Håvard Neutral, Open and Growing.
The Beginning – It’s all about being Open and Sharing
Catenda’s original vision of making the AECO industry more sustainable, by being more data driven and more open has led us on an interesting, yet specific and focused product development path.
Initially, we saw that early adopters of digital workflows usually focused on the design process, where experts with their design tools could generate data rich models of the built asset. We also saw the opportunity for improvements. While there were good tools to create models, there wasn’t a strong solution to address the more advanced communications required to optimize the capabilities of the new technology. There also was very little focus on being open and sharing outside a small group of ‘experts’. This is the area of focus, or Category, that Catenda created.
When we launched our cloud-based solution, Catenda Hub (previously Bimsync), almost 10 years ago, nobody had anything like it. Suddenly, the communication during the design process, between all stakeholders could be synchronized. The result was a clear, traceable, transparent and inclusive workflow and environment. Today, this product is supporting thousands of mission-critical projects around the world. Catenda Hub (previously Bimsync) helps with projects of all sizes, including zero emission buildings (see article), subways (see article), wastewater treatment plants (see article), schools (see article), residential dwellings, churches, commercial buildings, process factories, major airports and horizontal infrastructure projects.
The following information is provided so you have an understanding of the journey we have been on since 2009. It reflects our commitment to being open, neutral and dedicated to continuous improvement.
The Foundation – Catenda Hub
Today, Catenda Hub (previously Bimsync) provides a powerful cloud-based solution that combines model management, issue management and document management in a very easy to learn and easy to use environment. It works very well with traditional 2D workflows that depend more on documents, drawings and other typical ways of sharing information. But, it is also an extremely powerful system for the next generation of model-based and data-centric communication. Catenda Hub (previously Bimsync) provides a very strong and consistent foundation, which is critical as any organization evolves and transitions their workflows and workforce into the more data-centric ways that are becoming accepted practice. But, your organization can also transition at your own pace. Catenda Hub can integrate seamlessly with your existing technology solutions and current workflows. This lets you take charge of your future and determine your own timing, based upon what is best for your firm.
We make it easy to add documents to the cloud, supporting your existing workflows with folders and access control. There is also great support for document approval workflows. While using this on your projects, Catenda Hub (previously Bimsync) captures all kinds of interesting data, such as actions done to your documents, for future reference and analysis.
In addition to this, we make the 3D and data-rich world of models easily available to anyone in the project. All you need is the ability to log on to a web page. This is revolutionizing the way we access 3D data in projects today. Typically, this important visual information would only be available to a few specialists, since you would need specialized tools like a 3D viewer, or a firm would have a cost for each additional person desiring that access. With Catenda Hub (previously Bimsync), you just log on, and the latest version is quickly ready for you in our viewer. Your viewer could include a single model, a collection of models or hundreds of models, depending upon your project and what you want included. More importantly, It is always easily available to anyone in the project, at no additional cost.
We are committed to continuously improving the communications necessary to run a smooth and efficient project. Coordinating the design, keeping track of decisions, tracing all RFIs, knowing what to prepare for the next meeting, keeping track of all tasks, and more, are all efficiently managed in Catenda Hub (previously Bimsync) . Email is commonly used and efficient in its own right, but projects find it terrible as a traceable and open communication tool for the project itself. Emails get lost in individuals’ inboxes. Managers lose control of outstanding tasks and unresolved issues. Important individuals can accidentally be left out of the communication thread and be kept in the dark, potentially costing the project millions of dollars, and unanticipated delays.
And then we actually put it all together. We make it very easy to track a conversation about a redlining on a drawing by connecting the communication with the drawing in a seamless and non-constraining way. With our solution, you can actually build a digital twin very efficiently by connecting documents to virtual objects in the model. And of course you can see what design issues touched which model objects, forever. Since we are all about the data, we focus intently on making sure that all your data is connected, accessible and sensible to you.
Start Catenda Hub (previously Bimsync) for free to visualize and share your documents. Create your account.
The Evolution – Introducing Catenda Boost
The entire web application, Catenda Hub (previously Bimsync), is built on top of a powerful data platform made specifically for data about assets in our built environment. The value of this is that anyone can now build valuable tools very quickly to enhance their workflows, by exploiting our ready-to-go functionality. For example, if you want to expose the latest version of your models on your homepage to showcase your projects, it will take your IT resource two (2) hours to do so. The data you capture and gather in our tools, can be pushed into other applications in your organization, by quick integrations through our APIs (Application Programming Interface).
Not only can you utilize your data more efficiently in your own solution, but you can get even more value from your data by building simple and customized tools or integrations in your own organization. This has high value going forward into a more data-centric world.
The Different Audiences – Catenda Site
Capturing data should be easy, even if you are out on the construction site. Our Catenda site – the mobile application of Catenda Hub, native to Android and iOS, has simple user interaction as a top priority. It is extremely easy to capture and record issues on site and locate them on a familiar 2D map or even in the 3D model, if you so choose. Getting the 3D visualized data to you on site has never been easier, either. This is made for real construction workers on site.
The Sustainable Future – Catenda Duo
Having access to all this data during design and construction has great value. But we believe that even greater value can be realized from this data during the entire lifecycle of the built asset, as well. That is why we built our Building Operation Systems platform, Catenda Duo (previously Catenda BOS). This application makes it really intuitive and easy for users of the built asset to interact with the operators of the building, the owners, if needed, and the building itself. A quick QR code scan will make it fast to report a problem, and to make that problem clear to the specialist operator who can fix it. Navigating intuitively in the visualized model of the built asset will make it easy for the user to quickly lower the sun shades for a presentation in the meeting room.
Owners and operators can keep track of what is going on with all sensors and systems in the building and quickly discover anomalies. Predictive maintenance is simple to add, once all the data is captured and structured with Catenda Duo (previously Catenda BOS).
All in all, we have tools that will add value throughout the whole lifecycle of any built asset. It can be a building of worship, it can be a hospital, a simple one family dwelling, a complex residential building, an office tower downtown in a metropolitan area, a railway system between two cities, a tunnel project, a highway improvement, a nuclear power plant, an airport or a simple garage. We support it all.Catenda’s digital construction tools are available in North America, offering powerful solutions to streamline construction workflows. Learn more about our innovative tools for the construction industry in the USA and Canada.
Join our inspiring journey and grow with us.
Håvard Brekke Bell, CEO Catenda Inc. and CSO and Jonathan Widney, Director.
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