CAB Technical Conference

BIM 4 Fabricators - Structural Steelwork

Robert Berry – Caunton Engineering Director of Engineering and Innovation

14th of May 2015

Agenda

Brief Introduction to Caunton Why 3D modelling? Why BIM? Collaborate and coordinate Benefits

Company and culture

Who we are Privately owned family business – established in 1969 Employ 235 people and have an EAL accredited apprentice training academy Have all the usual industry accreditations www.caunton.co.uk Innovative approach Forward thinking

Location

Where we are Moorgreen, Nottingham - between J26 and J27 of the M1 – on a 42 acre site with 4 manufacturing plants and land for further development

Services provided

What we do Structural steelwork specialists with over 46 years experience Frame out 6.5 to 7 million square feet per annum (628,000 sq/m) Turnover last year £44M Work throughout the UK Market sectors: Distribution, Energy, Retail, Industrial, Infrastructure, Education Commercial, Leisure, Manufacturing, Petro-Chemical Services provided - design, fabrication, surface treatment and installation Make a profit each year - and have survived 3 recessions

A few details

What we do Work on a “Just-in-Time” basis – making what we need, when we need it Started 3D modelling in 1988 and we create a model for every project we do Projects contain similar components but they are not the same Basic statistics:

• Projects vary in size from 300t to 6,000t

• We undertake 25 to 30 projects a year – all are unique

• Fabricate around 20,000t a year

• Equates to 52,000 unique components (assemblies)

• Fabricate around 300,000 individual parts a year

So for all projects to run like clockwork we just need to make sure all parts are in the right place at the right time

Simple!

Why 3D modelling?

Our 3D model is the “digital prototype” of what we’re going to make

Small and complex

Small and simple

Why 3D modelling?

Big and simple

Big and complex

Why 3D modelling?

Web cams enable our office based staff to see our model being built for real on site

Why 3D modelling?

Our 3D modelling software creates accurate data that is fed automatically into other business processes:

• Purchasing

• Production

• Cold rolled supplier

• Other contractors

• Site teams

• Anyone inside or outside the business (via Tekla BIMsight)

Why 3D modelling?

Purchasing - materials

Purchasing – bolt assemblies

• Data from others – in .ifc format

Accurate

Timely

• Relevant

• Up to date

Ability to be kept up to date

Why 3D modelling?

As a fabricator we need data to drive our CNC machines and we get it all from the model

Production

Why 3D modelling?

But we also need fabrication drawings to show how assemblies are set up and welded

Production

Drawings are all generated automatically by our modelling software

Why 3D modelling?

Cold rolled supplier – doesn’t get any drawings

They get data from our model to drive their machines

Why 3D modelling?

Other contractors

Drawings are generated automatically from our model for use on site by groundworker

Why 3D modelling?

Site teams – need meaningful information in an easy to understand way

They can zoom in on a PDF drawing but ……………

Perspective views showing all assembly marks are also generated automatically from our model

Why 3D modelling?

…… it’s much better to review the model live using

Why 3D modelling?

Anyone on the project - can view our model using which is free!

Why 3D modelling?

We can create scale prototypes of complex joints or entire assemblies by 3D printing from our model. This helps production and site staff see what they are going to be making / erecting and they can make suggestions for improvements

Why BIM?

The UK Government has mandated it on all publicly funded projects from 2016 and interest is growing fast in the private sector too Facilitates more effective collaboration during the design stage Whole project becomes easy to understand for everyone involved People who lack technical design skills, but know how things are built, can be actively involved in the design process – the value of this should not be underestimated Easier to coordinate construction interfaces – what you see is what you’re going to build - avoid problems that cause delay, add cost and create potential H&S issues Different build sequences can be considered, allowing the best option to be found Get the design right, coordinate all construction interfaces and then build it – is this really all that radical?

Why BIM?

The Client wants information to operate and maintain the building more efficiently. A 3D model of the whole building with intelligent data does this – foundations first

Why BIM?

Add the steel frame, lift shafts, stairs, services and other building elements – this process is referred to as “Federating” the Project Information Model (PIM)

Why BIM?

Over time all data is added and this becomes the Asset Information Model (AIM) given to the Client on practical completion. Objects in the model contain intelligent data that can be used to operate and manage the building.

Collaborate and coordinate

Edge protection system coordination

We send our model to Easi-Edge, they add their brackets (shown in red) and send the model back to us We then have CNC data in our model for holes they need for their brackets and our machines can drill them

and it fits on site

Collaborate and coordinate

PC stairs imported into steel frame model to coordinate levels of support beams

Collaborate and coordinate

Architects may appear to put curtain walling systems into their Revit models but when you look more closely you often find it is a representation, not the real thing

Collaborate and coordinate

IFC data shows the “glass” panel is modelled as a 75mm thick “plate”

Collaborate and coordinate

The IFC data for framing members does refer to a system but the data is not complete so cannot be considered as “production ready”

Collaborate and coordinate

But it can be modelled properly complete with intelligent data

BIM in our business

The whole building needs to be modelled but from a practical point of view we need to break it down into more manageable chunks to plan our activities

Understanding the building

Construction sequence and Lots

Phases agreed with the Principal Contractor shown in different colours

Individual Lots (lorry loads) of steel by colour – our site teams really like this!

Monitoring fabrication

Fabrication status data from our MRP system automatically “read” back into our BIM model to show the status of all assemblies by colour – easy to see progress

Fabrication is scheduled to match construction sequence and MRP data updated weekly or daily, depending on project requirements

Modelling is standard

It used to be only the Drawing Office that created models

But this has all changed - we now create models in

Estimating

Structural Design

Drawing Office

But the real change is that our models are being used by

Bid Managers

Contracts Managers

Quantity Surveyors

Erection Managers

Production and Purchasing office staff

QA team

Team leaders in the workshops

Model is mobile

The model in your pocket, with valuable data available

BIM - Benefits

One environment where all design information developed and coordinated

BIM standards (BS 1192:2007 & PAS 1192-2:2013 impose rigour on design process

Encourages and facilitates meaningful collaboration between organisations

Better understanding between designers, (share knowledge and build trust)

Sharing model data overcomes “information interpretation” problems

Greater visibility for everyone working on the project, not just designers

Accurate and reliable data - we all need it and BIM can provide it

BIM - Cost savings

Clash avoidance – how much time and money is being wasted putting right bad designs and construction interfaces that haven’t been properly coordinated?

Reduced waste – quantities of all materials in model are more accurate

Reliable data – don’t waste time querying contradictory information

Better planning – different construction sequences can be reviewed before building starts

Improved H&S – stats show that “un-planned work” (aka putting right cock-ups) is often the root cause of H&S incidents and accidents on site

Capex savings will be big but Opex savings will be much bigger

BIM - Justification

1. All manufacturers need data to drive their production machinery and BIM can provide it

2. You must “do BIM” from next year on any Government project and increasingly the private sector is adopting BIM

3. 3D modelling software is the foundation on which BIM is built

4. It’s an investment that will provide long-term benefits for your organisation

5. If you decide not to do BIM, opportunities for new work are likely to reduce

The future of BIM

Requirements and development path for BIM is defined in PAS 1192-2: 2013

2016

The future of IFC

CAB Technical Conference

Thanks for listening - any questions?