Gulf Construction Industry Ready for the Upturn

Construction companies across the gulf are increasingly turning to Tekla’s Building Information Modeling (BIM) solution to streamline project cycles, as they get ready for the upturn of the construction industry.

Construction companies need to focus on business solutions that optimize performance, reduce waste, and more importantly offer the insight and agility needed to close the gap between strategy and execution across entire project cycles, according to industry experts.

In addition, with the construction industry now ready for the upturn, companies must adopt end-to-end business processes to meet changing market shifts.

Dr. Imad Al-Jamal, Vice Chairman, UAE Contractors Association said; “The construction industry in the Middle East, has seen phenomenal growth and slow down.”

“As the economy recovers and the construction industry gets  ready for the upturn,  main contractors and subcontractors who want to stay ahead of these advancements must adopt strategic solutions such as Tekla BIM to be successful,” added Al-Jamal.

Arabian Construction Company (ACC) has adopted Tekla’s BIM as one of its leading software packages for their projects due to Tekla’s strong regional base and ease of use that made it a favourite to main contractors and subcontractors alike. 

 “ACC has always pioneered the utilization of specialized computer technology for integrated project management assuring developers of the suitability of every element of the project in real time throughout the construction process by using several independent software packages,” commented Nassim J. El Murr, Contracts and Technical Manager, Arabian Construction Company (ACC), Abu Dhabi, UAE.

“After a thorough study of the available BIM software tools ACC was pleased to adopt Tekla as one of its leading software packages. We can now work on a 3D model which allows for better coordination and collaboration where the model can also be further detailed to any practical degree,” added El Murr.

The value of a specialized BIM tool became apparent to facilitate challenging tasks into a simpler collaborative environment. It also allowed ACC engineers to re-study and re-coordinate the position of elements to avoid clashes in an easily modifiable virtual environment,” added El Murr.

Al Habtoor Leighton Group, Murray and Roberts, ED Zublin and ALEC all leaders in the construction industry have also adopted Tekla BIM for their ongoing projects and for future successes.

Underlining the increased benefits of BIM, Mr. Ron Brinkman, the technical manager for Murray and Roberts, commented that by using BIM, Murray and Roberts has been able to better manage the project cycles.

“Design coordination and early visualization of projects have helped us manage the scale of the projects. Construction managers and subcontractors can now fully recognize the scope of complexity of the project and manage their work schedule more effectively. BIM gives us a holistic picture of the project which is key in today’s challenging environment,” added Brinkman. 

Tekla is reacting to the demands of the construction industry by driving innovation and delivering agile business solutions that streamline information flow. Tekla’s BIM models are data rich models available to all the project members to access.

This lowers cost and improves quality enhancing communication and reducing waste, which once again has a direct impact on   the status of the project and whether it goes ahead or not.

Before the economic downturn any inefficiencies or wastage on a project was absorbed by adding these extra costs on the property value and the end user, however now the market needs to be efficient or otherwise the projects will stay on the shelves. 

“With investments in the construction sector remaining positive across the Gulf, companies are now adopting BIM and Tekla is playing a central role in helping corporations realise the benefits of using industry best practices, such as Tekla BIM to effectively manage the life cycle of projects,” commented Abdelrahman Muneer, Development Manager, Tekla ME.

“There is a revolutionary change taking place in the construction sector, as BIM is increasingly demanded for use in all projects moving forward.  Tekla are here to help the construction industry realise the benefits of implementing BIM technology across their projects,” added Muneer.

BIM is used in the construction industries to create, open and combine data-rich and highly constructible 3D structural models especially for large and complex structures, to navigate around them in real-time. 

In addition to ongoing product development, the last two years have been busy at Tekla due to intense brand crystallization. 

“We want to better serve the potential that we know underlies our customer industries. For this we need to crystallize the Tekla brand in a manner that is understood and communicated consistently throughout the whole organization,” says Risto Räty, executive vice president of Tekla and one of the management representatives behind the initiative (back row, second from right). “In this way it will be easier for our customers and other audiences too, to understand what we really offer with our software.”

“I think we should emphasize more the connection between the Tekla brand and everything we do,” noted a member of Tekla Sweden staff during an internal brand event.

“We’ve studied the market criteria, and Teklans from all over the world have gathered together to think about what we really mean to our customers, the industry, and eventually, to the world,” says marketing director Päivi Puntila of Tekla (above photo, back row, first on the right) . “What is clear to everybody at Tekla is that our customers are the real heroes in this business, and we are proud to develop the kind of software that enables them to reach their full potential in efficiently building and managing the kind of incredible buildings and infrastructure that makes our living environment so much better every day.”

At the moment the most visible result of Tekla’s brand crystallization is the new corporate tagline,Potential³ (read: potential cubed or potential to the power of three), that captures the promise above. You will soon see it with some renewed images in all of our communication. Read more about Tekla brand crystallization

As Tekla hosted an international delegation of AEC industry and education representatives to a special experience in the Finland Pavilion, Ken Shawler, Asia Pacific sales manager of Trimble Building and Construction, an important partner of Tekla in bringing BIM to the field, visited the Shanghai World Expo on August 18.

“It was a chore to keep cool in the Shanghai steam; it was pretty hot there!” Ken noted. “However, it’s always exciting to see the realization of a unique and sustainable building design become reality. This type of design, its construction, and the people involved will influence the shape of our industry for years to come. It was a pleasure to participate in this event and meet these industry professionals.”
       
And speaking of hot, and BIM, Pekka Haanpää from Finland Pavilion’s construction company Lemminkäinen and Tekla representative Stacy Scopano explained enthusiastically how the Finland Pavilion Kirnu was bimfully ‘designed to deconstruct’ from the very beginning.
 
“The result of the model-based collaboration between construction disciplines was that the project was delivered on time with minimum inventory, materials and site storage, all this despite the late start due to the unanticipated complexity of design selection and design changes due to fabrication limitations” summed up Stacy.
               
”This audience was one of the most interested I’ve seen come through during the Expo,” marveled pavilion director Annikka Alanko, who represented project owner Finpro.

Read more about Tekla VIP event at Shanghai Expo 

Hurry up to Shanghai to see as many as 13 Tekla reference structures still upbefore the Expo closes at the end of October!

The Tekla Building & Construction customer satisfaction survey was conducted in June 2010 – many thanks to those of you who participated and gave feedback! The results are based on the responses of 1,902 respondents evaluating Tekla B&C’s product and services. The response rate was 11%.

“Compared to previous years, we wanted to make this year’s survey lighter and easier to answer, and to include more focused questions that will better help us develop our services,” explains product program manager at Tekla, Kati Huhtala. “We asked from both Tekla Structures users and customer companies' decision makers about their satisfaction with Tekla: communication with Tekla, business benefits gained from the use of Tekla software, and functionality of our communication channels, among other things.”

“We were pleased to find that the overall satisfaction with Tekla is good: 60.2% of the respondents are somewhat satisfied and 29.5% are very satisfied,” Kati continues. “When evaluating satisfaction towards communication channels, face-to-face meetings and consultations get the highest ratings. The second highest rating goes to events and the third to training. The most used channel, technical support, is fourth in order with the rating.” 

“The business benefit that the respondents are most satisfied with is the increase of the quality of work. They also feel that Tekla Structures helps to save time and improve company processes. Customers on maintenance are clearly more satisfied with Tekla than customers not on maintenance in all aspects of customer satisfaction,” Kati points out.

“Generally the respondents thought that the pace of receiving information from or about Tekla is appropriate; however, the content could be more detailed. Many respondents said they would like to get more information about product updates and hints and tips about software usage. Also our Extranet as a service channel did not get as high a rate as we would have hoped. These are some of the things Tekla B&C will pay more attention to during next year.”

“We are happy to have received so many open comments; the results of the survey will be distributed to Tekla HQ, area offices and resellers during October so that they can start local result analysis, action planning, and customer contacts based on this valuable feedback,” Kati concludes.

James M. Tapper of KGS Group in Winnipeg, Canada, has been a Tekla Structures beta tester since version 16.0. "At the moment, I'm working with steel bridges in our steel detailing department and hydro-electric generating station in our reinforced concrete department," James says.

"I am participating in the beta testing process because my company is interested in expanding our structural department to utilize Tekla Structures for Cast-in-Place reinforced concrete. Before that I need to work on the functionality to make sure that it can be used in the complex projects that we have. My goal is to see what's coming up in version 17 for steel and concrete users."

"I am the Tekla Administrator for my company, which is why I am the one to participate in the beta testing. Project coordination is an interest, but usability and improvements to things such as cut intelligence is more important to us at the moment," James explains.

The beta testing of Tekla Structures version 17.0 has been going on for about a month by approximately 90 testers. The next step is the publishing of a public beta version on the Tekla Extranet - keep an eye on the Extranet front page for that!

Tekla Structures users have again excelled in numerous ways around the world. You can always find the latest success stories of our customers under References on the Tekla Websites.

“The fact that SCI, the structural engineer, and Dowco, the steel detailer, both used Tekla Structures allowed for solutions to come later in the process than ever before while still allowing for an extremely aggressive shop drawing production, review, and fabrication schedule," says Brian J. Patty, of Davis Partnership Architects about the Solaris redevelopment project in Vail, Colorado. "Standard 2D drawings couldn’t have produced the same building in the same time frame without much rework based on in-field realizations. Personally I wouldn’t hesitate to work with a structural engineer using Tekla, as I saw great benefit from its use.” Read about satisfying both architect and construction team in Colorado

“One of the most satisfying aspects of Tekla Structures is the usability and the speed with which our technicians go from basic understanding to proficient user within a couple of weeks,” says Jon Lock from Arup’s Building Engineering London Group 4. “Within months they are excelling with the software and really starting to push the boundaries of what we thought was possible with BIM solutions.” Read about the Pinnacle of structural design in London

“There’s no room for mistakes as profit margins are small and competition is stiff in today’s environment. It just makes sense to adopt tools and techniques that can improve the way we communicate, collaborate, and construct. With BIM, we can dramatically reduce any chance of mistake or confusion and build more clarity into the entire process,” says Karen Laptas, chief engineer with Pittsburgh Flexicore. “New technologies such as BIM are reshaping and redefining our industry. Adopted correctly, these technologies have the ability to help us complete tasks faster, for less money, and with greater quality.” Read how concrete manufacturer realizes immediate value by transition to BIM in Pittsburgh

”At first we struggled with easy projects, now we excel in really difficult ones,” says Tobias Svenberg, development engineer at Strängbetong, Sweden. ”Companies often have unrealistic expectations in how to adapt BIM into their processes. Many designers are experts in using AutoCAD and expect to work at the same pace with Tekla Structures from the first time they use it. However, they need to realize that implementing building information modeling as a process – it does not mean just creating models – will take time and dedication. We had two development resources working full time for two entire years in order to get where we are today. There is plenty of work in integrating company standards, design guidelines, connections, drawings and materials to the software environment, and plenty of company-specific software development is needed – still, the end result truly compensates for all the hard work!” Read more about implementing BIM to precast concrete fabrication in Sweden

“Coordination between us, the main contractor, and the steel and façade subcontractors was a challenge that we overcame with the help of Tekla software,” says Ron Brinkman, technical manager at Murray and Roberts Contractors. “Changes to the as-built models from the design were communicated to the subcontractors to accommodate them into the steel and GRC fabrication process. By doing this we avoided further conflicts and potential delays on site and sped up the installation process. We used Trimble surveying devices to get the as-built coordinates, which were superimposed on the Tekla model to validate them against the theoretical exact locations of the components as per the design.” Read more about managing by modeling in the Sorbonne University project in UAE