New Tech
Autodesk Improves Efficiency at Superior Bowen How asphalt paving and maintenance companies are using Autodesk’s suite of software to improve operations
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When Superior Bowen was paving a subdivision and the city of Kansas City identified a potential problem, the asphalt contractor was thankful it had recently adopted PlanGrid. PlanGrid is a field collaboration and construction information management platform from software maker Autodesk, San Rafael, California. The city thought there might be a problem with the dirt work on the project, which had been performed by a subcontractor. Superior Bowen was able to review all of the documents and photos stored within PlanGrid throughout the course of the team’s work on the project to make it clear to the city that the issue wasn’t as severe as initially thought. “By looking back through that storyline, we saved our private development owner a lot of time and money, we saved ourselves a lot of time and money for re-work, and we saved our subcontracting partner some brand reputation,” said Brian Johanning, vice president of business development at Superior Bowen. “In sum, that saved us tens of thousands of dollars and months of time. That’s how powerful it is to have all project documents in one place.” PlanGrid is one of four solutions within Autodesk Construction Cloud, unveiled in November 2019. The other three solutions are BIM 360, Assemble and Building Connected. BIM 360 is another team collaboration and project management platform that offers more features for the team in the office, including cost management and project risk analysis, for example. Assemble makes it possible for users to condition, query and connect a variety of data, including BIM models, drawings and point clouds. BuildingConnected is a bid management platform where preconstruction teams can search for contractors and send bid invitations to them, as well as qualify and select them as vendors. The ultimate goal of Autodesk Construction Cloud is to optimize project budgets, schedules and quality, from design through construction and operations. “The driving force from the industry is the need to meet the demands of the future with our current output capability. That requires more efficiency and less waste,” said Mark Contino, vice president of North American retail distribution at Topcon Positioning Systems, Livermore, California. “We can’t do things wrong because someone didn’t get the memo. That’s where this technology can help.” In 2017, Topcon acquired PPI Group, a move which also made Topcon an Autodesk distributor. The goal, Contino said, was to bring together Topcon hardware and Autodesk software with local training, support and service. The company recently announced plans to upgrade its Topcon Solutions Store facilities to offer a variety of training opportunities, including training on Autodesk software. “When we look at the market, the problem is training,” Contino said. “We can pump out all kinds of cool stuff, but if people in the field don’t know how to use it, what good is it?”
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PlanGrid, a field collaboration and construction information management platform from Autodesk, enables Superior Bowen to solve problems rapidly while on the job. All photos courtesy of Paul Andrews Photography Although the use of Autodesk’s products is nothing new to vertical contractors, Contino said, it is now being transitioned over to earthwork, engineering and road construction. “We can check every step of the way as we build a road, whether that’s the folks putting down the sub-base or the crew paving the road,” he said. “If there’s a problem at any stage, this makes it easier to find it before getting out in the field, eliminating a lot of potential rework and waste in the construction project.”
HOW SUPERIOR BOWEN USES PLANGRID
Prior to adding PlanGrid to its technology portfolio in 2019, Superior Bowen relied on various file storage, collaboration and communication solutions. However, each project manager and supervisor had their own folders and organizational system, which led to some confusion in an already challenging environment. “Kansas City is a unique market in the Midwest,” Johanning said. The city spans the Kansas/Missouri border, and encompasses 14 counties and 42 municipalities. “We have to make sure we meet the specs and needs of a lot of governing agencies, as well as the transportation and logistics challenges of our market. PlanGrid gives us a centralized hub for project document storage so our team can localize information in one place, instead of in disparate folders across our server and various softwares.” Johanning said the rollout of PlanGrid within their company was seamless. Autodesk carried out several rounds of training, both at the office and out in the field. Additionally, Superior Bowen’s own spirit of innovation made adoption among its staff easier.
