The need for better coordination and design communication, materials, schedules, budgets and compliance across an increasingly dispersed team of stakeholders is becoming apparent, as a result of infrastructure projects becoming more complex, with increasing requirements for sustainability, says software company CAD Corporation.

“The recent global recession has dramatically affected the level of new construction projects and has changed expectations for the bottom line. Owners and engineering service providers need to achieve more with less and deliver projects faster and with less environmental impact to compete in the construction sector with other contractors and firms,” says CAD Corporation technical manager Gary Mansfield.

The company notes that communicating project proposals and design intent to stake-holders can be time consuming and is often disconnected from the design process. In addi- tion, it can be difficult to communicate what a project will look like and how it will perform using only two-dimensional drawings.

“When designing, civil engineers typically need to balance project objectives such as safety, cost, environmental impact and client standards. The creation of design alternatives that meet local standards and constraints is often a time-consuming manual process. Further adding to the complexity of infra-structure projects is the required coordination among engineering disciplines, owners and agencies to evaluate the impact and feasibility of design changes, which is common in this complex design environment.

“The biggest fear for any designer is identify- ing design problems during construction that can often cause delays and require reworking, ultimately causing a project to exceed the allocated budget. To avoid this, design challenges need to be identified and addressed as early as possible,” highlights Mansfield.

CAD Corporation states that, over the years, industry professionals have found ways to limit their design because of these challenges. “We are living in a technology age that enables designers to design more freely and analyse design requirements in a safe environment where they can simulate and test their designs to ensure that they will function the way they are intended to,” he points out.

CAD Corporation’s Autodesk Infrastructure Design Suite – which was released this year – provides civil engineering tools for infrastructure design, which helps engineers with design, business and environmental challenges while working on infrastructure projects.

The Autodesk Infrastructure Design Suite provides a solution that will assist industry professionals in improving their business. It extends familiar AutoCAD workflows by adding the power of building information modelling (BIM) for infrastructure, which combines tools for planning, designing, building and managing transportation, utility, land and water infrastructure.

Mansfield says BIM is transforming the way building and infrastructure projects are being planned, designed, constructed and managed. It is helping engineering professionals and owners in every segment of the building and infrastructure industries to realise benefits throughout the project life cycle.

“BIM is an intelligent model-based process that helps provide insight into creating and managing projects faster, more economic- ally and with a lower environmental impact,” he notes.