How to Leverage Bridge to Share Data Across Projects and Teams

We all know the pain points when it comes to disconnected data. Typically, we think of data being fragmented and siloed across various tech solutions. While this is true, data also remains scattered across projects and various teams whether that’s between a general contractor and a subcontractor or from a designer to an owner.  

The fact is any disconnect can make data unusable. When you try to share data between projects or teams the process is manual. This means you export something to send, and the receiving team then needs to download and import it back into their system. The manual process also means that the data shared is easily lost in the multi-step process or links break over time and become useless.  

In fact, according to our recent report with FMI, Harnessing the Data Advantage in Construction, 50% of construction professionals ranked the inability to easily combine data from different sources as a top reason data was unusable.  

“The manual methods of uploading and downloading files and sheets between projects and teams is time consuming. And without a streamlined process for sharing project data, we risk project delays, which can negatively impact cost and schedule,” says Brian Popis, Senior VDC Engineer at Barton Malow. 

Now, the alternative to this manual workflow is inviting more external team members into a project instance. In some cases this is a suitable solution, but it also means that teams need to implement a more rigid permission structure to ensure they are not over exposing others to sensitive information. The other downside to this approach is that companies invited into the project forfeit control of project processes, compromise their privacy, and risk losing a significant amount of data at the end of the project. 

Today, we are thrilled to release a new way streamline data flow across projects and teams. Bridge in Autodesk Construction Cloud allows teams to easily share data across projects and teams, like a general contractor to a subcontractor, to improve cross team collaboration, reduce rework, and better control ownership of project information.  

Read more in our release here. 

How Bridge Works 

Bridge is now available across Autodesk Construction Cloud solutions and allows teams to do the following: 

• Share: Share files, folders or sheets across different projects or accounts 
• Automate: Set up automations for sheet sharing so that receiving teams always have the most up to date versions 
• Import: Import sheets from other projects that you are a Project Admin on  
• Link: Create bridged projects for direct project linking to simplify share workflows even more 
• Centralize: View and manage a summary list of all incoming or outgoing shares  

“Well-optimized data flows are the basis for efficient collaboration between multiple stakeholders working on a project. With a native feature in Autodesk Construction Cloud, we can easily and securely facilitate data sharing between hubs. This helps to standardize our document management workflows, allowing project managers and VDC managers to focus on design and collaboration instead of managing files, folder permissions, and project access,” says Luis Angel Garcia, BIM Specialist at SSOE Group.  

Watch to see Bridge in action:  

Who Can Use Bridge 

Data democratization, meaning everyone has obstacle-free access to data, has never been more important in the construction industry. Bridge is a unique capability in that it can help democratize data for nearly everyone that plays a role in construction throughout the lifecycle of a project. 

• General Contractors: When working on large scale projects, general contractors may want to split out different parts of the project into their own project instances within Autodesk Construction Cloud. This can be easily accomplished with Bridge as well as enables them to share any relevant documentation that applies to the larger master project.  
• Subcontractors: Specialty contractors often struggle to access the right data and information because they are at the helm of the general contractor who owns the project in Autodesk Construction Cloud. If they are removed from the project or are challenged by sheet count restrictions, Bridge can help ensure that subcontractors or specialty trade teams can access the information they need and can control and manage all documentation processes on the backend.  
• Designers: Design teams could be creating valuable IP in their work that they don’t necessarily want to share with all project stakeholders. With Bridge, they can select the documents that need to be shared or elect not to share updated versions. This flexibility allows them to maintain their IP in their own account without risking privacy concerns. 
• Owners: Owners require visibility into the progress of a project or they may require certain deliverables from the construction teams. But beyond access, they want to own all the documentation and not have it nested under a GC’s project instance. Bridge can help those construction teams share relevant information with the owners so that they can own and control all data from their own infrastructure.  

 “We often have clients, design partners, engineers, and specialty contractors with their own software licenses. The ability to easily transfer information allows each party to manage their data within their environment without disrupting their internal workflows, while interacting with the entire team’s information,” says Popis. 

4 Reasons to Use Bridge Today  

So why should you start using Bridge in Autodesk Construction Cloud today? 

Save time  

Bridge helps teams reduce repetitive work by eliminating manual send and receive workflows. Teams can save time while reducing the risk of another team working off outdated information.   

Enhance collaboration  

Construction collaboration requires access to connected and reliable project data. Bridge improves collaboration by simplifying sharing workflows. It also opens the door for more cross team collaboration by enhancing visibility   

Increase control  

Teams need autonomy to manage their own data. Bridge in Autodesk Construction Cloud provides teams with flexibility and control to define their own processes for collecting data. This way, they are tracking the right KPIs and metrics to meet their goals.. 

Improve data ownership  

Bridge allows teams to save their own information in their own account. As a result, it reduces the risk of losing any important documentation at the end of a project.  

Try Bridge Today 

Don’t settle for data loss and inaccuracy on your projects. If you’re ready to streamline your data across teams and projects with Bridge, learn more or request a demo: 

Learn more about Bridge or request a demo here.