Consortium appointed to deliver common data environment

Providing best-in-class information and asset management in line with emerging industry standards, the CDE is at the heart of Heathrow’s Information strategy, and will ensure the efficient whole-life management of Heathrow’s critical assets.

It will be its primary common information repository and allow for specific controls to be put in place to share information in a controlled manner with suppliers and across Heathrow’s departments.

Wes Simmons, GroupBC CEO, said: “GroupBC is thrilled to have been selected as the CDE for this prestigious project. It’s a marquee win in the global infrastructure and aviation sector. Partnering with Excitech and Autodesk brings together a wealth of experience and expertise focused on delivering a world class solution to Heathrow, set to lay down a benchmark for other major aviation clients to aspire to.”

Expected to be completed by December 2020, the project is already underway. It will see the deployment of Autodesk’s BIM 360 visualisation and design tools integrated and underpinned with management and governance from GroupBC’s Enterprise CDE.

Jo Ellman Brown, PMO Director at Heathrow, said: “We are aiming to be the first airport operator in the world who can leverage value from our digital assets, allowing our people to work in a safe environment, design and plan in a collaborative way, and operate a fully integrated asset system.  

David Hughes, Excitech’s Managing Director, said: “The GroupBC and Autodesk technologies being deployed are market-leading and will enable Heathrow to trust the data they hold and have the confidence to make decisions based on ‘one version of the truth’.

As well as enabling Heathrow to have accurate, up-to-date information readily available in the CDE, the new solution will result in fewer surveys and reduced costs as a result of earlier and greater collaboration across all parties. Additionally, maintenance costs will reduce through better, earlier clash detection and more accurate maintenance information being readily available.

About GroupBC

GroupBC has been developing enterprise-scale information management solutions for construction-related projects and asset owners since 1998. Our extensible, UK hosted Common Data Environment (CDE) makes it easy for teams to collaborate, manage and share documents data and spatial information from a central, secure cloud-based platform.

GroupBC is renowned for pushing the boundaries of technology, integrating project and asset data with external systems and datasets in order to provide rich and valuable insights which enable timelier and better decision making. Customers include Balfour Beatty, Costain, Nationwide Building Society, Sainsbury’s and Thames Water.

www.groupbc.com

About Excitech

Excitech provides technology solutions and services for the construction sector, supporting the complete project life cycle from the manufacture of building products through to design and construction, building handover and maintenance. Its services include the provision of software, consultancy, training and support, and it offers a comprehensive range of IT, Document Management and Facilities Management solutions.

Established in 1985, Excitech is the largest Autodesk Platinum Partner in the UK specialising in the construction sector, and has accreditations with leading technology vendors such as Microsoft, Dell, and HP. For further information, visit www.excitech.co.uk.

About Autodesk

Autodesk makes software for people who make things. If you’ve ever driven a high-performance car, admired a towering skyscraper, used a smartphone, or watched a great film, chances are you’ve experienced what millions of Autodesk customers are doing with our software. Autodesk gives you the power to make anything.

Autodesk, AutoCAD, BIM 360 and Revit are registered trademark of Autodesk, Inc., and/or its subsidiaries and/or affiliates in the USA and/or other countries. All other brand names, product names or trademarks belong to their respective holders. Autodesk reserves the right to alter product and services offerings, and specifications and pricing at any time without notice, and is not responsible for typographical or graphical errors that may appear in this document.  For further information visit www.autodesk.com.

© 2019 Autodesk, Inc. All rights reserved.