Are you prepared for what the future has in store for the industry? If you're a business owner, are you confident you're prepared? Back in May, Walls & Ceilings' parent company, BNP Media, announced a brand-new trade show, AEC BuildTech. The entire show is being structured around seeing and learning about new technologies, methodologies, and products—elements that have the capacity to drastically transform the AEC industry. Technology's potential to transform the industry is made possible by its ability to help make projects and the process of completing them easier and more efficient. AEC BuildTech provides a great opportunity to get up close with new offerings and how to implement them on your next project.

New technology affects the entire project team, and that's why AEC BuildTech is a unique event: It's a chance for architects, engineers, and contractors to learn about tomorrow’s building processes and construction technologies together. More than 20 of BNP Media's AEC and mechanical system brands are taking part in AEC BuildTech, which is happening from April 30 to May 2, 2019, at the Donald E. Stephens Convention Center in Rosemont, IL.

“This is a hideously uncertain business” says Steve Jones, director of industry insights and research for Dodge Data & Analytics and one of two keynote presenters at this year's AEC BuildTech. He explains that the key to ensuring future success lies in what he calls integrating the “silos of excellence.”

“Look at it more like somebody who makes componentry for airplanes or ships," he says. "They’re delivering an entire component that can get assembled. They aren’t just delivering their one little system, and then everybody else has to work around it. We need a rethought integrated workflow system.”

Integration will be a major point of discussion when Jones delivers his keynote address on May 1. Jones’ address will cover how all of these areas can work together in the modeling environment. “One is connecting upstream into the engineering process. Another is connecting downstream into fabrication,” he says. “You get the trade contractor working with the engineer. The engineer says what they are trying to achieve and asks how to best do it. Let them work that out together. You have a much higher chance designing it the way it’s going to get built.” Which leads to greater certainty, he says. “So the more certainty you can bring at any of these juncture points the better it is for everybody.”

AEC BuildTech is the event where architects, engineers, general contractors and tradespeople from the building envelope, HVAC, flooring and plumbing industries can interact. The show is offering educational sessions from experts in six tracks: building envelope, roofing, flooring, plumbing, general contracting, and mechanical systems/HVACR.

More than 80 percent of the conference sessions at AEC BuildTech offer continuing education units, to provide industry professionals with the credits needed to keep their license/certification. So far 32 different educational sessions have been approved by various organizations including The American Institute of Architects (AIA), The International Association for Continuing Education and Training (IACET), RCI, Inc., The American Institute of Building Design (AIBD), The American Institute of Constructors (AIC), PDHengineer, and BOMI International. To take advantage of the advanced pricing and for more information about the sessions, click here.

“We are thrilled to partner with leaders in the industry and provide our attendees the professional credits they need in six separate tracks focused on plumbing, HVACR/mechanical systems, flooring, building envelope, roofing and general contracting,” said Scott Wolters, Chief Events Officer, BNP Media, producers of the event. “The editors of our publications have secured an incredible faculty of subject matter experts covering important topics for our attendees to gain the knowledge to leverage tomorrow’s building processes and construction technologies.”

In the Building Envelope Track speakers will explore the latest in designing for energy efficiency as well as ensuring the system performs as specified. LiDAR, BIM, 3D printing, and artificial intelligence are some of the technologies that will be discussed in these sessions that have been approved for CEUs:

• Assessing Cold-Formed Steel Enclosures vs. Alternative Enclosures
• LIDAR & Mega Projects
• 3D Construction Printing - What, Where, and How?
• Pulse Air Tracing
• Meeting at the Parapet: It was Transition at First Sight
• Leveraging Artificial Intelligence to Explore Better Ways to Build
• Leveraging Building Energy Modeling for Optimized Design Solutions
• Opening Doors to Design Opportunities
• Understanding the Value of Performance Testing of the Exterior Envelope of the Building

We invite you to visit www.AECBuildTech.com to see the full breakout of sessions, including continuing education opportunities, as well as exhibit hall hours and how to register. See you there!