#035 // AUGI – There and back again

Let’s roll back to 2010. The likes of Lady A (previously Lady Antebellum) with ‘Need You Now’ and ‘Hey Soul Sister’ by Train were in the charts. Whilst that demonstrates my eclectic musical taste, it also defines that it was sixteen years ago. My kids were 13 and 11. They are now 29 and 24. Time flies, and in the immortal words of Ferris Bueller, "Life moves pretty fast. If you don't stop and look around once in a while, you could miss it."

Well, that WAS sixteen years ago, and I had just started my first three-year tenure on the AUGI Board of Directors. I did another three-year stint, and I subsequently left the Board in 2016. There were numerous trips to San Francisco to meet with Autodesk, many AUGI booth builds in the expo at Autodesk University, as well as the legendary AUGI Beer Bust, and the exceptional AUGI CAD Camps. AUGI was how I met so many of my friends I have now, and the list is LONG.

Moving forward to now, I am delighted to say that I have been elected on to the AUGI Advisory Board. Not the full Board, but the Advisory Board, in a non-voting capacity. It’s been a while, and AUGI President, Eric DeLeon, and I did the math on how long it has been since I was involved, and it was a bit mind-blowing to realise I have been involved in the CAD community for that long.

As the title says, I was there, and now I’m back again, and AUGI has evolved in many ways since I was last involved in the AUGI machinery. AUGI is the world's largest CAD & BIM User Group. AUGI started in 1990 and has two prime directives. Firstly, to assist its members by presenting programs and information that will enhance their use of digital design software. And secondly, to bring the voice of the user community to software developers, assisting in product development and giving users input into the process. AUGI’s motto is Users Helping Users, strengthening bonds and camaraderie within the global CAD and BIM community.

The Swiss Army knife

One of the big changes at AUGI is that they are vendor-agnostic and application-neutral. This is incredibly important to me as I start my new AUGI tenure. We live in an industry with many diverse applications, and vendors, especially with the advance of new technology, such as machine learning and artificial intelligence (AI). I believe that ALL aspects of our industry should be considered with a Swiss Army knife approach. There’s always a particular blade to perform a specific task. If I remember rightly, I was told that by Carl Bass, when he was CEO at Autodesk many years ago.

Over the years, I have seen how partisan software adoption can lead to many issues in operational work and construction documents, that then incurs issues on the construction site, leading to expensive rework and rescheduling. We should ALL be exposed to ALL the tools to allow for an impartial view of what we need for the job in hand. Just like a Swiss Army knife. AUGI is the place where you can find accurate information and advice from users, that helps YOU, the user, find the information you need. It might be in the AUGIWORLD magazine, in the AUGI Forums, or at an AUGI Local User Group (LUG) meeting. It all follows the ethos of Users Helping Users.

Where can you find AUGI?

AUGI can be found at www.augi.com. And, more importantly, you can join AUGI with a forever Basic membership for FREE. You can also upgrade to paid Student or paid Professional membership if you wish. You can find the membership levels here.

The AUGI website is full of useful content. You can read the AUGIWORLD magazine articles, you can jump into the forums to discuss applications and ask questions, knowing that other users can assist you to give you answers to elements and workflows that you are unsure of. AUGI is that safe place where you know you are in a community of your peers who are working with the same applications who can help you.

Users Helping Users

I am glad to be aligned with AUGI again. It’s a real honour and a privilege to be helping other users, working with such a great team at AUGI, who are not just colleagues, but great friends too. I was once one of those users who needed assistance from my peers to get me pass the speed bumps I hit during my career in this industry. Upon discovering AUGI, I not only found camaraderie and my people, but also the imparted peer-to-peer knowledge that gave me guidance, skills, and empowerment to move to the next level. I hope by joining AUGI (if you haven’t already) that you also get that experience and realise that AUGI is here to help you and guide you, in a safe space open to all.

AUGICON26

AUGI CON is the AUGI annual user conference (AUGI + CON, right?) and it is a FREE virtual conference with a keynote, virtual sessions and a virtual conference lounge.

It includes expert-led sessions for you to gain insights from leading professionals in architecture, engineering, construction, and beyond. You will discover success stories, practical tips, and innovative strategies to push your projects to new heights.

There’s networking, networking, and networking. You can connect with peers, industry experts, AUGI CON presenters, and AUGI Board Members in the Conference Lounge!

AUGI CON also covers the latest industry trends and technologies. This allows you to stay ahead of the curve with updates on the latest CAD/BIM tech and industry trends, with new tools and techniques that can enhance your workflow and productivity.

This year AUGICON26 is being held on April 23- 24, so save the dates! Registration will soon be live at https://www.augicon.com. Make sure you sign up!

I hope to see you at AUGICON26, and also in the AUGI forums. I have a slightly updated username in there, theCADjedi, and I hope to chat with you virtually some time about whatever you need in this ever-developing industry we find ourselves in!

Best to you all,

SCB.