“We are in a revolution. The public simply can’t afford to pay the price of construction in its current form. This is the time to take BIM, 3D, pre-fabrication and industrialization and change this industry that is absolutely in the dark ages.”
With these words, Dr. Charles H. Thornton, P.E., industry visionary and founding principal and former co-chairman of Thornton Tomasetti, opened the 2010 Tekla User Meeting for Tekla Structures users at the beautiful Loews Atlanta Hotel in Atlanta, GA.
Over two days, the 250 plus attendees networked with industry experts about the power and possibilities of today’s advanced solutions to reshape an industry mired in outdated practices. The general sessions highlighted key issues and challenges that ranged from interoperability strategies on all aspects of jobs to strategies for pushing the value of 3D and BIM models to the jobsite.
“BIM is about much more than clash detection. It’s about adding value to the client,” said Corinne Ambler, project engineer with Barton Malow, during The Model Lives On general session. “We are continually looking for tools and technologies that can help us leverage field data to support construction, commissioning and, ultimately, the life of a facility.”
The technical breakout sessions took time to dig deeper into the ways Tekla and its development partners are working to meet the needs of specific user groups, namely engineers, construction managers, steel detailers and fabricators, and concrete contractors.
The Tekla User Meeting closed out with its 2010 North American BIM Award ceremony. The four award categories included Industrial/Civil, Commercial/Institutional (Steel), Commercial/Institutional (Concrete) and Collaborative Project.
M3 Engineering won the Industrial/Civil award for its use of Tekla Structures on the Mercedes Gold Processing Plant in northern Mexico. For this project, M3 used Tekla Structures to create a fully integrated 3D model that was then used to detail for fabrication 500 metric tons of structural steel, grating, handrails and stairs as well as 200 metric tons of mechanical steel.
Technyx Canam took the honors in the Commercial/Institutional (Steel) category for the Pittsburgh Arena (Consol Energy Center). Technyx Canam designed 300-foot-long cambered trusses and over 2,000 linear feet of catwalks in Tekla Structures to produce 6,300 shop drawings. Technyx shared its Tekla model with the deck provider and exported a 3D DWG to the joist provider for an efficient, streamlined construction process.
Newcrete Products won the Commercial/Institutional (Concrete) for its use of Tekla Structures on the Pittsburgh Arena parking garage. The almost entirely precast concrete structure is 157,945 square feet with four elevated levels and one on-grade level. Newcrete designed 440 precast pieces including: architectural spandrels, columns, wall panels, double tees, slabs, inverted tee beams, rectangular moment beams, and light walls.
The Collaborative Project award went to DPR Construction, Harris Salinas Rebar, Greg P. Luth and Associates, The Herrick Corporation with Canadian Drafting and Engineering Supplies and others for their work on the estimated $320 million 7-story composite steel and concrete framed Sutter Medical Center-Castro Valley replacement hospital that is currently under construction. This fast track project is on pace to be completed 30% faster than comparable healthcare projects in California thanks to BIM and Integrated Project Delivery (IPD).
“The attendees to this conference are the innovators, pioneers and difference-makers. Through example, they spread a message about the role of technology in an increasingly complex industry,” concluded Hans Ehrnrooth, president of Tekla.
To View pictures of the event, please visit the Tekla Structures North America Fan page on Facebook:
http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=205316&id=227508968257&ref=mf