Autodesk showcases tools to aid in

Developing disaster preparedness programs in the Philippines

Successful Japanese development consulting firm manager visits RP to

discuss howAutodesk enabled the firm to develop a disaster preparedness platform for his country

In the aftermath of the recent catastrophes that ravaged the Philippines and other parts of the globe, the need for a comprehensive and effective disaster preparedness platform is necessary. With this, Autodesk, Inc. (NASDAQ:ADSK), a world leader in 2D and 3D design, engineering and entertainment software, showcases how urban planners, engineers and architects can be armed with advanced design software solutions to assist in the formulation of countermeasures in disaster preparedness.

“The wrath of typhoons Ondoy and Pepeng has greatly emphasized IT’s role in disaster preparedness and response, urban planning and of course, sustainable development,” said Autodesk Philippines Country Manager Teddy D. Tiu. “Autodesk’s design software solutions can contribute to these efforts by providing the tools, technologies and the necessary training that will enable planners to visualize, simulate and analyze an area’s geography and foresee potential hazards from various situations like typhoons or floods.”

Case study: Pacific Consultants

One firm that can testify to the role of Autodesk in developing sound disaster preparedness programs is Japan-based development consulting firm Pacific Consultants Co. The company was able to aid the Japanese government to accurately translating Japan’s coastal elevations into 3D digital maps, and thereby model the effects of inland and river flooding due to various disasters ranging from landslides to torrential rainfalls. Evaluating the topography of different areas is also critical to developing effective countermeasures against potential disasters.

“We had been using several geographic information systems in our firm but they were all expensive,” noted Hiroshi Shimada, Director of Water Engineering Section of Osaka Head Office at Pacific Consultants. “We decided to use Autodesk’s 3D solutions to develop our own end-to-end system that would take us from basic data input to computer graphics and animation creation.”

Autodesk solutions that were particularly useful for the firm in the project were AutoCAD® Map 3D® and AutoCAD® Civil 3D®. AutoCAD Map 3D enabled to easily create, edit, visualize and evaluate the spatial data in the map. The software also allowed the firm to have a smoother workflow from the accessibility features. AutoCAD Civil 3D, on the other hand, provided 3D visualizations to comprehensively evaluate the possible results of a particular disaster to an environment.

“Autodesk has armed us with the necessary tools that empowered us to create a comprehensive disaster preparedness platform within a highly efficient workflow,” added Shimada.

The Philippine Landscape

“Autodesk has always been a strong advocate for disaster preparedness programs by intensive and comprehensive urban planning methodologies enabled through design software,” remarks Tiu. “And as the leading provider of 2D and 3D design solutions, the company feels compelled to aid urban planners in coming up with design tools that will allow them to visualize and simulate the possible impacts of natural disasters before they happen.”

Tiu added that Autodesk’s Geospatial solutions will enable urban planners not only to assess the Philippine geographic landscape. “When you look at an Autodesk animation, you can easily simulate certain situations and then determine the effects of such circumstances.” From this, relevant authorities can develop effective measures to prevent these outcomes from happening.

Tiu remains hopeful that private and public institutions will continue to integrate Autodesk solutions for the country to be fully equipped in advance of natural disasters. Like Japan’s Pacific Consulting, there has to be a unified vision between the private and public sectors to fully realize and implement these programs. “We’ve seen the horror happen before, it is now Autodesk’s mission to aid in preventing the society to go through the same ordeal again,” Tiu concluded.

About Pacific Consultants Co., Ltd.

Pacific Consultants Co., LTD. (PCKK) is the largest construction consulting firm in Japan and the fifth largest pure design firm in the world, as ranked by Engineering News-Record in 1998. Founded in 1951, PCKK provides integrated construction consulting services in engineering and infrastructure design.

PCKK is the domestic arm of the Pacific Consultants International Group (PCIG), which has completed more than 100,000 projects in 100 countries. Areas of focus for the firm include: Urban planning, structural, environmental, civil, and transportation engineering, water supply and sewage design, port and airport design, and architecture.

Today, PCKK has 1,300 employees with more than 550 licensed professional engineers and more than 40 licensed architects. There are over 60 PCKK offices in Japan; all authorized ISO9001 and ISO14001.

For over a half century PCKK has led Japanese construction consulting and fostered the field of engineering in Japan and the world. Still, PCKK continues in its original mission of contributing to society as a professional organization by providing new ideas and solutions for infrastructure engineering and design.

About Autodesk

Autodesk, Inc. is a world leader in 2D and 3D design, engineering and entertainment software for the manufacturing, building and construction, and media and entertainment markets. Since its introduction of AutoCAD® software in 1982, Autodesk continues to develop the broadest portfolio of state-of-the-art software to help customers experience their ideas digitally before they are built. Fortune 100 companies – as well as the last 14 Academy Award® winners for Best Visual Effects - use Autodesk software tools to design, visualize and simulate their ideas to save time and money, enhance quality, and foster innovation for competitive advantage. For additional information about Autodesk, visit www.autodesk.com.

Autodesk, AutoCAD, AutoCAD Map 3D and AutoCADCivil 3D are registered trademarks or trademarks of Autodesk, Inc., and/or its subsidiaries and/or affiliates in the USA and/or other countries. All other brand names, product names or trademarks belong to their respective holders. Autodesk reserves the right to alter product and services offerings, and specifications and pricing at any time without notice, and is not responsible for typographical or graphical errors that may appear in this document. © 2010 Autodesk, Inc. All rights reserved.