Michael, whose background was in custom home building, had already seen the benefits of ARCHICAD in his previous role but admits that he was unsure whether the program was suitable for a volume home building company,
How ARCHICAD Measures up for Builders
Central Innovation • 30 July 2015
Australasian Homes
Michael Jones, CAD Manager, Australasian Homes, knows all about the need for drafting software that is fast, accurate and straightforward. Starting work with this award winning volume home builder, in mid 2014, Michael knew that with some change to the company’s drafting methodologies he could greatly improve cost efficiency.
Image © Australasian Homes“I wasn’t originally convinced to continue with ARCHICAD, as I had not previously worked with the software in a volume drafting capacity. I knew that other volume building companies used programs like AutoCAD for their drafting, but in the end I stuck with my instincts and we’ve had no issues at all. ARCHICAD was easy to implement and for our staff to learn, it has also greatly improved our workflow and our bottom line,” says Michael.
Image © Australasian HomesWith the company completing around 300 projects since buying the software last year, Michael says one of the biggest benefits of ARCHICAD is the ability to get everything so accurate and calculated.
“With the tools like the mesh tool, slab tool, solid operations element and wall tool it is really easy to manipulate a sloping site, which is in most projects we do. Using these tools in ARCHICAD means you can really see how everything affects the landscape, and thus how each design element will fit in with budget, time and productivity.”
Michael explains that once you can manipulate all these elements it is then easier to see any faults or errors in the design a lot easier. In ARCHICAD he can go into the model and see if the slab plan is correct and he knows that if he amends the floor plan then the elevation and section plans will also reflect these changes and vice versa.
Image © Australasian Homes“Everything is accurate in ARCHICAD, I save so much time because I don’t have to redo all my documentation when I make changes like in AutoCAD.”Michael Jones, CAD Manager
ARCHICAD has also assisted Australasian homes to communicate more effectively design ideas with staff and customers and reduces waste,
“Having ARCHICAD is a huge benefit when using it as a communication tool with the management. The live 3D modelling of ARCHICAD saves the team a large amount of time with the ability to change the 3D model live in perspective view. We can then quickly show changes to the project manager in real time, without having to finalise the drawings. This saves time spent finalising drawings that may ultimately not be suitable.”
While Australasian homes are still using external renderers at the moment, Michael is now looking at putting ARCHICAD’s in built CineRender to proper use in order to further save time and money.
Michael believes ARCHICAD is already saving the company 40% in costs purely because they are now doing the drafting internally. He is also fairly confident that with more training on the features that ARCHICAD offers like CineRender, they could bring costs down further.
About Australasian Homes
Australasian homes are a volume building company based on the Gold Coast, Queensland with over 25 employees and 20 years in the construction industry. They specialise in the design, construction and project management of Residential Developments, Luxury Homes, Child care facilities, multi level-residential, industrial projects, retirement villages, commercial developments, aged-care facilities, pre-fabricated housing and modular accommodation.
About GRAPHISOFT
GRAPHISOFT® ignited the BIM revolution in 1984 with ARCHICAD®, the industry first BIM software for architects. GRAPHISOFT continues to lead the industry with innovative solutions such as its revolutionary BIMcloud®, the world’s first real-time BIM collaboration environment, EcoDesigner® STAR, the world’s first fully BIM-integrated “GREEN” design solution and BIMx®, the world’s leading mobile app for BIM visualization. GRAPHISOFT has been a part of the Nemetschek Group since its acquisition in 2007.
