RUEIL-MALMAISON, France, and SAN FRANCISCO — Schneider Electric, a specialist in energy management, and Autodesk Inc., a leader in 3D design and engineering, have announced an agreement to collaborate to enhance current practices for building lifecycle management based on building information modeling (BIM).
As part of the collaboration, the companies said they are exploring ways to complement each other’s strengths to make buildings more energy efficient from the design and construction through operation and end-of-life phases. The collaboration may include new solutions and services in the areas of energy management, building automation and control, and workspace management.
The joint efforts look to combine Schneider Electric’s expertise in electrical distribution, energy, and building management solutions with Autodesk’s portfolio of BIM-based design and construction software such as Autodesk Revit and Autodesk BIM 360.
Residential and commercial buildings consume approximately 60 percent of the world’s electricity, said the companies. The shift toward digital BIM processes is part of the solution to more energy efficient homes and buildings by delivering greater agility and long-term sustainability.
BIM is a process that begins with the creation of an intelligent 3D model to capture, explore, and maintain building data associated with planning, design, construction, and operations. The information in the model remains coordinated and consistent throughout the project and supports simulation, analysis, and collaboration for better decision-making.
“The journey to sustainable high performance buildings starts with taking a comprehensive holistic view of a building lifecycle, from design, construction, and operation including adaptation to ever changing needs of businesses and organizations,” said Jean-Luc Meyer, senior vice president, Strategy and Innovation, Schneider Electric. This announcement “builds on decades of Schneider Electric’s integrated approach to building management that can reduce energy, reduce capital expenditures, decrease operating expenditures, and improve overall business performance. We see a huge potential in digitizing buildings project lifecycle. We believe that the cooperation with Autodesk will help drive a deep and long-term transformation in the construction industry, providing greater value to each user and contributing to solve the energy challenge.”
“Autodesk has been an active proponent of sustainable building design and construction for years, in part by equipping our customers with BIM tools to do rapid and meaningful energy analysis. The operation and maintenance phase of the building presents a huge opportunity to drive greater energy efficiency over the long-term for building owners, and we’re thrilled to be teaming with Schneider Electric to explore how we can bring new solutions to market that connect energy efficiency throughout the entire building lifecycle,” said Amar Hanspal, Autodesk senior vice president, Information Modeling & Platform Group.
For more information about Schneider Electric, visit www.schneider-electric.com.
For more information about Autodesk, visit www.autodesk.com.
Publication date: 2/2/2015
Want more HVAC industry news and information? Join The NEWS on Facebook, Twitter, and LinkedIn today!
