Atkins, the UK's largest engineering and design consultancy, has signed a £5.3 million agreement with Autodesk software to increase its use of Building Information Modeling (BIM), an intelligent model–based process for planning, design, construction and management of building and infrastructure projects.
'A growing number of our clients are requiring BIM on their projects, mainly for its proven cost and productivity benefits and, most importantly, the significant reduction of costly on-site changes,' said Kevin Bezant, Group IS business partner, Atkins. 'I believe we are seeing the global building industry on the threshold of a full-blown transition to BIM.'
Atkins plans, designs and manages the construction of complex infrastructure, such as roads, airports, rail projects, and buildings for clients in both the public and private sectors. The firm plans full BIM implementation on a range of design and engineering projects, including urban planning in China, airports in the Middle East, and the London 2012 Olympic Games.
'Around the world, BIM is changing the way buildings and infrastructure are being designed, built and managed,' said Mark Paraskeva, vice president, Autodesk Europe, Middle East and Africa. 'From multiflex enterprise agreements to our new family of design and creation suites, Autodesk has a range of solutions to help companies of all sizes realize the benefits of BIM and use a broader portfolio of design software.'
