Autodesk’s entry into the emergent Digital Twins market is officially open and ready for business to enterprising users in the AECOM market. The company today announced that Autodesk Tandem, its cloud-based digital twin platform is ready for business.
Digital Twins
Digital Twins is one of the hottest topics and growth areas in the AECOM (architecture, engineering, construction, operations, and management) industries because it strives to leverage data to streamline both design and construction but most importantly building operations. By making systems in buildings and infrastructure communicable to digital twin software, building operations conducted by facilities management professionals can gain insights from digital twin software systems that help them optimize energy use and facilities maintenance, saving building owners money.
Autodesk Tandem is now available commercially and delivers Digital Twins technologies to AECOM professionals.
Additionally, a lot of the data used in the design and construction phases is lost for operations usage. A recent FMI report revealed that more than 95 percent of all data goes unused in engineering and construction, which results in inefficient processes and lost revenue from AEC firms and owners. For example, 13 percent of working hours in engineering and construction firms is spent looking for project data and information.
“Autodesk Tandem is a cloud-based digital twin technology platform that aims to turn that stat on its head,” said Bob Bray, senior director, and general manager, Autodesk Tandem. “It enables projects to start digital, stay digital, and deliver digital, transforming rich data into business intelligence.”
BIM to Hand-Over
The BIM process and the Digital Twin process are connected. The “information” in BIM is part of the data stream that can be handed over to the owner or building customer as part of the “digital twin,” thereby making it accessible and contextualizing data for operations.
Autodesk Tandem is a platform in the cloud that is aimed at enabling use as soon as a project begins.
“Our design teams are working with our clients to improve their operations and facility management. The focus is on creating an easier digital handover process, and better management of their assets,” said Damir Jaksic, CIO, KEO International Consultants. “We truly see the promise of Autodesk Tandem to transform our outcome-based business model. Starting with the end of the project in mind makes it easier to capture the data required for efficient building management.”
Autodesk Tandem can gather all the information about a building, its systems, and critical equipment in both tabular and 3D representations. Building operators and facilities managers can then find the information they’re looking for when responding to operational issues to keep proper maintenance. This insight tells them what to expect when they arrive at the maintenance location and helps them understand how work on one system may impact another.
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“We are seeing a growing awareness from our customers of the value of asset information and the insights it provides. Digital Twin platforms represent a real change in the way we and our customers think about the creation, validation, and operational life of asset information,” said Andrew Field, principal, asset and digital advisory, Beca. “Autodesk Tandem will help improve long-term asset performance and decision-making. It’s the bridge between the creation of assets and the handover of asset information to our customers.”
Operational Readiness
A typical building will accrue up to 80 percent of its total “lifecycle costs” in just operations. Building owners have a keen interest in reducing these costs and digital twin software systems are promising them the ability to do exactly that. Autodesk Tandem can do this in several ways including predictive maintenance to prevent disruptions and reduce operating costs. Readily available data and a digital replica of their facility put handover information at
“AEC project teams using Autodesk Tandem will help owners improve the occupant experience, and enable predictive maintenance,” said Bray. “A digital twin is synonymous with greater ROI — it gives owners unprecedented
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