Steel frame construction project CFP Engineering and concrete and steel project Stadsbader win BIM Award

Success thanks to time savings and an efficient way of working

The increasing complexity of projects and more stringent requirements and expectations continually present steel and concrete builders with new challenges. Projects must be delivered cost-effectively and with tight deadlines, while also taking into account aspects such as the environment and sustainability. The importance of smart solutions throughout the construction process, from concept to production, is growing. BIM has now become a familiar term, but the solutions are becoming more inventive. By using Tekla Structures, concrete contractor Stadsbader and specialist in construction with cold-formed steel profiles CFP Engineering have found a solution to complex issues, as highlighted in the following case studies. They recently received a BIM Award from an expert jury for these projects.

Belgian concrete contractor Stadsbader handled an expansion of a GSK facility in Wavre. The existing building was expanded by no less than 23,000 m2, spread over seven floors. The challenge here was in the complexity of the precast concrete skeleton combined with 267 tons of steel. With heavy cantilevered prestressed beams, the heaviest of which weighs 36 tons, assembly was no easy task. To ensure all designs, coordination and communication ran smoothly, a project approach based on BIM was chosen, with all designs merged into Tekla Structures. In the end, over forty IFC models were merged and coordinated. These included all concrete and steel structures, as well as all structures poured on site, accounting for 3,360 m³ of concrete, and the secant pile walls.

By working with a 3D model, all constructions could be properly coordinated and bottlenecks were quickly understood and resolved. In addition, Stadsbader went a step further by developing its own planning tool. Here, the cloud platform Trimble Connect was used as a basis and the status of each element could be visually displayed in the ERP package. This allowed everyone involved on the construction site to instantly see the status of each prefab element. At Construsoft's annual BIM Awards, the project scored highly with the independent expert jury and was awarded one of the winners. 

The BIM Awards competition provided more great projects, including one special steel-frame construction project. It concerns a detached house in Ridderkerk, which was completely prefabricated. CFP Engineering, specialist in cold formed steel profiles, was responsible for the concept and the complete work preparation, production and assembly of the detached house. Here the choice was made to work out the design with Tekla Structures in order to get all information to the producing parties with a minimum of manual work and loss of data.

CFP Engineering modeled all parts of the house, both the installations and the concrete and precast elements. This resulted in a BIM model consisting of 120 precast elements, which were produced so that the entire structural construction was completed in just 7 days. The use of precast steel frame construction was decisive because of the high dimensional stability of the building system. By including various installations (such as electrics) directly in the model, it was possible to make the entire system functional with only a few couplings on site. This complete way of building and thinking was supported from office to construction site by cloud platform Trimble Connect. From the beginning, all parties involved were able to look into the model, which minimized the risk of errors. The complete total concept of prefab steel frame construction, combined with the flawless mutual coordination and the completely paperless construction process, led the jury to a unanimous decision for the BIM Award.

Tekla Structures and Trimble Connect are used very widely within concrete and steel construction. Increasingly, clients come up with challenges that must be realized under time pressure. Working with BIM and the increasing use of automation options then offers advantages for the innovative builder. The BIM Awards competition is just a stage to present these processes. Read more stories like this at www.construsoft.nl/BIM, also when you are about to take the first steps in working with BIM.