Balfour Beatty, the international infrastructure group, and Autodesk, Inc.(NASDQ: ADSK), a world leader in 3D design, engineering and entertainment software, have signed a three year, $12 million agreement that will help Balfour Beatty expand its adoption of Building Information Modelling (BIM). The agreement, one of the first of its kind and size in the infrastructure industry, will enable Balfour Beatty to better serve customers across the world through increased use of BIM, an intelligent model–based process that provides insight for creating and managing building and infrastructure projects faster, more economically, and with less environmental impact. The UK Government will mandate the use of BIM on public building projects beginning in 2016.
Ian Tyler, Chief Executive of Balfour Beatty, commented: “Innovation and efficiency are at the heart of our strategy and this agreement sets Balfour Beatty apart from its competitors. It extends across all of our capabilities and markets, from infrastructure investment and professional services to construction and on-going built asset management. We will be able to provide our clients with a wealth of new information about the infrastructure we are building and managing on their behalf.”
Balfour Beatty has already used Autodesk BIM on a number of high profile projects including the San Francisco Bay Bridge, the widening of the M25 outside London, and design and construction for the replacement of Terminal 2 at London Heathrow International Airport. For the new Terminal 2B, the largest ever airside project at Heathrow, the use of BIM helped the company coordinate over 30 active stakeholders through 13 interfacing projects and enabled a peak workforce of 1,600 to complete work, including a 2 km diaphragm wall, the largest in Europe, ahead of schedule.
“Moving to BIM is about more than implementing new technology – to fully realise its benefits requires a process change. Through this comprehensive agreement, Balfour Beatty is demonstrating its commitment to this change and Autodesk is excited to work with them and help extend the value of BIM to their clients around the world,” said Roland Zelles, Vice President, Autodesk Architecture Engineering and Construction, Europe, Middle East and Africa.
Through the agreement, thousands of Balfour Beatty users across all international operations will have access to a range of Autodesk BIM solutions including Autodesk Revit software products, AutoCAD Civil 3D software, Autodesk Navisworks software products, AutoCAD software and Autodesk 3ds Max Design software.
Autodesk will provide significant training, support and strategic consultancy through Autodesk Consulting to help Balfour Beatty maximise their use of BIM.
Media enquiries:
Matt Graydon
Balfour Beatty plc
Tel 020 7216 6911
Notes to editors:
1. Balfour Beatty (www.balfourbeatty.com) is a world-class infrastructure group with capabilities in professional services, construction services, support services and infrastructure investments.
We work in partnership with our customers principally in the UK, continental Europe, the US, South-East Asia, Australia and the Middle East, who value the highest levels of quality, safety and technical expertise.
Key infrastructure markets include transportation (roads, rail and airports); social infrastructure (education, specialist healthcare, and various types of accommodation); utilities (water, gas and power transmission and generation) and commercial (offices, leisure and retail).
The Group delivers services essential to the development, creation and care of these infrastructure assets including project design, financing and management, engineering and construction, and facilities management services.
Balfour Beatty employs 50,000 people around the world.
2. Autodesk, Inc. is a leader in 3D design, engineering and entertainment software. Customers across the manufacturing, architecture, building, construction, and media and entertainment industries - including the last 17 Academy Award winners for Best Visual Effects - use Autodesk software to design, visualise and simulate their ideas. Since its introduction of AutoCAD software in 1982, Autodesk continues to develop the broadest portfolio of state-of-the-art software for global markets. For additional information about Autodesk, visit www.autodesk.com.
3. Building Information Modelling (BIM) is an intelligent model–based process that provides insight for creating and managing building and infrastructure projects faster, more economically and with less environmental impact. Autodesk BIM solutions for building and infrastructure lifecycles are based on intelligent models created with Autodesk Revit software products and AutoCAD Civil 3D software. Helping to expand the benefits of BIM is a powerful set of complementary solutions for visualising and simulating projects virtually, documentation and professional drafting and data management and collaboration. The Autodesk Building Design and Autodesk Infrastructure Design Suites offer a comprehensive set of tools to support BIM workflows in a single, cost-effective package.
