The Autodesk Community helps users connect with others in their industry to share ideas, learn about new design techniques and tools, and make new professional connections. With the Autodesk Forums, Autodesk Knowledge Network, Autodesk Blogs, user blogs and many social media sites, this community can be a great tool for helping you become more successful in your career. This session will focus on the value of this powerful resource to users in any industry, and across the spectrum of Autodesk products. It will also present some tips on how to get the most value from the community. So, join us for a fun, enlightening and interactive session presented by the Autodesk Community and your Expert Elites.

Today, with easy web search tools and streaming content, access to knowledge is becoming ubiquitous. But are people learning and becoming more productive? We are in the middle of a significant shift in instructional methods and delivery vehicles. Today's learners are not only driving where and when they want to learn, but also what they want to learn. Traditional books and instructor-led classroom training are making way for flipped classrooms using interactive eBooks, web-based synchronous and asynchronous videos, discussion forums, and even social media. How do we drive true performance support and improved productivity? Content needs to be adaptive based on your current knowledge, skills, and practices to incrementally improve productivity. If you are an innovator; corporate training manager; trainer; industry consultant; or simply an Autodesk, Inc., product user—join us in exploring the common trends and the less obvious directions of today’s consumer-driven learners.

As a group, we will share ideas, workflows and techniques to help make for a smoother and less painful transition from AutoCAD to Revit Architecture so that others may benefit from our successes and failures. You may have heard that the only way to switch to using Revit is to just dive right in and take the plunge. Well maybe there are options to this “sink or swim” approach. How do you re-train your staff? Who should learn (or not learn) Revit? How can AutoCAD fit into a Revit office. This discussion will help answer some of your questions and address some of your fears. We will share with one another how switching to Revit has affected our office, workflow, staffing and efficiency. Share the successes and failures which you experienced making the transition to Revit. Let's help anybody who is considering, but who has not yet made the move to Revit. Together as a group, let’s share how we all made the switch while putting some common fears and myths to rest.

We will share ideas and techniques to help make for a less painful transition from Autodesk AutoCAD® to Revit Architecture® so that others may benefit from our successes and failures. You may have heard that the only way to switch to using Revit is to just dive right in and take the plunge. Well maybe there are options to this “sink or swim” approach. Can you afford to re-train your entire staff? Do you know who should learn (or more importantly, who should not learn) Revit? Well maybe this discussion will help answer some of your questions and address some of your fears. We will share with one another how switching to Revit as affected our office, workflow, staffing and efficiency. We will discuss our biggest successes and failures. We want to hear about any unique ideas or work flows which you have discovered to help make for a successful transition to Revit. Together as a group, let’s share how we all made the switch while putting some common fears and myths to rest.

In this session, RPS / GMIT present a successful case study of industry and academia collaboration. The market was extremely competitive and required new skills to survive in business. In a rapidly changing industry with government mandates fast approaching, we didn't wait. We recognised the need for a significant step change in our approach to learning and training in order to win new work. We needed to implement a company-wide commitment to change organisational structure, corporate culture, and IT systems. BIM and digital technologies needed to be the new way of working and it was perceived to be too great a change. When RPS recognised the need to develop a strategy to progress BIM in our company, we invested in technology and existing/new staff CPD that would allow us to deliver in this new environment. At the time no flexible BIM programme was available to meet our business needs, the solution was an industry-academia collaboration that improved our staff skills that was required for this step change. This provided new opportunities for staff to win new work internationally.

Small firms are often left behind when it comes to technology and training. From a small-firm perspective, this class explores the implementation of Building Information Modeling (BIM) tools, including 3D scanning, ReCap software, Revit software, Navisworks software, and AutoCAD Civil 3D software. This class will attempt to define workflow processes that work in a smaller firm and that will not overwhelm users. We will define level of development (LOD) levels and differences in BIM practices from traditional construction documentation practices. We will discuss how to get staff on board with BIM technology changes and how to define your company’s BIM mission statement by using real-world examples and case studies.

This roundtable session is a follow-up discussion to CR2789: Visual Planning: BIM for Safety. The session briefly covers the highlights of the lecture and poses some specific questions to the group about how the concept could be used in innovative ways. The session takes the form of a brainstorming session and value analysis exercise. The floor is open for all ideas, and attendees receive aggregated notes and thoughts from the session as a takeaway. Not everyone is aware of all associated risks and hazards involved with complicated construction operations, even the professionals who perform those tasks every day. Special training is required before commencing this type of challenging and potentially dangerous work. This is where BIM aids in communication and training in a safe environment. BIM safety models can present both correct and incorrect practices side-by-side for comparison.

Learn skills faster, retain knowledge longer, and apply your technical skills to real-world projects better. Join this panel of industry and education experts who have successfully implemented effective Autodesk training programs that are designed to improve retention by increasing the "stickiness factor." Understand how an interactive, closed-loop learning methodology of short subtopics will optimize concentration and engagement, resulting in a more effective transfer of knowledge from short-term to long-term memory (the stickiness factor). Skip the check-box approach and integrate the right learning style for the right learning objective at the right time. All too often, knowledge is lost in the timing between training and application. Learn how these organizations have prioritized high-retention, quick-review training to ensure that their staff or students are ready for projects on-demand.

Transformation of engineering education has been a recent concern in the education and industry communities, with a call to integrate "science" and "application" through design. With health topping today’s issues, design of medical devices has become a major candidate for design applications to be taught to engineering undergraduates. This class describes the preparation and the delivery of an education module where rigorous subjects such as kinematics and strength of materials are taught in the context of designing medical devices. Autodesk® ForceEffect™ and Autodesk® ForceEffect™ Motion software are used to introduce concepts such as force and moment, and Autodesk® Inventor® Professional software is used to develop, simulate, and manufacture the devices designed by the students. This class covers a general design concept, followed by a case study that details design of a tissue microarrayer. This approach, due to its contextual nature, is also applicable to industry training centers.

There is no better industry sector for achieving operational excellence than downstream oil and gas (refining and chemicals). The myriad of operational challenges these plants face—such as the sheer number of workers, the hazards of the processes, and the high operational costs—makes this industry an ideal test bed for tech innovation. Although many of AutoCAD software’s solutions are perfectly optimized for the construction and design phase of a project in these industries, the challenge in industry is how do owners and operators utilize these complex models, data, and information in the real world? Through this training, the presenter will share what Environmental Intellect (Ei) is doing to merge the construction phase of the project with the operations phase of owner-operator handoff, and how we’re capitalizing on advanced technologies to deliver truly virtual operations for forward-thinking customers in heavy industries.

Learn how to get your team up to speed with the latest technology in construction. Gain insight into problems commonly, or maybe not so commonly, facing BIM (Building Information Modeling) related to construction, such as scope gaps, language barriers, and quality assurance. Learn from our experiences on some of our premier projects, including Little Caesars Arena; Mount Carmel Hospital, Grove City; Aloft Magnificent Mile, Chicago; Oak Park South Boulevard; and Miami Dolphins’ Hard Rock Stadium. See how capitalizing on software such as Revit software, BIM 360 Glue software, Navisworks software, and BIM 360 Field software can make your life easier in solving some of these problems.

Software asset management is a valuable process for companies of any size. Having the ability to track license ownership and use will better ensure that you’re making the best use of your existing assets and will help you to avoid costly license compliance issues. Drew Jarvis—a Verafirm-certified software asset management professional—will take you through the benefits, best practice, and possible pitfalls of software asset management, along with practical implementation via the use of Network Inventory software. Come to this class and start making use of this powerful business driver in your organization. AIA Approved

This class will showcase the Piedmont Atlanta Hospital Marcus Tower expansion and the all-in virtual design involvement on this project. We'll explain how to utilize models and BIM Team/C4R for Revit's cloud-based products and services for multiple aspects of the project, including the involvement in preconstruction for marketing, estimating, and self-perform opportunities; the integration of drone flights and parametric, in-house crane models for site logistics and safety planning; virtual reality for headwall mock-ups; and structural review. We'll complete the discussion with lessons learned for workflow, full-team integration, and training for the all-in approach.

Working with today's Building Information Modeling (BIM) and high-end visualization tools presents a special challenge for your IT infrastructure. Wrestling with the computational demands of the Revit-software BIM platform (as well as related applications such as 3ds Max software, Showcase software, Navisworks Manage software, Lumion software, Rhino software, and others) is a challenge. One needs the proper knowledge to make sound investments in workstation hardware. Get inside the mind of a certified hardware geek as he explains in plain English the variables to consider when purchasing hardware to support the demands of BIM, and he also explains the latest advancements in workstation processor and memory architectures, storage, and graphics. This year we will pay special focus on the latest advancements in graphics systems to understand how they meet the demands of high-end visualization, animation, and real-time rendering. Along the way, we’ll look at specific hardware configurations to meet your specific budget. This session features Revit and 3ds Max. AIA Approved

WorldSkills International (WSI) is a global not-for-profit organization that aims to support national agencies in the promotion of vocational education through competitions, often referred to as the Skills Olympics. Autodesk, Inc., is a global partner of WSI, and Autodesk technology is used in a number of competitions covering manufacturing; architecture, engineering, and construction; and media and entertainment. This class aims to provide insight into the benefits of engaging students in WSI competitions to help improve standards. We will showcase how the training of students in the use of Inventor software for their participation in the Mechanical Engineering Design CAD competition has been a catalyst for improvement for all students at New College Lanarkshire by way of integration into the curriculum. You will also hear from Autodesk customers who are reaping the benefits of a workforce that is highly skilled due to employee participation in the competitions, and you will see the latest design project used for the U.K. team's training, which incorporates Inventor software, the Autodesk 360 cloud-computing platform, and the Fusion 360 3D CAD design app.

This course will introduce a workflow of live Building Information Modeling (BIM) coordination using BIM 360 Glue software and Navisworks software on a megaproject. How do you remove the BIM manager’s published NWD file as the bottleneck to coordination? What do you do when your model is too large to open in BIM 360 Glue software? In this workflow, you will see how to set up a project in BIM 360 Glue software, run coordination meetings in Navisworks software, and encourage live coordination among trades in between meetings. This workflow will enable you to maximize field-staff contributions, as well as open more-transparent and more-efficient communication with the design team. This session features BIM 360 Glue and BIM 360 Glue. AIA Approved

This class provides a big picture overview of how the API interacts with your projects as well as gives specific training on using the API to automate your workflows. We discuss actual time-saving solutions that are made possible with the API, with a focus on giving participants the general understanding and resources needed to start their own API projects. We examine specific code samples, showing how to extract information from elements in linked models, and we cover some practical uses of the raytrace functions of the Revit API. We also present the use of the API to automate data manipulation and discuss the transfer of data from other sources. The class includes discussion of example applications and discussion of ideas for future development.

When adopting new design tools such as Revit software, Inventor software, and AutoCAD Plant 3D software, there are some 'No Go' rules for starting a project: don't start with a large project; don't start with a new client; don't start without proper training. This class will share an insider's view of the lessons learned from a $200 million, 192,000-square-foot, process plant facility expansion project that broke the rules and yet is a success today by any definition. We will explain why the client plans to incorporate Building Information Modeling (BIM) on all future projects. Topics of the class include training strategies, database considerations, data sharing between stakeholders, and data sharing between software platforms. Learn how Navisworks project review software saved the day. See how point clouds and reality computing are incorporated before, during, and after construction.

You may have at times said to yourself, “We pay for modern software tools, hardware, implementation, and training, but I can’t help feeling that we aren’t getting all the productivity we should have.” In this session we’ll ponder why some companies succeed with new software while others flounder, and we’ll explore the key role the CAD/Building Information Modeling (BIM) manager can play in achieving the success that leads to high productivity. We’ll cover defining your CAD tools and finding technology accelerators, and we’ll also look at test piloting, training ladder methodologies, project management-based tool analysis, and the profound impact of mission management when implementing software. If you are responsible for CAD/BIM management, training, or project execution using CAD tools, you won’t want to miss this session.

3D printing has the ability to empower clinicians. This class will focus on the benefits of using or starting a hospital-based 3D design and printing program to help design new training models and assist with improving patient care. This session features Fusion 360.