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Hi, everyone. Welcome to the future construct podcast. I am your host Amy Peck. And today we have not only my name sake, but a really exciting guest from Autodesk Amy bustle , who is the EVP of AEC design. Welcome Amy. Thank you, Amy. Well, then let's dive right in. I would love to start just with your journey to , to, to get here. And how did you choose AEC and how did you choose, you know , design as kind of part of your path?
Absolutely. I , I w I will tell you that I started out as an electrical engineer and somehow today on a very not straight path, I'm a software executive for Autodesk working on our AEC products. And I'll have to say, I , you know , I started out in hardware and I fell in love with software very quickly. And then I started working at several software companies and did a startup in 1996, a long time ago. And , um, that sort of got acquired by Autodesk.
And so in 2003, I joined Autodesk as part of our manufacturing solutions team. And over time I, you know, went up the ranks and the AutoCAD position was open in, I think, 2010 that I thought, wow, AutoCAD is such a, you know, a big brand, there's millions of millions of users. I want to see, like, I want to see what it's like to run a , a team that has such a big impact on the world. And so I did AutoCAD for a few years and over time I got more and more products.
And these days I have all of our AEC design solutions . So I have our infrastructure design and solutions, our buildings, design solutions. So Revvit civil 3d, and of course, AutoCAD, and , um, we recently made an acquisition of a company called [inaudible] . So we also now have water , um, design and simulation and , um, digital twin solution . So it's a , it's a pretty exciting time to be working in AEC, given all of the amazing things that are happening in the built world these days.
I love that. I'd love it. I love the fact that also you have that kind of hardware software component , um , and that background. And how, how do you think that that is , has informed the way, you know, you're thinking about, you know , the future of AUC , the future of design and, and these toolkits .
Well, you know, I started in a factory many years ago in manufacturing, and now I'm back in the factory with some of our, with some of our AEC customers, in fact, here in the bay area , um , we're investors in factory iOS where they're doing modular construction for low-income housing. And, you know, also in the process of doing that, they're training people.
Who've never worked in construction before to learn some of these construction trades, but in a factory setting where it's very safe, there's very little waste. Um, you don't have to worry about the environment and it's really just a great place to innovate in the AEC space.
It being able to kind of visualize , uh , you know, either process or design , um , you know, how has that really affected also the way you're thinking about emerging technologies and , and , and bringing, I mean, it's like a plethora now of emerging technologies that, that, you know, companies are looking at, but I'm not sure have a specific strategy on how to implement, you know, multiple emerging technologies at once, but yet doing it in silos is sometimes ineffective or more costly.
What are some of the trends that you're seeing in that arena and the way that, that, that , you know , you think companies are able to leverage a lot of this emerging tech, whether it be AI or whether it be immersive technology.
That's really interesting because you're right. There's a lot of, kind of one-offs and bespoke things happening. So we haven't really seen for the immersive technologies, things that scale, but everybody is looking to figure out how do I collaborate in an immersive environment.
And when you think about how people are working more remotely from their teams these days, maybe remotely from their customers, these days, being able to jump into an immersive environment , um , whether you're in something like omniverse or , um , other solutions, it can really enable a much better relationship between the design team, but also with, with the , um, construction team and the customers as well.
And do you see the people really connecting the dots I'll kind of along that workflow? Or are they sort of slotting in through the design, like at the beginning kind of the design phase, or maybe at the end, whether it's, you know , pre-sales or some sort of visualization, like where are you seeing people plugging in with , with some of these technologies?
Well, really end-to-end, I, you know, they they'll, they'll often start in, you know , the early conceptual phases where the models are not very detailed, then they can explore lots of options. Um, we have some tools , um , that use AI. The name of the tool is Spacemaker to help look at kind of different , um, different options around density or sight lines on a mixed use, residential.
So you can start there and then people want to bring all of that information through to detailed design pre-construction construction, and then ultimately hand off to the owner. And you can imagine if you are the owner and you get this data set has been this BIM model, and you're now able to use that to fuel the digital twins and now operate your , um, your facility. It's , it's pretty incredible.
And then having that visualization really puts all of the stakeholders kind of on the same playing field, being able to kind of have access to the information in the same way.
I do think it's interesting and you're in a business that is , that is 3d, you know , in its nature. And we live in 3d environments, and yet we really have trained ourselves to work in 2d. And, you know, how has that evolution of really moving these sort of 3d designs whose 3d assets into the 3d realm and how difficult is it again, to kind of manage that end to end workflow?
Because, you know, I've seen in the construction industry either really early adopters who are kind of going in and , and, you know , pushing all the technology to its limits and then others who really seem to be whether it's reluctant, because it's just a challenge to bring in new technologies and new workflows, or maybe the workforce is not amenable to it.
Um, you know, where do you see that, that kind of line and how do we get more companies to kind of take that, that leap of faith that the outcomes will be better?
Yeah , it's, it's definitely complex. One of the things that , um, that I have seen that works well is so much of the 2d is now created automatically from the 3d, right? So you now have this tight connection when you're using BIM between your 2d documentation and your 3d model . So you don't end up with sort of an outdated PDF or , um, you know, an AutoCAD drawing that was done disconnected from the 3d design.
So by doing that, you're starting to build up people's confidence that, Hey, they're going to be able to work off the latest and greatest data. And then when you take that data and allow them to access it on the construction site, you know, via a tablet or in the trailer, now you're really showing people, Hey, it's worth it to kind of bring this data all the way through the entire process.
I love this vision of, of taking BEM data and , and making it, you know , sort of flow through to the as-built where then you can start to use immersive technology for the lifetime of that building and wiring that, you know, either just, you know, optimization for the building itself, but then also smart buildings into smart cities. And what's ultimately going to be this AR cloud.
But it seems to me that, that it seems like kind of a difficult path to, you know, for, for, for us to just say, all right, you know, now we have this as-built and now we're going to leverage that to, you know , become a smart building as part of a smart city, when you see the infrastructure starting to, to kind of really merge and enable that. And then also the standards to support that, where this just becomes the workflow.
Yeah. So that the I'll start with the infrastructure in general. I think the , the infrastructure to support the, you know , massive, you know , digital cities is there. The problem is really the data is not there, right ?
Cause the city has been there for a long time and, you know, how do we leverage a combination of brand new construction that's happening, that we can have a smooth and seamless handover with the digital data to know, oh, I need to go out and maybe laser scan or hire someone to go build me a model for certain key parts of my infrastructure. So if you want to do it at a city scale, it definitely will take time to gather all the data.
But the good thing is you don't know how you can start even with , uh , you know, a room somewhere and, you know, kind of grow from there and still get benefits off of, off of doing that.
Yeah. That makes sense. That I think has been, it does seem insurmountable when you look at it in the big picture. So it's like, what can I start with today?
There's an interesting role for governments to play here because if they invest and kind of help motivate and pay for a lot of the kind of groundwork that has to happen here, you can definitely get there faster.
I'd like to go back to one of the things you were mentioning about, you know , kind of training workforce and people who've never even had experience in, in construction. And also how , uh , you know , it , there's a lot less waste and , and you can leverage software and simulation for a lot of these activities. You know, it's , it's not just a marketing mandate anymore for companies to be sustainable. Like it is, it is becoming actually the demand of , of, of consumers and the workforce.
So what are some of the ways that you're seeing, you know , real traction and, and , um, you know, we've, we've, we've had , uh , Amy Marks your, your colleague on, on prefab , which is one way, but what are some of the other strategies that companies can start you're leveraging now,
One of the other strategies we see is a bigger focus on carbon and understanding. Um, we used to think that it was all about operating carbon, you know, running the HVAC system, but really that's only about half of the total carbon in a building. There's also all the embodied carbon and that's all of the materials and how they get to the job site that you're selecting in advance.
So whether it's the concrete or the carpeting or the dry wall, we now have calculators that will allow you to look at your total carbon for a building, and then go ahead and make better sustainable choices for both running the building. And even before, you know, you , you start breaking ground and we're seeing , um, Skanska and Microsoft, we have done some work with them.
They're saving, you know , 20% on, on their carbon footprint and they're still hitting other performance goals on the building. So it's really a win-win for everyone when you can have good data and, you know, run good calculations and simulations and , um, and then make really better choices up in the very beginning of the process.
That is great news and great advice. Uh , we're going to take a little break now and go and have a moment with our sponsors, but we will be back momentarily. This episode of the future construct podcast is supported by the amazing team at applied software. They have
Solutions for any modern project. Applied software is on a mission to transform industry by impairing our clients and being the champions of innovation with their real world expert consultants. They have a comprehensive suite of solutions for AEC , MEP and manufacturing, and they have a singular focus to help you achieve higher performance. We have software training, support consulting, and custom development applied software. Has you absolutely covered for all of your workflow needs?
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And we are back with Amy on-sell from Autodesk. So I would like to go back also, you know, we talked a little bit about, you know , sort of training the next generation and that you're able to train people who have no construction experience whatsoever. Um, but on the other side, there is an incredible amount of knowledge with workforce who may be retiring over the next decade or so.
And are there, are there some ways that companies are able to capture some of that knowledge and, you know, either turn that into some training or, you know, leverage that knowledge and expertise for this next generation of , of construction professionals?
So, one thing that comes to mind this happening really in all of our industries is more automation and so not everything is automateable, but a lot of our customers are really looking at what are maybe some of those repetitive tasks that we can automate. So we can focus on really the , the value add and you know , that automation varies depending on could be robots on the construction sites .
Um, and then if you do that, you can then really focus on what are the things, the human skills that we need to preserve, and then leverage those really senior and experienced people to help identify those skills and make sure that those are the important skills that we pass along, you know , to the next set of workers. I will say one thing around the next generation, part of the challenge is attracting them.
So Autodesk works , um , with , um , schools with , um, you know, K through 12 with , um, community colleges and secondary education. But we want people to know that construction is sexy and construction is an exciting field to be in. When you think about the amazing projects that are , are happening, the impact of, you know , um, modernizing a, you know, a commuter rail or highway or a water system. And that's an impact on both the, you know, the users of it, but also on the environment.
And so the more we can, I think help people understand that if they go into a field like construction and also manufacturing has the same problem, that they can really have a big impact on the world, and they're going to learn , um, modern technology skills, right? They're going to they're to potentially have drones. They're going to have robots, they're going to have tablets.
They're going to have a lot of things that are, that make their job, I think , um, fun to do and , and allow them to really focus on the exciting part of the work.
I think. So I think actually a couple of things that they wanted to talk about the first is , is really around, you know, it , that automation shouldn't be as scary to , I think to people as it is, it's the sort of first thing that people think of as a , we're going to lose jobs. But I love the way that you talked about, it's not about losing the jobs. It's about, you know, what, what do we do best as humans?
And let us do that rather than, than, you know, spending time and cognitive load on these sort of rote activities that can be automated. And , and so, you know, how, how is that articulate? I mean, you just articulated it perfectly, but , but, you know, through the industry so that there's not as much fear around really what the opportunity with, with, you know , uh , you know, automation and this next generation of tools as well.
We think about it a lot is kind of having an AI on your shoulder and, and advice maybe to do all of the calculations and the routine work, and then give you kind of that last mile of, Hey, now we need someone who has judgment and who has the ability to do things that, you know, that we can't rely on from a computer.
And that, that seems to resonate well with our customers, whether you're an architect making design decisions, or whether you're trying to figure out , um , are there safety problems on, on a job site? And we can potentially identify areas where there, there are more high probability of that, or if there's a water network and we can look at all of the data on all the piping and say, Hey, you might want to focus here on your repairs. And then you ended up delivering a better experience as well.
And then around the , this next generation workforce, that is a big challenge, you know , in, in recruiting and, and, you know, w making these industries seem like they're, you know, they, or even actually just displaying them as the cutting edge, you know, leveraging cutting edge technology and great software and getting into schools is , is I think one practice , uh , you know , but, but I think that there, it really does require this kind of marketing effort to, to show what a day in the life
of this future worker might be. And so are there, are there some examples of that that, you know, we might be able to share, we can share with this episode that I think would be interesting for people?
Yes, the , the most, one of the best ones I've seen is actually to get the people on the job site. And , um , whether it's an intern program or field trips or, or, you know, things that are organized by a particular university or vocational program, then you can really start to get a sense for , uh, what, what the daily, what the daily work might, might feel like. And I think many of us, you know , I ended up being an engineer.
I didn't really know what I was going to be doing on a day-to-day basis. I just took that leap of faith. But I think these days, so many ways to provide people, whether it's, you know, the onsite or leveraging some tech, you know, some technologies or video, or even programs like this to kind of get a sense for what are people really doing? What , what might that job feel like?
I think your careers is an excellent example as well of how working for even large companies has changed. I think, you know, in the old days is everyone would, they'd start with a company and they'd stay sort of in the same department, you know, for 40 years. And then they get their ring and whatever it is, and they were tired and they, you know, walk happily into the sunset and enjoy their time.
But now you're able to actually move throughout companies and, and continually learn and continually hone your skills. So again, you know , if you want to share some examples of maybe, or even maybe people who were pivotal in, maybe you enticing you into it into a different direction while at your career. Yeah ,
For me, one of the best experiences I had was at my startup . And because there, we were kind of thrown into taking risk and trying to figure out how to do things. There was no expert .
And so what I took away from that was that really earlier in my career, I, I could have taken more risks and I could have challenged myself to do things that maybe I wasn't fully trained in, or well-prepared for, because at the end, you know , generally, especially at big companies , there's lots of resources to help you out.
And it's small companies, you really have no choice, but to get in there and figure it out on your own, and both are really curating and both are, I think, ways to take risks that helped you learn whether you like something or don't like something. And then you can kind of think about, well, what , what, what would next enhance kind of my learning ,
It's something great about, you know , finally getting to go to a big company and having a team and having people who know things that you don't know,
You know, it's funny when we got acquired, we were, we were small. We were about a dozen people and I was so excited. One to just be a product manager, as opposed to doing like 20 different jobs. And then to have experts who could help me hone my craft and actually get good at what I was doing. So I wouldn't try the startup experience, but the big company experience also has its benefits. Yeah.
Yeah . And just looking into the future again, and we talked a little bit about some of the emerging technologies, you know, are there some other things that just, you know, you're really excited about or, or some technologies you've seen or , or uses of technology that really, you know, can, can make a huge difference in, in process and how it improves outcomes?
So , one thing that I'll say is , um, collaboration in general is something as humans we've been doing forever, but we've really had to change how we do that. And so I've been delighted to see really, almost a five-year , um , leapfrog in the adoption of , um , collaboration, technology.
I mean, even this webinar that we're in right now, you know, all of the online meetings I'm in, but also being able to collaborate over, over the , the BIM model and the BIM data and be able to collaborate in an immersive fashion. I, that we'll never, we'll never go back to the old way of trying to get everybody all in one place or everyone on the job site. I think we'll always be able to kind of leverage technology to, to bring experts together in ways that we couldn't have in the past.
And again, speaks to sustainability and carbon footprint. You know, we're not flying all over the place and taking plans everywhere.
No, I did learn that I could be pretty effective with customers and my team without actually flying to see them. And I miss the face to face interaction, but I think we can mix it up a little bit more and not fly halfway around the world for a one hour meeting and mitigate .
Yeah. I do like the hybrid idea though, because it has been nice. I was at an event two days ago and I was like, oh my God. I'm with people. It was , it was very nice.
I was in the office yesterday and it was just amazing to have bumped into someone in the hall and have a spontaneous unplanned conversation. It was not policy of that was really quite awesome.
Yeah. I think the future is , is hybrid. So taking us to the future, I'd love to ask you the question that I ask everyone. And that is if you could project yourself 20, 25 years in the future, and you could bring with you any gadget or service that would actually just make your life, you know, on a personal level better, or make you happy, what would it be and what would it do?
You know , I , I was tipped off about this question and I've been racing for the last couple of days to come up with an answer. And, you know, for me, you know , I've always enjoyed traveling and I've always had kind of family members and friends all over the world.
And I would love to create, or bring with me the kind of immersive experience where instead of me being an avatar or just a pair of hands, you know, you couldn't really, you know, I can be me and you could be you and we could be in an environment and really feel like we were there together and , um, have the type of engagement that we almost as good as we would have, you know, in real life.
And I , I think we're going to get there and I think it's going to really help us keep relationships in great places and spaces, even when we can't all be together.
I love that. And there's like, holograms, like I want to just send my hologram all over the place
And then we can do scouting missions and then we can go back if he likes something or , um , do that kind of stuff. So ,
Yeah . And again, it's back to the, kind of the concept of the hybrid piece or if there's a time and a place for digital, and there's a time and a place for us to all be together. Thank you so much for joining me today has been an absolute pleasure speaking with you. And we hope to talk to you again soon.
Thank you. I much appreciate the opportunity.
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