Driving Sustainable Progress With Autodesk

Feature Interview With: Ms. Serene Sia, ASEAN Managing Director at Autodesk

By Ashwini Balan, Eastern Trade Media

Ms. Serene Sia is the managing director for ASEAN at Autodesk. With over 25 years of experience in sales and leadership in the IT industry, Serene has undertaken multiple key roles in the world’s largest business software companies, including SAP, Salesforce, and now, Autodesk. In 2020, Serene was selected as one of Singapore’s Top 100 Women in Technology, an award that recognises women who have made significant contributions to the tech industry. Serene has a strong track record of delivering outstanding results and building strong teams and as a female leader in the sector, is regularly invited to speak and champion for women in the industry.

The questions that did not make it to print, we are sharing with you exclusively here:

1. What are some of the key benefits of Building Information Modelling (BIM) engineering?

Some of the key benefits of BIM:

• Better collaboration – Research has found that BIM facilitates better communication and reduces conflicts and errors by enabling seamless data exchange between project stakeholders. When COVID-19 hit, BIM helped construction companies to overcome the traditional approaches of exchanging designs drawn on paper between multiple stakeholders during lockdown, helping to minimise project delays and improve efficiency.
• Better outcomes – BIM gives designers a real-time digital picture of our cities and environments and lets us plan, deploy and track success or failure in simulations. BIM can be used to monitor existing city facilities in real time, respond to local conditions, the movement of traffic and residents, essential services, and even environmental data to figure out how to do things better.
• Improved sustainability – BIM can help minimise material wastage, saving costs and optimising resources. It can ensure that all plans and sections, quantities and other related documentation are accessible in live views so that the sustainability metrics of these assets are instantly clear to all. Architects and planners can then work together to ensure that design alternatives can be assessed to identify a greener design. BIM can also factor in elements such as schedules of building material quantities to determine percentages of material reuse, recycling, or salvage, heating and cooling vis-à-vis sunlight and natural air flows, people density and corresponding carbon footprint.

2. Is BIM engineering rather new in Asia?

In Asia, while the AEC industry has been aware of BIM and its benefits for years, the actual usage of the tool varies greatly across countries. For instance, in Indonesia, BIM adoption has been slow, when compared to other countries in the region. This includes Malaysia, where BIM innovation was initiated since 2007 by the Malaysian Public Work Department. In 2011, the Construction Industry Development Board was given the mandate to lead BIM uptake in Malaysia. Similarly, Vietnam has seen strong adoption of BIM, with the government implementing roadmaps and frameworks to drive its use since 2015. In Singapore, the Building and Construction Authority implemented the BIM Roadmap in 2010, with the aim that 80% of the construction industry will use BIM by 2015. This is part of the government’s plan to improve the construction industry’s productivity by 25% over the next decade.

The benefits of BIM are so compelling that many governments have mandated the use of BIM for infrastructure projects within their respective countries. Furthermore, the pandemic has accelerated the adoption of digital tools across the AEC industry. During this period, collaboration between remote employees has become critical and achievable, thanks to digital solutions such as BIM. From the Autodesk perspective, we see a positive outlook in the further adoption of BIM and other digital capabilities in Asia.

3. Was the design and construction process delayed due to covid? How did Autodesk handle the challenges?

While the pandemic did pose some challenges, digitalising the entire building lifecycle allowed the team to continue working on the project. Collaboration tools and information management platforms such as BIM, Autodesk Forge, and Autodesk Construction Cloud enabled relevant stakeholders to collaborate remotely, providing valuable flexibility during the lockdown period. For example, digital construction tools saved TÜV SÜD travel and freewheel process costs in the six-digit range. This was especially helpful to the project team as almost 50% of the TÜV SÜD’s project experts were based in Germany. The ability to operate remotely and efficiently meant that they could save on colocation costs. In the long run, these tools can help to reduce longstanding industry challenges, such as over-reliance on manual labour, and help stakeholders to adapt to new ways of working.

4. Why is it so important to incorporate sustainable practices in architecture, engineering and construction?

Sustainable development is one of the most pressing issues facing our economy. Today, the imperative for the AEC industry to become more sustainable is more telling than ever. From buildings, skyscrapers, to infrastructures – almost everything around us has been developed by organisations within the AEC sector, and as a result, a lot of waste is generated by the sector. In fact, the construction industry alone generates nearly a third of global waste, with volume expected to double by 2025. Additionally, more than half of all extracted raw materials are consumed by the construction industry alone.

In addition to waste, with rapid urbanisation and as more people move to cities, the environment and city infrastructures are getting strained to a breaking point. As our natural resources continue to deplete, the demand for better, smarter, and more sustainable infrastructures and buildings, among others, has to be met more efficiently than ever – but with fewer resources. It is therefore crucial for innovators within the AEC sector to embed sustainable practices, in the path forward to a more resilient and sustainable world. 

For organisations within the sector, achieving sustainability is within reach thanks to the wealth of advanced technologies available today. Tapping into technologies such as BIM, digital twin, and generative design can empower innovators to shape the future of sustainable design. BIM can minimise material wastage, save costs and optimise resources, while digital twin technology can boost predictive capabilities, improve building efficiency, and spur innovation. Generative design, which is a design exploration process, can produce designs that reduce materials used and waste produced. 

For example, we are working with Airbus to help advance its vision of sustainable air travel by applying generative design and 3D printing. The collaboration resulted in a lighter aircraft with an airplane partition design that can save up to 3,180kg of fuel per year per partition. In an industry where less weight equals less fuel consumption, using this approach presents a huge opportunity to reduce the adverse effects of air travel on the environment. The same technologies can be applied across a range of AEC use cases, too. 

With nearly 10 billion people soon to be living on the planet and finite resources that can only stretch so far, designing with a sustainable future is the only way forward. Innovators within the AEC sector have a powerful role to play in this journey. 

5. What makes a good architect in today’s age?

Today’s digital landscape is constantly evolving, and it is important for architects to be able to keep up with the most in-demand skills of the market. The ability to harness the power of digital design visualisation and analysis tools will provide professionals in the architecture industry with the ability to stay ahead of what’s next in the industry. To that end, we are determined to help professionals in the AEC industry adapt, prepare, and keep up with the future of work. Autodesk offers education tools, certifications, and credentialling platforms to enable those in the AEC industry to: 

• Gain the knowledge and skills to create high-quality building and infrastructure designs
• Optimise projects with integrated analysis, visualisation, and simulation tools
• Improve predictability by maximising constructability and project coordination

6. Do you think Asia is keeping up with Autodesk’s revolutionary digital tools and solutions or is very much far behind? 

The adoption of digital tools and solutions varies widely across the region. For instance, in Indonesia, less than half of firms have embarked on a digital transformation journey. In particular, the nation’s construction sector has been slow to adopt technology. Conversely, Singapore was found to be among one of the countries in APAC most prepared for the automation era. Singapore’s construction sector has been embracing technology such as BIM to strengthen its digital competency for years. This is part of the government’s Integrated Digital Delivery (IDD) plan, which aims to improve work processes and stakeholder collaboration with digital technologies.

However, the arrival of COVID-19 has propelled digital transformation and we have seen more countries across the region embracing digital tools. Governments are realising that digital transformation is the key to not only survive the pandemic, but to come out of it ready for the next normal. Indonesia, for example, has developed roadmaps towards becoming a Connected Indonesia and Smart City, which is strongly rooted in digitalisation. The development of infrastructures play a crucial role in these plans, and Autodesk has been collaborating with Waskita Karya, one of the largest state-owned enterprises, in driving the adoption of digital solutions and accelerating several national infrastructure projects to completion. Overall, we have seen tremendous progress in Asia’s digital transformation journey, and we are determined to continue supporting our customers to adapt to new ways of working in an increasingly technology-driven world. 

7. What do you think is holding Asia behind? [Follow-Up Question]

For many countries in Asia, their primary concern with technology adoption or automation is how they will disrupt current roles. Some roles may be made redundant, but studies have shown that technology and automation actually create more jobs and opportunities. In fact, the pandemic has cast automation in a new light – an opportunity for workers to up-level their skills, work alongside automation, and subsequently take on high value-adding tasks. This is particularly the case for sectors like construction, manufacturing, and logistics, which rely on manual labour and were significantly disrupted by the pandemic. 

Some countries in the region recognise the opportunities that lie in automation and digitalisation, and are hence, better prepared for the future of work. This is the case for Singapore, where the government recognises that technology disruption is here to stay and will be the key driver for productivity growth. Singapore is one of the top countries in APAC that is the most well prepared to embrace automation. This is due, in part, to the nation’s capacity to invest in education and support workers’ transition to new roles and industries. 

readiness for automation and support disadvantaged workers, such as those with lower education levels. Having the right infrastructure and skills will enable countries to create new roles, and transition workers into these roles with the adaptability and resilience required. Autodesk aims to continue helping the workforce thrive in this new era of automation. We constantly improve our credentialling and certification programs to give workers the skills they need to succeed. 

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