Integrated Vela Systems and Autodesk

Vela Systems is proud to have been selected by Autodesk to become one of only a few Preferred Industry Partners in the AEC industry. This is due to our documented integrations and proven value to joint customers. As a member of the Preferred Industry Partner Program, or PIPP, Vela Systems and its customers benefit from a strategic relationship with Autodesk that includes access to engineering, marketing and sales resources.

Official Autodesk Brochure featuring Vela Systems' Field BIM® solution with Navisworks

Vela Systems has been selected as a Preferred Industry Partner by Autodesk because of our ability to link BIM to construction through an integrated solution with Autodesk NavisWorks, the building information model viewing and analysis product.  Communication from the field back into the Building Information Model, or Field BIM® for short, is a powerful combination for materials management, commissioning, quality management and more during construction.  Additionally, Vela-enabled models can be given to the owner at handover, complete with startup information and linked documentation (e.g., O+M manuals).  Vela is also the first field software company to have automated integration with Autodesk's construction management product, Constructware. Vela Systems integrates in an automated fashion with these systems, bridging the gap between the field and the home office construction.

Cianbro Case Study on Constructware

Watch Vela Systems and Autodesk collaboration videos at the Destiny USA Tech Summit!

Integration Technical Overview

The Vela Integration Adaptor (VIA) is a powerful pre-configured connector between Autodesk and Vela. The Vela Integration Adaptor's key features include the following:

• Bidirectional integration synchronizes Autodesk to Vela and Vela to Autodesk.
• Deployment works with hosted and non-hosted environments.
• Autodesk mapping is pre-configured and productized, so it is not 'custom code' - this speeds deployment.
• Pre-configured field mapping and integration logic can be edited via user interface, for easy configuration of Autodesk custom fields.
• Web Services are used, so firewall changes are not needed in almost all cases.

Integrating Vela Systems with Autodesk Navisworks software helps us to take the advantages of BIM into the field for construction. We combine models in Navisworks and then use Vela Systems to leverage the federated digital asset for entering and tracking commissioning information. This information is then readily available online or within the Navisworks model using Vela. This greatly improves the commissioning and handover process, and enables us to turn over the commissioning  documents as a digital asset linked to the model.

- Albert Zulps, AIA, LEED AP, VDC Regional Director, Virtual Design and Construction Group, Skanska USA Building

There is no manual process of bringing that data together. It goes right into the Vela front end and then goes right into the Autodesk suite, so we can continue to do our reporting directly in Constructware, as we have in the past.

- On Vela integrated with Autodesk Constructware, David Fay, Technology Manager, Cianbro