerging technologies and trends firsthand.
AU 2024 is overflowing with opportunities and activities for advancing technical skills. You’ll get to participate in learning sessions, network with tech developers and leaders, and gain a deeper understanding of Autodesk Construction Cloud solutions from a product and technical standpoint.
AU 2024 has hundreds of tech topics across the AEC industry, which you’ll find useful both in your professional and personal life as well.
There are around 150 classes for construction at AU 2024 that can help you broaden your perspective and technical knowledge. Led by industry and product experts, these sessions come in multiple formats, including Talks, Panels, Product Demos, and Technical Instruction.
Here are just a few of the sessions we’re looking forward to:
When: Tuesday at 1:30 PM
Speaker: Claire Romaine, Sr Program Manager, Operational Excellence, Edged Energy
Lincoln Wood
Stephen Brooke, Digital Delivery Manager, Burns & McDonnell
Wes Short
Join leaders from Edged Energy, Burns & McDonnell, and Gaylor Electric as they unveil innovative strategies for dismantling data silos and enhancing collaboration between owner-operators, general contractors, and trade partners in modular data center developments. This panel will explore the transformative impact of digital delivery, illustrating how unified technology platforms like Autodesk Construction Cloud can streamline communication and data management at a project and portfolio level. Gain insights into the synergistic potential of cross-disciplinary partnerships, and learn how these are critical for developing powerful digital delivery practices. The discussion featuring technology and innovation leads will highlight real-world applications of technology tools, challenges overcome, and the process of driving collaboration across teams throughout the infrastructure lifecycle.
When: Tuesday at 1:30 PM
Speaker: Nathaniel Coombs, Senior Business Consultant, Construction, Autodesk
Andrew Davis, Regional Technology Lead – Canada, Jacobs
Gary Furphy, Director Digital Engineering, Jacobs
Duncan G Taylor, Specialist Programme Delivery Manager, Jacobs
Sarah Kratz, Project Manager, Jacobs Engineering
From gigaprojects to roads, manufacturing facilities, and everything in between, using technology that serves many diverse markets is no small task. The fun really starts when you add in the opinions of 55,000+ people. We at Jacobs have been rolling out Autodesk Construction Cloud as our common data environment (CDE) across our global business. We’ve seen some great results and hit plenty of roadblocks, but we’re well on our way to establishing a global means of working in Autodesk Construction Cloud that will change the way we deliver projects. We’re here to share what we’ve learned, and lead others down the path of digital transformation. The team members will offer insight into their different experiences of implementing Autodesk Construction Cloud. Each journey has been different, and most are at different stages on their continued journeys. Are you interested in civil? Buildings? Life sciences? ISO 19650? Join us for a panel of Jacobs leaders working to make Autodesk Construction Cloud the company’s single source of truth, and see what you can learn from all we’ve accomplished.
When: Tuesday at 3:00 PM
Speakers: Neil Hamel
Samantha Zhang, Co-founder, Agave Tech Inc.
Tim Kelleher, Ops. Standards and Innovation Manager, Brinkman Construction Inc.
Mark Dinius, Vice President – Innovation & Technology, Satterfield & Pontikes Construction, Inc
Construction companies want to keep their project team in their operations tools and their accounting team in enterprise resource planning (ERP) with a tech solution that automatically synchronizes both systems, eliminating the tedious and error-prone work of double data entry. However, integrating these systems hasn’t been easy and could take weeks to months. That changed with Agave’s platform approach. Agave built its own customizable, turnkey solution that allows construction companies to connect their systems in less than an hour and turn on automatic sync workflows right away. Join a panel of construction companies (Satterfield & Pontikes, Brinkman, Hamel, and more) to discuss their ERP sync journeys, and see how you can make job costing always accurate and up to date at your company.
When: Wednesday at 8:00 AM
Speakers: Timothy Jarvey, Account Executive, Construction, Autodesk
RJ Palis, Digital Technology Manager, Hunt Construction Group
Hannah Mahfood, Sr. VDC Engineer, DPR Construction
Anuj Athavale, Sr. VDC Engineer, DPR Construction
The panel discussion will provide insights into transitioning from field roles to virtual design and construction (VDC) roles in construction. Attendees will gain practical insights, explore technological advancements, and discover professional development opportunities in this evolving construction career landscape. The discussion will cover how to attract field engineers to VDC, understand the changing role dynamics, integrate VDC practices, and utilize technology for improved project outcomes. Through real-world experiences and actionable steps, the panel will propose a roadmap for navigating this transition, developing training strategies, and leading teams to achieve construction excellence.
When: Thursday at 9:00 AM
Speaker: Tori Anderson, Product Marketing Manager, Autodesk
Meet with product experts from Autodesk to hear what functionality has recently been released for Autodesk Build software, and discover which features are on the upcoming road map.
When: Thursday at 9:00 AM
Speaker: Georgia Loadholt, Operations Analyst, Clancy & Theys Construction Company
In today's fast-paced business environment, effective cost management is essential. However, managing cost controls becomes challenging when project teams grapple with rigid systems, duplicate data entry, and insufficient integrations. Join this session to learn how Clancy & Theys Construction overcame end-user frustration and strengthened cost control. You’ll hear how the firm successfully adopted and deployed Cost Management within Autodesk Build software, seamlessly integrating top-tier software such as DocuSign, GCPay, and Viewpoint Vista for greater efficiency. Additionally, you’ll learn how the firm is taking its cost management operations to the next level by using powerful reporting for executives and implementing cost management KPI Power BI templates for enhanced insights.
When: Thursday at 1:30 PM
Speakers: Joe Fields, Manager, Business Intelligence & Reporting, Autodesk
Dariusz Kiszka, Senior Partner Consulting Manager, Autodesk
In this session, we will cover the basics on how to efficiently design a full-cycle dashboard during a project’s startup phase, followed by how to set up automatic refreshes to have the latest and greatest project updates. We will discuss both the importance of simple versus noisy designs and automation workflow for team efficiency—and provide practical examples.
When: Thursday at 1:30 PM
Speakers: Gabe Paez, Head of Product, XR, Autodesk
Dawsyn Borland, Technical Product Manager, XR, Autodesk
This session will explore how Autodesk Workshop XR is transforming project coordination, making early issue detection and resolution the new normal. With a seamless Autodesk Construction Cloud integration, we’ll discover how to harness the power of Workshop XR to enhance workflow efficiency, bridge communication gaps, and minimize costly reworks and materials waste. We’ll show what it’s like to walk through a model in virtual reality (VR) at human scale, and review its associated building information modeling (BIM) data—while helping to accelerate team alignment during the design phase.
Technology will play a critical role in the future of construction, so it’s imperative that you equip yourself with the right tech knowledge and skills. Fortunately, AU 2024 has no shortage of opportunities to do that.
Remember, individual session registrations fill up fast. Register for AU 2024 today so you’ll be the first to hear when you can register for individual sessions later this month.
See you in San Diego October 15-17!
