Direct Answer
BIM 360 (now Autodesk Construction Cloud or ACC) is a cloud-based project management and document control platform widely used as the CDE on commercial construction projects. For steel fabricators, it is typically where shop drawings are submitted for review, review responses are received, and approved drawing sets are stored. Familiarity with ACC significantly speeds your submittal workflow.
Full Explanation
In ACC, the Docs module manages drawing submittals. The fabricator uploads shop drawings to a submittal transmittal, the GC routes to the engineer of record, the engineer marks up and responds, and the response is posted in ACC for all parties. The platform tracks revision history and approval status. The Model module allows IFC files to be uploaded and viewed in a browser-based 3D viewer, supporting coordination meetings without Tekla or Navisworks licenses.
What This Means for Your Shop
If the GC uses ACC, learn the platform. Specifically: how to upload a submittal, how to download marked-up drawings, and how to upload a revised resubmittal. Teams unfamiliar with ACC often cause submittal delays that appear to be the engineer's fault but are actually platform navigation issues.
Common Mistakes
Uploading shop drawings to the wrong submittal package in ACC, causing them to be missed by the engineer. Also: not setting up notifications so you miss the email when a review response is posted.
Recommended Process
At project start, set up your ACC account and confirm submittal routing with the GC. Assign one team member as the ACC document manager. Test a dummy submittal before your first real submission to confirm the workflow is correct.