Autodesk Collaborate Pro is a cloud-based platform. Previously this module used to be known as BIM 360 Design. Collaborate Pro isn’t seen as a replacement for BIM 360 Design as Users and customers today can still use the BIM 360 Design Module. One thing to take note that Collaborate Pro is part of the new Autodesk Construction Cloud platform and within this platform there is another module called Autodesk Collaborate. To explain the main difference between Collaborate and Collaborate Pro is that Collaborate Pro comes with the ability to be able to Workshare inside in Revit. Whereas Autodesk Collaborate gives its users the ability to view and manage the data within the Browser i.e. model coordination or clash detection.
Autodesk Collaborate Pro is built upon a common data environment (CDE) called Autodesk DOCs. This is a cloud-based platform which gives you the ability to store and host many different file types such as RVT, DWG, Doc, PDF etc. Within this DOCs platform you can assign permissions so that only certain people within the platform can view specific Data. You can mark-up and create issues within certain file types and assign these issues to the specified people on the project. Files and Documents can be issued for specific reviews and run through review processed whereby BIM coordinators or project managers can approve the data and designs within these files. Files can be sent though a transmittal process also whereby the files can be formally sent to other individuals within the platform. All these different functionalities within Autodesk DOCs gives the project managers and BIM Coordinators full traceability as to how the project is progressing and where the snags and issues are occurring. It also specifies who is engaging in the project and who is not and you can build out a specific folder structure whereby all the data is stored within these folders and sub folders.
Along with Autodesk DOCs, a customer who purchases Autodesk Collaborate Pro will also receive access to Design Collaboration, which enables the users to workshare with Revit and be able to publish their models to the cloud.
For a team to publish their model to the “Swim Lane”, they will need to create a package. Within this package area a team can select a specific set, model or document that they want to share to the other teams on this project. This function gives the specific team the ability to choose what they want to share. Once they are happy with the information, they have selected to share they can save the package and then choose to share it to the “Swim Lane”
This system allows the users to be able to share their information and see in a timeline form when it has been shared and who it has been shared by and what there is available for them to be able to consume and use in their own workflows and design.
When the information is shared to the timeline/SwimLane, they will have certain options available to them as shown in the image below. The option of “Explore” allows them to view and explore the model that has been shared. This gives them the ability the inspect the model before they go and consume it into their folder. The option for Compare allows them to compare the current model which has been shared to an older model which has already been shared. What this means is that this will bring up and comparison tab which shows all the objects within the Revit model that has changed and how they have changed i.e., change in size or shape etc. Finally, the option of “Consume” means the team consume and obtain that updated package in the swim lane and they can then go and link this model into their own to use as a reference.
Another main feature within the design collaboration module is the “Changes Tab”. The changes tab gives the users the ability to create a “Watch Group”. A watch group is a feature in which you can select specific items within a model to watch. This means that when a new version of that model is uploaded and if any of those items within the watch group has changed, the user will receive a notification to say it has been changed and how it has changed from the original version to the new.
The meetings tab within Design Collaboration gives the user the ability to track and trace the minutes of meetings and the individuals who attended the meeting also. It also gives them the ability to create follow up meetings and keep the topics of the original meeting for the follow up. You can assign topics to individuals which can include issues they may need to resolve, documents which need to be reviewed, photos which need to be inspected, RFI’s or submittals which need to be tracked etc. From this in the follow up meeting there can be discussion as to whether these topics have been rectified or carried or and they can remain open or resolved depending on the result.
To conclude the Autodesk Collaborate Pro empowers teams within the project to coordinate with clarity, catch errors earlier and save money. This is achieved using the Common Data environment whereby everyone is working with a single source of truth. To book your free demo please contact us directly
