What Grounded the Airbus A380?

No, not Revit (thankfully!). But this article is about a cornerstone of the digital architecture promise; digital collaboration and design development.

According to Bloomberg.com, "[Airbus] engineers in Germany and Spain stuck with an earlier version of Paris-based Dassault Systemes' CATIA design software, even though the French and British offices had upgraded to CATIA 5. That meant the German teams couldn't add their design changes for the electrical wiring back into the common three-dimensional digital mockup being produced in Toulouse. ..." ("Airbus Vows Computers Will Speak Same Language After A380 Delay").

Revit, unlike most BIM and CAD applications, is now positioned as a collaboration and digital prototyping tool within the AEC segment, specifically through the offerings of Revit Building (Architecture), Revit Structure (Structural Engineering) and now Revit Systems (Mechanical, Electrical, Plumbing/Hydraulics, Air Handling, Heating and Cooling). In addition to this suite of products, there is the ability to export to gbXML, IFC, and a host of third party applications.

What does this mean for digital collaboration within AEC? The potential is enormous and fantastic. However, the risks, if everyone is not "on the same page" in terms of software versions and capability as highlighted with the Airbus A380 senario, as equally as great.

>What Grounded the Airbus A380?

>Lessons for All CAD Users