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ofcdesk with Apex Circuit Design
Formula 1 track digital twin helps win the race against time
Ofcdesk specializes in building custom solutions and integrations that enhance Autodesk products. Ofcdesk partners closely with its customers to identify process challenges and deliver targeted solutions for industry niches, such as Apex Circuit Design’s racetrack consultation and project delivery services.
The challenge: costly errors create drag on Formula 1 racetrack installations
The two-month process of building a three-mile Formula 1 racetrack is fraught with the risk of costly errors. For each street circuit, Apex Circuit Design will oversee installation for as many as 7,000 assets, from pedestrian bridges and debris fences to two-ton concrete barriers. Traditionally, progress is monitored manually: checklists, clipboards, emails, and verbal communication across hundreds of people on site each day. One misplaced or missing item can lead to budget-busting fixes down the road, with little time to spare before 400,000 spectators arrive for race day.
The APS solution: digital twin automates and visualizes asset management process
Apex Circuit Design commissioned Ofcdesk to create a custom digital twin called ApexBUILD, developed on Autodesk Platform Services, and a bespoke, Apex-owned mobile app. Ofcdesk used Autodesk Construction Cloud APIs to connect asset databases to a Civil 3D model of the racetrack in the Viewer. The Viewer interface makes it easy to see sections of the track and associated assets in detail, no CAD or BIM experience needed as the graphic user interface is through the mobile app.
During install, teams scan QR codes to identify assets when they’re in place, providing project managers and owners precise, real-time progress updates in the browser-based app. During the app’s first test on the 2022 Miami Grand Prix installation, it proved it’s ability to identify errors when the model showed an entire run of barriers missing—a section of the track that seven people on site had overlooked. Had the error remained unnoticed, the crew would have needed to rent a crane to install the missing row with a time loss of two days. The APS-powered digital twin proved that visualizing real-time data in context improves collaboration, helping to bring in projects on time and on budget.
Business outcomes: errors prevented, time and money saved
- Improved collaboration and communication for every stakeholder from front-line installation teams to owners
- Five project managers implementing Apex BUILD with little to no training on a site requiring over 600 workers
- Immediate benefits in early app testing: two days of rework and cost of crane rental prevented, due to barrier error identification, and enhanced visualization and planning of new assets, such as photographer platforms and marshal posts
“The beauty of this solution is its simplicity. The digital twin tracks and makes sense of thousands of assets in a way that no human can. This was a custom development, but it could easily be adapted to other ‘gig economy’ applications that have the same challenges with assets and model integrations.” – Sam Worthy – Project Director, Apex Circuit Design
APIs and Services
Viewer
Autodesk Construction Cloud (ACC) APIs
Autodesk Products
Autodesk Build
Civil 3D