Arcadis enhances site inspections with Autodesk Build

Arcadis has implemented Autodesk Build to enhance the accuracy and efficiency of site inspections in Australia, reducing reporting times by over 50%.

The sustainable design, engineering, and advisory firm utilised Autodesk Build, part of Autodesk Construction Cloud, in projects such as the Western Sydney International Airport and the Melbourne Metro Tunnel. These projects necessitated a standardised approach to inspections and streamlined workflows.

Andrew Thompson, Digital Engineering Lead for Structures and Facades at Arcadis, stated, "In recent years, the scale and volume of our projects across Australia revealed opportunities for improving the way we work and, when it comes to site inspections, we've revolutionised how we manage these. Instead of the slow, error-prone process of manual uploads, we now use Autodesk Build to link photos and notes directly to a 3D model by the inspector, at the same time they are taken, right there on-site."

He added that this information is accessible to all stakeholders in real-time across devices, using custom attributes and templates. "Along with standardised risk ratings that help us maintain consistent issue types and parameters, we know everyone is always working from a single source of truth," said Thompson.

Sumit Oberoi, Senior Manager, APAC Construction Strategy & Partnerships, Autodesk Construction Cloud, commented, "Our partnership with Arcadis is an excellent example of how we help our clients improve the quality of project outcomes, better manage costs and mitigate risks. Autodesk Build gives Arcadis the confidence they need to carry out their critical work on complex projects."

The Autodesk Build's data collection and reporting capabilities allow Arcadis to identify crucial information efficiently. The Custom Fields feature enables seamless completion of a client's existing reporting structure, while the filtering capability allows Arcadis to highlight high-risk issues swiftly.

Thompson explained, "Clients can now access project data in Autodesk Build in a timely way, so we don't have to produce the same volume of reports we've always done. We can deliver a Power BI dashboard, with all the links included, so our clients have the most important information at their fingertips."

Arcadis has received positive feedback from clients who appreciate the clarity provided by the new templates and the reduced number of reports. The improvements have saved Arcadis staff more than 50% of the time they previously spent on reports.

"Reporting is an important part of what we do, but that doesn't mean we were doing it as efficiently as possible. The real-time collaboration we've achieved with Autodesk Build has freed up time across all our projects, because instead of a report taking a week to complete, we can now do it in just two days," concluded Thompson.