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Customer Challenge

As the construction industry is rapidly evolving, the need for syncing data between two or more common data environments (CDEs), and with other document management solutions, has become more important. Autodesk Construction Cloud, a portfolio of software and services that combines advanced technology, a builders network and predictive insights for construction teams, and SharePoint are two such platforms that allow for efficient data synchronization.

Fort Partners, a leading high-end Property Developer based in Florida, needed to sync, monitor, and manage construction data between the CDEs used by their architects, contractors, partners, and subs with their corporate SharePoint. As this is a sophisticated folder-to-folder, file-to-file sync, Fort Partners required a solution that could map the transfer of data between different CDEs to align with their corporate data strategy.

• Over 5 document controller work hours saved per week per project
• Increased document controller productivity for both the owner and their construction parties
• ROI in less than 3 months

“ACC Connect is the link between our projects, the contractors we work with, and our managing offices. With the vast number of connectors already included, this solid solution will allow us to connect Autodesk to other systems in the future including our ERP, Cost management, digital signature, collaboration and even our partners’ systems.” – Walid Achi, Fort Partners CIO

Project Goals

Fort Partners sought to streamline their operations with a unified platform for managing all project-related documents and data in one place. To realize that platform’s full potential, they also need to ensure it could talk to various other document sources. The solution needed enough flexibility to be reconfigured from project to project.

Having a unified platform at the center of these synchronizations and workflows would help their teams save time and money, while also ensuring that all stakeholders have access to accurate information at any given time.

By intelligently syncing Autodesk Construction Cloud and SharePoint, Fort Partners could:

• Selectively integrate and map folders, files, and file attributes (custom attributes) between Autodesk Construction Cloud – used by the construction management firm, general contractor, and their site teams – and the corporate SharePoint
• Retain all the documents’ history to keep track of the revisions between both systems
• Use smart triggers to automate the syncing process when adding, changing, or deleting files and folders
• Detect and report file-syncing issues as and when they arise

Solution

Fort Partners selected BlackSmithSoft B.V., a leading Autodesk technology partner based out of the Hague in the Netherlands, to create, deploy, and maintain the integration between Autodesk Construction Cloud and SharePoint using Autodesk Construction Cloud Connect (ACC Connect), an integration and automation tool powered by Workato. ACC Connect uses a recipe-based approach, where connectors for over 1,000 apps can be easily dragged and dropped in a low-code/no-code environment.

With the ACC Connect integration, BlackSmithSoft helped Fort Partners:

• Establish a live sync between the files and folders on Autodesk Construction Cloud and the target locations on SharePoint
• Update SharePoint properties with Autodesk Construction Cloud custom attributes
• Automatically rename files to match corporate naming conventions in SharePoint
• Log failed syncs based on the error codes, where syncs could be automatically retried or reported for manual intervention

Business Outcome

At the outset of the project, BlackSmithSoft synced and monitored 36,000 files with the ACC Connect integration, with an average of 12,000 to 13,000 file activities occurring per month (e.g., new versions, folders, deletions). As of June 2023, the number of documents synced had doubled to more than 70,000, with no interruption in service. To future-proof the solution, BlackSmithSoft configured ACC Connect to allow Fort Partners to change the workflow or mapping between the different apps if new requirements arise in the future.

Thanks to the integration deployed by BlackSmithSoft, Fort Partners was able to satisfy the requirements of their corporate office in Florida and make it easier for the teams involved in the construction process to use the CDE and other applications.

Moreover, Fort Partners saved time and money by automating processes with the ACC Connect integration from BlackSmithSoft. It would have taken a document controller several hours a week to do the process manually. With BlackSmithSoft and ACC Connect, Fort Partners realized a return on investment in just 3 months.

In more complex situations such as when Fort Partners is working with multiple parties, ACC Connect will play a critical role in managing data between several CDEs (each on different hubs) and construction applications from Autodesk and others.

Conclusion

With the complexity of integration and workflow automation changing from project to project, the ACC Connect integration from BlackSmithSoft offered Fort Partners the ability to effectively and accurately sync mission-critical data, while breaking down the silos between two very different worlds: the construction site and the corporate head office.