Roche

One of the world’s largest biotech companies, Roche has been developing diagnostics and medicines for a wide range of life-threatening health conditions for more than 125 years.

Their main products include the categories pharmaceuticals, diagnostics, and research products. In order to pursue these activities, Roche owns numerous real estate assets. These assets are managed and administered by Roche itself and in cooperation with third parties. Thus Roche is in pursuit of creating, using, and sustaining its assets as efficiently as possible.

The Challenge: Disparate systems prevent operational efficiencies in building asset management

Roche uses a collection of disparate software systems to manage its global network of real estate assets, including manufacturing, laboratory, and general office facilities. Each point solution houses critical information, but not all of them are connected or easy to access for facility managers or employees. Just consider the maze of data that teams wade through when a door breaks. Details about the location of the door, the door model, previous work orders, schedules, and service technicians all live in different systems managed by different colleagues. Roche real estate management and engineering teams sought a way to bring all that data together.

With the BIM method, they digitize these assets and make the underlying data and information available so that operators, process engineers, and production can work with them in the future. For this goal, it is essential to have a single point of access to the data and models, with an intuitive user interface.

The APS Solution: Powerful digital twin makes building data easier to use for everyone

Roche is using Autodesk Platform Services to turn its building models into digital twins, where data about every building system is directly linked to the model. Using the Model Derivative APIs to translate 2D and 3D models, Roche surfaces those images in the Viewer while also connecting key data using the BIM360, Autodesk Construction Cloud, and Data Management APIs. Together, these cloud-based APIs power a digital twin that’s accessible to anyone with the web link, driving efficiencies and insights for everyone from maintenance crews to office workers to real estate management teams.

Maintenance workers use the digital twin to locate fire equipment and run safety checks, achieving a 20% productivity gain. Sensor data provides real-time updates on room availability, helping office workers find private office space in 66% less time. The digital twin is so intuitive that no CAD experience is necessary to manipulate the models, which is valuable for testing out furniture and space planning arrangements.  As more data connects to the system, employees will be able to click into a specific part of the building to find information from the enterprise resource planning, facilities management, and document management solutions, making it easy to track down key maintenance details. Roche plans to create digital twins for all its facilities, including laboratories and manufacturing sites, using data collection and analysis to drive better decision-making for a wide range of building-related needs like renovations, space and resource allocation, and energy conversation.

Business Outcomes: Efficiencies for all

• Early outcomes include 20% productivity gain for fire safety maintenance and 66% time savings in searches for private offices
• Ease of use enables quick adoption across the workforce with no CAD experience required
• Digital twin development provides the foundation for scaling across the business enterprise

APIs and Services

Model Derivative API

Viewer

Data Management API

Autodesk Construction Cloud (ACC) APIs