Training learning paths for Civil Engineers

Civil engineering involves a variety of fields, such as surveying, geospatial analysis, transportation, infrastructure design or drainage. Getting trained in all those areas can be a challenging task, so you may work in a specialised area, or over time develop your skills in a number of areas. This article should provide you with some guidance on how to acquire the relevant skills you need for your role or areas of interest, based on your current level and your area of specialisation.

As a starting point, I would suggest Excitech’s AutoCAD Civil 3D, Fundamentals course, which provides a thorough introduction to Autodesk Civil 3D. This includes hands-on exercises on surface creation from a topographic survey, road design, cut and fill volumes, pipe networks design and drawing production tools. Alternatively, new users can opt for the AutoCAD Civil 3D, Foundation Skills course instead. This is a reduced version of the Fundamentals to be taken as the basis for one of the follow-up courses that specialise in a particular area.

If you are involved in land surveying, you can learn how to download and process survey data inside Autodesk Civil 3D by attending our AutoCAD Civil 3D, Working with Survey Data course. If you are interested in geospatial analysis, the AutoCAD Map 3D, Essentials course will demonstrate how to create, manage, and map data.

For engineers working in Highway Design, AutoCAD Civil 3D, Transportation Design will steer you through the more advanced aspects, like applying standards, superelevation, roundabout design, road widening, and road rehabilitation. In addition, the Autodesk Vehicle Tracking course will give you all the tools you need for vehicle swept path analysis.

To help you in the design of drainage and utility networks, the AutoCAD Civil 3D, Drainage Design course will detail how to use Autodesk Civil 3D in conjunction with other design tools such as MX and WinDes and provide a realistic workflow from the design to the analysis and presentation.

Another piece of software that every civil engineer should know is Autodesk Infraworks. Autodesk InfraWorks for Civil Engineering will show you how to create preliminary designs and sketches that illustrate initial proposals to others involved in the project and how to create presentations of those designs in a photorealistic environment. Related to this last aspect, AutoCAD Civil 3D, Design Visualisation demonstrates how you can export Autodesk Civil 3D design models into 3ds Max Design to create high quality visualisations that can be utilised in the exploration of design alternatives, visual simulation and public consultation.

Aimed at Project Managers, the AutoCAD Civil 3D for Project Managers course provides an overview of the functionality of Autodesk Civil 3D, covering BIM, the use of basic modifying and query tools and how a project in Civil 3D is typically configured. There is also guidance on working in a multi-discipline project and in a collaborative environment using Revit and Navisworks.

To underpin your skills, you may want to consider the Autodesk Professional Certification Exam, which is available for a number of Autodesk software solutions, including Civil 3D.

Explore our full range of Civil 3D training courses here:

https://www.excitech.co.uk/Services/Training/AutoCAD-Civil-3D-Training

The BIM Business Improvement Series: No.2

This is the second in a two-part series of blogs, where I have been sharing some of the common non-compliances, I have identified during the Lloyds Register Gap Analysis process, which is the first step towards BIM Level 2 and ISO19650 Accreditation. In part one, I highlighted three common findings, and during this blog I will identify another three. As before, I will highlight my common findings and explain why it might be important to you and your organisation. Each finding will follow with  a few tips which although maybe obvious, are often forgotten.

No.4: No scope of BIM services

This finding was initially a surprising one for me, but it has been found to be a very common one. When I ask an organisation, ”Do you have a clearly defined scope of services relating to BIM? many organisations may reply with, “we generate our designs using BIM authoring systems like Autodesk Revit”. However, if you ask; Do you provide information management services? Would you help a Client write their Employers Information Requirements (EIR’s)? Would you provide a Common Data Environment? The answers are less confident and often unknown.

Ensuring you have defined your scope of services relating to BIM is a very important consideration and often a strategic business decision. There may be many elements of BIM that would be considered standard practice, but equally there may be some services that may require additional effort and therefore incur extra costs, or services that would be sub-contracted or wouldn’t be offered by your own organisation. Understanding these constraints may support initial client conversations, cost planning and fee structure, as well as de-risking delivery.

Tip: Developing a spreadsheet that considers the services provided at each project stage is an efficient way of mapping out a company’s standard service offer, services that would incur extra fee, and services that would not be provided. Often customers I have worked with have expanded these spreadsheets to include standards and specifications worked to at each project stage and the technologies used to provide a quick and easily understood guide.   

   

No.5: No Supply Chain Competency Assessments

There are many references within BIM standards and specifications relating to the assessment of the BIM competency and capacity of suppliers, and this requirement applies to the entire supply chain. You need to be confident your suppliers can deliver to the Employers Information Requirements and your own project or contractual requirements. A lack of assessment is likely to introduce significant project and business risk and can often result in a BIM enabled project containing suppliers delivering in 2D CAD and ignoring BIM completely, this is to the detriment of the rest of the project team. It is very difficult to work collaboratively and implement clash detection if one of the designers insists on working in 2D CAD, for example.

There are several competency assessment forms available in the public domain, but the main and consistent recommendation is to assess your suppliers in three core areas:

1) Their BIM understanding

2) Individuals experience and qualifications

3) IT systems

So, if you employ or sub-contract BIM related work activities to a third-party organisation, you should apply due diligence and assess their BIM capability.

Tip: You can assess your supply chain at any point, you don’t have to wait for a new project. I would recommend that understanding your own supply chain partners capabilities will enable you to establish their BIM maturity, influence your own BIM strategy and assist in future conversations and support.

No 6. No formal process for design co-ordination, clash identification and method to resolve

It is the responsibility of designers to check and co-ordinate their designs with other disciplines prior to issuing information to a project Common Data Environment (CDE). However, when asked what the formal process is or if it is documented, this is often undefined.

Clash detection is simply a technology supported process to assist design co-ordination. There is nothing wrong in my opinion to apply this initially using visual inspections within a design authoring system such as Autodesk’s Revit, and then on more complex schemes introducing Autodesk’s Glue or Navisworks to provide improved visibility and control. Whatever the workflow is, employee’s need to be provided with instruction and guidance and this is often in the form of company standards, methods and procedures. One of the main Non-conformances found during a Gap Analysis is a lack of instruction to staff; which organisations can make the quickest and most effective business improvement.

Tip: Think about that person starting their first job within our industry. If you are not at their side, how will they know what to do. Providing clear standards, methods and procedures and making them readily available will provide that required guidance when needed and breed confidence for any new employee.

I hope you found these blogs useful, and they gave you a few things to consider on your BIM journey. But if you don’t want to do it alone, we can assist you with a Gap analysis, BIM training and consultancy.

Find out more about our BIM Consultancy services here:     

https://www.excitech.co.uk/Services/Consultancy/BIM-Consulting-Strategy-and-Execution

Understand what is involved in our Gap Analysis process here: 

https://www.excitech.co.uk/Services/Consultancy/Design-Productivity-Review

And explore our regularly scheduled BIM training course here: 

https://www.excitech.co.uk/Services/Training/Training-Courses/BIM-Processes-and-Procedures

As well as BIM Training, we also offer a variety of other training courses. Find out more here:

https://www.excitech.co.uk/Services/Training