What sessions should Facilities / Operations attend at AECTechCon 2025?

Ah, another AEC conference... and I'll bet it's all geared toward Architects and GCs... or is it? 

Register for AECTechCon 2025 here. 

Spoiler alert... it is not. AECTechCon runs May 7th & 8th in St. Charles, Missouri, not too far from the STL airport. I've been to this conference many times over the years, and it just keeps getting bigger and better (Also? We were in this same venue last year and the food was EXCELLENT for all meals, way better than stale muffins, dry sandwiches, and salads in a shot glass like I've experienced at other places).

Coming from the owner's side, I know it's hard to find classes with our peers that actually apply to facilities, so I did the leg work for you and put together a list of classes that actually apply to our part of the lifecycle. Apologies for making multiple recommendations for some of the time slots, but there is a lot of good content, even for those of us who are not on the design, production, and construction side. 

There are different official tracks, but obviously the folks in operations can span such a wide variety of skills and tasks, that we would want to attend across multiple themes:

·       BIM/VDC

·       Innovation & Emerging Technologies

·       IT & Infrastructure

·       Safety

·       Workforce Development

DAY ONE

BREAKFAST – registration and food

Conference Opening – Leonard Teonjes, Alex Belkofer, and Travis Byerly

Keynote: Empowering the Next Generation of AECO - Dustin Burns

Democratizing Digital Maturity through Discovery - Eveart Foster

BREAK – Exhibit Hall Opens

The Power of Low-Code Automation – Carl Storms

OR Enhancing Construction Safety with QR codes – Joe Shyrock

BREAK

Modeling Sustainability: Embedding Data for Reduced Embodied Carbon in Architectural Design – Ryan Taube

OR Women in Construction – Kendra Brown (DFW Intl. Airport), Gwen Arenberg, Jamie Berzon, and Leticia Lago

LUNCH

Digital Twin (Design Data Management) for Operations – Melanie Stone (yes, plugging my own class, but for obvious reasons)

OR Reality Capture to BIM in Critical Environments – Aaron Johnson, Marc Cady, and Aurore Fournier

BREAK

Using Existing MEP Systems in a New Project – Ray Blowers and Geoff McCally

OR Getting Along: The Importance of Interconnectivity within your Systems – Victor Zhang and Jacob Shavel

OR The AI Advantage: Tools, Techniques, and Truths – Carl Storms

BREAK

General Session: Apps for Mental Health / Construction Safety

Closing Keynote: It’s Still Construction: Restoring Faith in Tech with the Craft Workforce – Sal D’ambrosia

HAPPY HOUR – Food, drinks, networking, and asking exhibitors questions

DAY TWO

BREAKFAST – Registration and food

Opening Keynote – Paperless Buildings: How, What, & Why of ConTech – Hamzah Shanbari

General Session: Bridging the Gap from Office to Field – Paul Hedgepath

Safety Talk with AGCMO’s – Brandon Anderson

BREAK

Enhancing Operations through Digital Delivery and Digital Twins – Mark Mergenschroer

OR Practicing AI using the fundamentals of Data & Processes in Construction – Juan Nunez and Jason Jiang

OR Building Trust and Innovation: Psychological Safety in AEC – Karen Taylor-Liggins

BREAK

Building Operations: Addressing the 95% of Wasted Construction Data – Mark Mergenschroer

LUNCH

Using Augmented Reality to Add Life to the Model – Tom Colyer and Nick Landzettel

OR Utilizing Technology to Minimize Incidents & Orchestrate a Culture of Safety, Efficiency, and Engagement – Tyfoom & VeeJay

OR Data-Driven Insights: Leveraging Dashboards for Effective Cost Analysis – Ryan Meyer

OR Leading Change: Empowering Teams for a Tech-Ready Future – Jeff Visnic

BREAK

Leading Digital Transformation Across Diverse Teams without Direct Authority – Brian Myers

Strategizing AI: From Blueprints to Algorithms – Cindy Baldwin & Scott Yates

Building Your Future: A Comprehensive Guide to BIM Career Development – Katie King and Adam Lega

BREAK

General Session: Boots on the Ground Embracing Field Tech – Jeff Montgomery & Panel

CLOSING – Alex Belkofer & Travis Byerly – Closing Remarks and Prizes 

Watch a video recap of past events: LinkedIn video

Digital Twin From the Owner's Perspective - AUGI Con 2024 Video

A few weeks ago, I was honored to be one of the few speakers chosen to present at the first ever AUGI Con 2024.

There were so many great questions and discussions from the attendees. 

The recording of that presentation is now live!

AUGI Con 2024 area - Digital Twin from the Owner's Perspective video 

(EDIT: Now also available on YouTube! Though you still need to go through the Community App to access the slide deck and handout.)

You do need to be registered as a member at AUGI.com first, and then the AUGI Community (available desktop and in an app) which will be checked against your AUGI membership (there is a free membership level available, so there is no cost involved). 

I was worried about going over on time and talked pretty fast, so it's probably only about a 30 minute presentation, with about 15 minutes of Q&A. (If this presentation sounds familiar outside of AUGI, I gave a very similar talk at AECTechCon here in St. Louis the following week.)

In addition to a video recording of the session, my slide deck, as well as a 10 page course handout that provides almost as much detail as the talk itself, are also available in the mighty AUGI Community. 

First it was "BIMwashing", now it is "TWINwashing".

Before we try to sell Digital Twin services to facility operators, let's discuss how owners are using your design data today. 

Understanding what an Integrated Workplace Management System, or Computerized Maintenance Management System, is will be vital to determining what your client actually needs from your construction documentation. 

Learning how few people will actually interact directly with your models can bring perspective of how facilities/operations curates technical documentation and makes updates throughout the lifecycle of their campus.

Who is the Owner

• Who are the stakeholders?
• How will they access your data?

IWMS

• What is an Integrated Workplace Management System?
• How does my data get ingested & updated over the lifecycle?

Project Closeout

• What handover mistakes are commonly seen from the AEC side?
• What mistakes are commonly seen from the Owner’s side?

How does Digital Twin fit in?

• What real world problem would a ‘Digital Twin’ solve?

In addition to giving definitions and background data, real world examples were also provided at each step, from my 20+ years of experience working in Facilities, networking with other Owners, and being a consultant who implements and supports facilities operations and management around the world.

Thank you to my team over at R.O.I. Consulting Group for highlighting my Digital Twin for FM session to our blog readers!

Proptech at Pratt - Hybrid Event

My company, R.O.I. Consulting Group, is partnering with the Pratt Institute once again, to produce a free educational and networking event for the Property Technology community (architecture, construction, facility management, and corporate real estate). 

Proptech at Pratt 2024

March 28th

Pratt Institute - Manhattan Campus

144 West 14th Street, 2nd Floor, New York, NY 10011

2:00 - 6:00 pm Eastern Time

The schedule is packed with good content surrounding IWMS, Smart Buildings, Sustainability, Digital Twin, Costs and Carbon, Facilities Management, Virtual Construction, IoT & Sensors, Corporate Real Estate and more.

There is an option to attend virtually if you are not local to NY, which is how I will be participating. Each of these will be presented in 20 minute segments, so you can dial in for the sessions you want and work them in between your existing obligations.

If you do want to register to attend in person, please note that you'll want to scroll down on the registration page as the Happy Hour registration (afterwards, from 6-8pm) is a separate form.

And, even if you can't make the daytime sessions, you're still welcome to come to the networking portion in the evening, no worries!

Smart Museum - Digital Twin at The Wright Museum

Last year, my team at R.O.I. Consulting Group was fortunate enough to be able to work on a great project with the Charles H. Wright Museum of African American History as an IoT sensor partner (though I also like to think our experience with digital twin and facilities management issues and platforms came into play as well).

You may have heard about them from Autodesk University 2023, Operationalizing a Smart Museum: An Owner's Journey to Digital Twin. This talk was recorded and the slides and handout are available for download, and you get to learn about how they are creating the next generation Green museum.

We primarily worked with their Chief Sustainability Officer (CSO), Leslie Tom, and their Exhibit Designer, Korzell Coe. They have a lot of really interesting initiatives that their model and sensors will be the base for, and a big team behind them making the vision that they expressed become reality.

I have been meaning to share their AU presentation, and unfortunately had not gotten around to that yet... but what more perfect time than today? They've been working with Autodesk on a highlight video of their project and it just went live! 

Having worked in facilities for over 20 years, it is SO important for us to hear from the Owner / Operators of these campuses directly, what they are actually doing, the problems they are solving. Architecture, Engineering, Construction, and Consulting firms should not be trying to push technologies that facility engineers and space planners and energy managers do not need. It is a waste of effort on both sides and can lead to a lot of dissatisfaction of unmet expectations. So, really understanding where these owners comes from allows you as a service provider to recommend and provide something useful and wanted that solves the problems the building owner has, and brings them back to you as a trusted adviser and partner.

READ AND WATCH on the Autodesk website

You can also Watch on LinkedIn. 

This video not only shows their beautiful facility, but explains their goals and some of the documentation issues they've had in the past, and how they moved past that and recreated record drawings for their facilities management and future planning needs, as well as to connect to sensors.

The video is only 4 minutes long, so please watch, BUT also I encourage you to carve out some time to read the article beneath it, as it delves into more of their drivers, the roi, sustainability, environmental and cultural awareness, historical artifact preservation, and much more!

Another article has been published about this project:

How the Wright Museum’s Digital Transformation is Leading the Way for Sustainability in Museums

Discover how the Charles H. Wright Museum of African American History is leveraging smart technology to become a model of cultural and sustainable preservation.

Reality of BIM in FM - Podcast

This summer, I sat down with Angela Simoes and Jonathan Girroir from TechSoft 3D to discuss Digital Twin, and how that actually plays out in the real world.

• Apple Podcast
• SoundCloud
• YouTube

While I am currently a consultant, and have been since 2016. Most of my career was on the owner / operator side of the AECO industry. I will never try to convince our clients to use a solution I would not use in their shoes. 

In fact, one of the services that we offer here at R.O.I. Consulting Group is evaluating IWMS and IoT solutions for clients and making an informed recommendation to them, based on our knowledge of the platforms and their needs. So, my leadership and coworkers are of the same mind as me in this regard.

On a high level, we discussed:

1. What does it look like when an ideal model-based handover occurs and is ingested into the operations management system?

vs

2. What does handover actually look like and where does it go wrong?

Topics that were touched upon: 

• In this discussion, I explain why owners need a single file format for deliverables, and how those (either DWG or RVT) work with our IWMS / CAFM / CPIP systems.
• How BIM requirements are laid out in materials specs/SOWs.
• We do not get the deliverables that we spec and pay for, sometimes intentionally, sometimes due to shifting priorities.
• Collaboration between teams during design and construction is far overstated.
• There can be multiple points of failure during closeout and handover that results in clients not receiving editable documentation or consistent documentation.
• Every design team should have at least one programmer who can automate changes across a project. Don't do this manually, come on.
• Don't make assumptions on Facility Engineering requirements, ask why that spec is there.
• The IWMS is the single source of truth and touchpoint for most users, not the model.
• How databases have longevity and portability, ensuring long term maintenance.
• The model MUST to be editable, for maintenance corrections and future renovations.
• Keeping models up to date saves vast amounts of money on future projects not requiring surveying and redrawing.
• The biggest improvement in our segment of the industry is actually SaaS IWMS hosting (regular included updated) vs internal or consultant hosted (years between updates, so many customizations that upgrades are long and expensive).
• The design team needs to speak to the owner, meaning the operator... not the project manager. If you are involving the occupant, you can involve the FM team, too, include it in that process.
• See Also: Who is the Owner and how do they use your deliverables? 
• The technology is there, but the processes and coordination still have a long way to go.
• Scanning existing conditions is getting easier as devices become cheaper.
• Monitoring devices, sensors are so much cheaper and easier, you can DIY. For example, the Disruptive sensors that are plug n play. 
• Consumer level devices such as these are easier to get past Finance / IT, etc. compared to traditional BAS/BMS and hand surveying which is more complex and expensive.

Recognition from Verdantix

When I worked on the Owner's side, I remember reading a few Verdantix reports in my day. So, it has been pretty exciting this year, being able to play a small part in my company being included with the impressive service providers listed in their "Green Quadrant: Workplace Systems Integrators 2023" report.

Press release: R.O.I. Consulting Group

Going to the source, I was happy to see the Green Building Quadrant I'm familiar with. Please click through and read for more insights and perspective from Verdantix.

https://www.verdantix.com/insights/blogs/verdantix-green-quadrant-reveals-leading-workplace-systems-integrators-in-a-growing-market-

Green Quadrant - Workplace Systems Integrators 2023: Verdantix

Congratulations to all of my colleagues at R.O.I.! They are an amazingly talented group of people, providing implementation and support services for multiple IWMS / CAFM / CMMS / CPIP platforms, as well as helping building owners evaluate and select what platform is right for them.

Among those platforms we actively support:

• MRI - Manhattan CenterStone
• Planon
• Serraview
• Tango
• Archibus
• Tandem

And we also partner with a few IoT easy-to-use sensor vendors, including: 

• Disruptive
• Freespace
• Vergesense

OT: What they think I do meme

A few years back, I ran across this IT meme, and made some equivalent memes that apply my own industry. The original: 

Tech Support

• What my friends think I do
• What my Mom thinks I do
• What Society thinks I do
• What my Boss thinks I do
• What I think I do
• What I actually do

CAD Operator

• What my Mom thinks I do
• What my Friends think I do
• What my Boss thinks I do
• What Society thinks I do
• What I think I do
• What I really do

CAD Manager

Facility Manager

AUGI Survey Reminders

The majority of responses to the AUGI Annual Survey do come as a direct result of our email blasts (if you are an AUGI member, please check your settings to ensure you receive AUGI Bulletins, which is any news from AUGI, separate from ads).

Just for fun, I thought I would post some of the content from the email blasts that we send out. Yes, they are primarily a call to action, but I also try to include information, in the form of charts from last year, or a snapshot of the current year's survey, that our members might find interesting.

https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/2023AUGISurvey

WIB - Women in BIM is also conducting a survey right now, not affiliated with AUGI, but as long as you're in a mood to take surveys, feel free to jump into theirs

The Global Work Survey:  BIM and digital roles across the built environment (surveymonkey.co.uk)

Salary Survey Launch Email

We have the expected questions about pay and benefits, but there is also a chance to share information on what markets your company serves or what specialty services they offer. Our Hot Topic page has questions that might vary from year to year, in order to explore how (and how quickly) our work is changing.

So that this year’s review can provide measurable and meaningful data, it is important that all AUGI members volunteer a couple of minutes of their time and a little bit of information (anonymously, data is not in any way connected to your user account and will only be reported in broad groups), so that everyone can get an idea of the current state of their industry.

Even if you have recently been laid off, furloughed, or have had reduced hours please take the time to participate (with your most recent full time job details), and indicate your change in employment, because we would like to know that, too.

Reminder Email

Below is a chart of industry representation in the survey so far. Is your field well represented? Please share the survey link with your coworkers and other colleagues and urge them to add to the dataset, which will increase the accuracy of the results.

If you are logged in, you can download results of past surveys here: AUGI Salary Survey Archives. In addition to the Survey review from Melanie Stone, the 2022 download also includes advice from Mark Kiker on justifying staffing increases, and KaDe King on how to negotiate pay raises or starting salaries.

Here are the Top 5 Hottest Jobs last year:

And these are the Top 10 Most Appreciated Jobs last year:

Here are the Top 10 highest paying design discipline specialties in 2022:

And, finally, after you have taken this year’s survey, you might want to get ready to request a raise from your employer, so here are some resources to help you in negotiating salary: Find Your Price and Use the Numbers.

Even if you have recently been laid off, furloughed, or have had reduced hours please take the time to participate (with your most recent full time job details), and indicate your change in employment in those respective questions, because we would like to know that, too.

The encouraging news is that, from responses so far, only 1% of the industry is reporting a reduction in hours, furlough or layoff in 2023! That is an improvement over recent years.

For those affected, please remember to network online to get connected with those companies still hiring, the AUGI careers page, the AUGI forums or our LinkedIn group. You can also list yourself on the AUGI Resource Directory.

Final 2023 Survey Reminder

Voice your company’s experiences with business expansion or contraction, or your own gauge of job security and layoffs. Which markets does your company serve and how do those specialties affect wages and job security. Is AI having an impact? How are staffing concerns and remote work adoption?

In closing, the below images provide a look back over past survey results. at the average salary* for Designers (our most popular job title), as well as the industries who reported the largest raises last year.

AUGI 2023 Annual Survey

It's that time of year again, folks! The running of the AUGI Annual Survey. Where YOU get to reveal how the industry is really faring.

How secure is your job? How busy is your company? Are you using AI? Are you back to office?

Take the Survey 

Open until July 18th!

(5 minutes, anonymous, results in the September issue of AUGIWorld Magazine)

If you have not taken the survey, please feel free to watch this video where I took the survey and you can hear my dulcet tones talking through my thoughts on how I answered some of the questions.

YouTube walkthrough of AUGI Salary Survey

This image is a snapshot from the 2022 survey, showing average page, and highlighting a couple of facts. Feel free to check the salary survey archives to see past surveys in full.

This is a snapshot of our survey results so far in 2023. Civil/Surveying/GIS has a pretty good lead on participation. If you'd like to see more representation of your industry, please share the survey link with your coworkers and colleagues.

Finally, this is a snapshot of the most common markets served (industry served).

2022 More Results for the IFMA ITC's Digital Twin Survey

IFMA Survey Summary: Expectations and Reality

 

Last year, R.O.I. partnered with IFMA’s ITC and Autodesk to run our first annual survey on the state of electronic documentation for building owners and operators. Autodesk recently published a whitepaper revealing the highlights of that survey, demonstrating current state and desired future state. Please download this document and see what the industry has to say!

 

The 2023 IFMA ITC Annual Digital Twin Survey is running now. The IMFA survey has closed, please keep an eye out for results.

Please take a couple of minutes to chime in with information about your facility.

 

While you’re here, you might want to check out my prior article on the current state of electronic records and BIM requirements.

 

What Makes a Digital Twin?

 

Much like CAFM (Computer Aided Facility Management) and IWMS (Integrated Workplace Management System), what people believe a technology does or should contain is influenced by their respective needs. As a result of this survey, we see that the top component of a Digital Twin is a facility record model.

 

 Which Elements Are In Use Today?

 

The prior chart displays what facilities want from their technology adoption, as an end goal. They also shared what elements are already in use. We look forward to monitoring this during our annual surveys and seeing how the industry progresses.

 

Why Not Digital Twin?

 

For the respondents not yet utilizing a Digital Twin, a variety of obstacles were revealed. There are many replies citing a lack of resources (whether that be skills, funding, leadership support, or current large projects which would benefit), but nearly half of the negative replies indicate they cannot currently justify a business case.

 

Dominant Use Cases

 

For those who shared their expected business case, the most popular is supporting maintenance. Though, visualization for space and workplace management is not far behind. Commissioning a building and execution of jobs are fairly close in popularity as well. Some additional use cases were suggested, strategic portfolio planning, simulation, predictive design, and baseline comparisons.

 

 

Anticipated Business Benefits

 

When we asked, “Does your senior management see value in Digital Twin?”, a resounding 78% affirmed that they have support.

 

When queried, on a scale of 1 to 5, what are the most valuable benefits you expect from a Digital Twin initiative? All of the suggested benefits ranked strongly, indicating the importance for a wide range of functions. Receiving better deliverables and having an easier time keeping record documents up to date post-occupancy were valued most.

 

 

Please keep an eye out on notifications from R.O.I., Autodesk, and the IFMA Information Technology Community (ITC) announcing future results and surveys.