Opportunity in Southern California

I am recommending this opportunity with The Westfield Corporation, now listed on careerbuilder.com, to anyone in the area who may be interested.

“The AutoCAD Business Analyst will provide leadership and vision as a champion for the effective use of AutoCAD software, and other design software, in the organization. This position will serve as the strategic interface to the Development, Design and Construction Business Units to assist the IT group in understanding the business processes and requirements of the users, to assess available technologies and then recommend solutions.”

Responsibilities include “maintenance, documentation and facilitation of company-wide CAD standards, CAD training, and research and recommendation of CAD and CAD related technologies and practices.”

Requirements include “a passion for AutoCAD technologies and the promotion of processes and practices to increase user effectiveness; superior knowledge of AutoCAD, ADT, Revit, and other object-based CAD technologies; strong knowledge of Adobe suite of products; strong experience using project intranets, AutoCAD utilities, plotting technologies and output management solutions.”

Westfield is “an internally managed, vertically integrated, shopping centre group undertaking ownership, development, design, construction, funds/asset management, property management, leasing and marketing activities and employing in excess of 4,000 staff worldwide. It has investment interests in 123 shopping centres in four countries, with a total value in excess of Au$34 billion. The Westfield Group is the largest retail property group in the world by equity market capitalisation and the eighth largest entity listed on the ASX as at 5 July 2004.

In my recent association with Westfield’s Design and Construction division, I assessed that, due to their vertical integration, the company is uniquely suited to benefit from building information modeling.

~AJH

Interesting, Westfield have just purchased Chelsfield here, a biggish developer, so maybe they will start requiring their consultants to use Revit, or maybe just look at using it in house.

My experience was that Westfield’s management is forward-thinking, and they understand the need for change and the benefits to be derived, but like many large firms the idea of actually doing something about it is daunting.

One of their biggest fast-track construction-related problems is interference between architectural elements and HVAC systems, so the future Revit building systems products should promote their interest.

Also, the company is bi-continental, and the smaller home office in Sydney must really be eager to progress, with everything that's happening "down under".

~AJH