CC1611

Construction 

Computing 

WWW.CONSTRUCTION-COMPUTING.COM 

Bringing the tropics to Hampshire 

Terence O'Rourke and Vectorworks 

bring Marwell Zoo's Tropical House to life 

VR4CAD 

Virtalis provides a professional VR 

CAD solution for the mainstream 

Constructioneering 

Bentley Systems and Topcon 

combine to innovate in the Cloud 

NOVEMBER/DECEMBER 2016 

VOL 12 NO 06 

The Hammers XI 

The winners of the 2016 Construction 

Computing Awards are here! 

Are we there yet? 

Reflecting on the BIM journey so far 

@CCMagAndAwards

CONTENTS 

NOVEMBER/DECEMBER 

CONTENTS 

CONSTRUCTIONEERING 10 

Bentley and Topcon embrace the concept of 

"the continuous representation of reality" through 

innovating in the cloud and collaborating on 

'constructioneering' 

MARWELL ZOO TROPICAL HOUSE 12 

Its 3D BIM and advanced modelling tools made 

Vectorworks the ideal choice for Terence 

O'Rourke when designing Marwell Zoo's new 

Tropical House 

VR4CAD 22 

Virtalis, pioneers in virtual reality, have recently 

launched VR4CAD, providing engineers and 

architects with a serious interest in VR with an 

easier entry point 

THE HAMMERS XI 24 

The eleventh annual Construction Computing 

Awards were held in November at the historic 

BMA house in London. Discover more about 

this year's winners and runners-up in our 

special awards round-up! 

I NEWS................................................INDUSTRY NEWS....................................................................................................6 

• TURNING 3D MODELS INTO INTERACTIVE AR/VR • UK MISSING THE MARK ON HOUSING TARGETS 

CASE STUDY...................................LENDLEASE GETS AHEAD IN THE CLOUD.....................................................14 

• LENDLEASE DEPLOYS HUMAN RECOGNITION SYSTEMS' CLOUD-BASED MSITE BIOMETRIC SITE ACCESS SYSTEM 

SOFTWARE REVIEW........................BOXING CLEVER..............................................................................................16 

• GRAPHISOFT ADDS VR SUPPORT TO THE ARCHICAD EXPERIENCE WITH ITS LATEST RELEASE 

VIEWPOINT......................................ARE WE THERE YET?..........................................................................................18 

• AS 2016 DRAWS TO A CLOSE, JASON RUDDLE OF ELECOSOFT LOOKS AT THE BIM JOURNEY SO FAR 

CASE STUDY...................................REBAR PREFABRICATION...................................................................................20 

• MIDLAND STEEL HAS MADE CONSIDERABLE SAVINGS IN ALL AREAS OF A PROJECT WITH TEKLA STRUCTURES 

VIEWPOINT......................................A LIGHT TOUCH....................................................................................................30 

• DOES INCREASED INVESTMENT IN TECHNOLOGY GUARANTEE AN INCREASE IN PROJECT PERFORMANCE? 

TRAINING MAP................................AUTODESK TRAINING.........................................................................................32 

• YOUR GUIDE TO AUTODESK TRAINING 

CASE STUDY....................................FUSION IN PRACTICE........................................................................................34 

• BARRATT DEVELOPMENTS EXPERIENCES THE BENEFITS OF MANUFACTURING BUILDING COMPONENTS OFFSITE 

November/December 2016 3

COMMENT 

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Comment 

Waking up to virtual realities 

by David Chadwick 

Virtual Reality features in several 

articles this issue, reflecting the 

maturing of the industry. Looked at as 

a whole, though, they illustrate the fact that 

there is quite a difference between entry 

level VR solutions and the features that you 

would expect to find at the professional end 

of the technology. 

The driver, of course, is the evolution of VR 

headsets such as the Oculus Rift and HTC 

Vive, the peaks that 3D digital technology 

can now reach, assisted by powerful gaming 

processors, and customer demand seeking 

the most lifelike and immersive simulations in 

VR worlds. Whilst we are stunned by the 

scale of what is possible in these virtual 

worlds, mirroring our fantasies and driving 

our imaginations, it's easy to forget that VR 

can be used for more prosaic purposes, and 

some of the advanced techniques employed 

owe their existence to more simplistic needs. 

Virtalis has been involved in Virtual Reality 

for some years, developing solutions for the 

manufacturing industry that have 

foreshadowed some of the developments in 

the gaming industry. Pure speculation here, 

but what came first - the ability to select and 

grasp a spanner and to apply it to a turnable 

nut on the 3D mock-up of a vehicle chassis - 

or the ability to select and wield a weapon 

before advancing on a digital foe in a VR 

game? I watched a demonstration of the 

former some 10 years ago, and it seems that 

the VR gaming industry has caught up in 

leaps and bounds in recent years. 

It seems that the fidelity of a VR experience, 

the level of detail and interactivity - whether 

it's manipulating a virtual model or exploring 

a game environment - is largely determined 

by how much you are willing to pay for the 

experience and what you want to achieve 

with it. The HTC Vive, for example, starts at 

around £759 whereas Sony’s PSVR is £350 - 

and sold out everywhere this Christmas. A 

sign of VR things to come? 

At a most modest level, Graphisoft has 

enabled its users to download an app to a 

smartphone which can then be placed in a 

Google Cardboard viewer, so that the user 

can wander through 3D building models at 

will using the BIMx viewer. It allows the user 

to take measurements, climb stairs, and view 

the model in different modes - a simplified 

way for, say, architects to show their designs 

to clients in order to give them a sense of 

what a project will look like. 

And then, at the higher end of the VR scale, 

we have Virtalis with its VR4CAD, which gives 

users the opportunity to wander through a 

building model, but one they can interact 

with, opening doors and windows and 

changing features, materials and textures. It 

provides an ideal collaboration or operational 

tool for maintenance staff who can virtually 

climb a gantry in a process plant, turn a valve 

wheel and watch as pressure in a boiler 

mounts or declines. 

These are just two examples at different 

ends of the VR scale - but not for long, as a 

number of new apps are emerging that 

bridge this particular virtual gap. WakingApp, 

for example, featured in this issue's news 

pages, enables Autodesk Revit & Fusion 360 

designs to be converted to augmented 

reality and virtual reality experiences and 

promises a degree of interactivity, such as 

altering colours, animating objects etc. 

Of course, a lot will depend on how much 

effort has gone into preparing a model to 

allow viewers to explore it in VR, and interact 

with every feature. Virtalis, for example, will 

tell you that that is not an easy task - hence 

the (to date) limited range of CAD 

applications that they have set up for the full 

VR experience. 

The floodgates have been opened, 

though, and the evolution will proceed 

apace as companies strive to master this 

emerging market. Perhaps we can expect to 

see more representation from companies 

involved in VR in future Construction 

Computing Awards? In the meantime be 

sure to check out our special round-up of 

the 2016 awards in this issue! 

4 November/December 2016

INDUSTRY news 

ARCHITECT@WORK 2017 - GO WITH THE FLOW 

ARCHITECT@WORK, the 

two-day trade fair aimed at 

architects, designers and specifiers, 

will return to Olympia 

National Hall for its 2017 edition 

on 25 and 26 January. 

120 leading European architectural 

suppliers will be showing 

innovative new products 

and offering the latest innovations 

in surface solutions, lighting 

technology as well as interior 

and exterior fixtures and fittings. 

All of these companies 

have gone through a rigorous 

selection process, with an 

external judging panel overseeing 

the product selection. 

The theme for ARCHI- 

TECT@WORK UK 2017 is 

water. To this end, the SCIN 

GALLERY will present an exhibition 

focusing on four aspects: 

The Material Source: Materials 

that come from Water will 

examine the natural elements 

that come from water such as 

seaweed, shells and Neptune 

balls as well as solutions to the 

material waste that is floating in 

our seas like Bionic Yarn. 

The Physical Connection: 

Interacting with Water will 

explore how water is incorporated 

into design from tiles that 

redirect water to prevent flooding 

to creating a weathered 

look by putting materials in 

contact with water. 

The Chemical Reaction: 

Hydrophilic and Hydrophobic 

will look at materials that naturally 

repel water (hydrophilic) 

and materials that absorb 

water (hydrophobic). 

Hydrophilic materials are often 

incorporated into coatings and 

paints to protect surfaces while 

hydrophobic substances are 

used to create meltable bioplastics, 

expanding resins and 

dissolvable paper. 

The Aesthetic Inspiration: 

Looking like Water will show 

how water's shine, bubbles and 

waves are imitated in design 

elements from glass and 

acrylic to fabric and marble. 

Another feature of the 2017 edition 

is the exhibition Matière 

grise (GREY MATTER, Materials, 

Reuse, Architecture) by 

Pavillon de l'Arsenal. Architects 

Julien Choppin and Nicola 

Delon from the Encore Heureux 

architectural design agency 

explore the reuse of building 

materials at a time when architecture 

is aspiring to reinvent 

itself but restricted by economic 

and environmental constraints. 

The exhibition urges 

the construction trade to use 

more "grey matter" so as to use 

fewer raw materials. 

More information, including 

full detals of the event's Talk 

programme, are available at 

www.architectsdatafile.co.uk 

TURNING 3D MODELS INTO INTERACTIVE AR/VR 

WakingApp has released 

new, innovative add-ins 

that allow Autodesk Revit & 

Fusion 360 users to transform 

their 3D designs into augmented 

reality (AR) and virtual reality 

(VR) experiences without 

AR/VR programming skills or 

experience. 

WakingApp's Revit add-in and 

Fusion 360 add-in support 

seamless content generation, 

enabling file sharing and file fixing 

for their designs prior to the 

prototype and printing stage. 

With a few mouse clicks, users 

can turn CAD into AR or VR, 

and share it with clients and 

colleagues instantly. 

"Autodesk is excited to see 

WakingApp delivering our customers 

Augmented & Virtual 

Reality in just one click," said 

Jim Quanci, Senior Director 

AN AWARD-WINNING EVENT FOR ABVENT 

Abvent has won 3 out of 10 

categories at the first annual 

Digital Transition Plan for 

Buildings Awards held in Paris, 

France on November 29. Twinmotion 

won the top prize in the 

"Planning, Visualisation and 

Communication" category. 

Abvent's ClimaBIM won the 

award for best "Energy Performance 

and Environmental Protection" 

software. ClimaBIM 

enables RT2012 thermal calculations 

of BIM projects directly 

from an architectural model in 

both Revit and ARCHICAD. 

RT2012 is the national standard 

of France. 

Graphisoft's ARCHICAD 20, 

distributed by Abvent in 

France, took home the top 

prize in the "Design Tools" category. 

The award-winning 

firm's focus on IFC interoperability, 

real-time photo-realistic 

rendering, and an IFC/BCF 

collaborative platform made it 

Software partner Development. 

"When WakingApp's ENTiTi software 

is combined with 

Autodesk apps, millions of CAD 

users and their customers can 

experience their designs in augmented 

and virtual reality in 

near real time." 

With the ENTiTi Creator 

(WakingApp's cloud-based platform), 

CAD users can add interactivity 

to their designs, such as 

colours, animating objects and 

more. The software allows CAD 

users to edit existing projects 

created by the Revit or Fusion 

360 add-in. Once users save 

and publish content in ENTiTi, 

their AR/VR experience can be 

immediately shared and viewed 

by clients and colleagues. It's 

easy to use and requires no 

prior AR or VR experience. 

www.wakingapp.com 

a clear choice for the jury. 

Established by the Government 

of France, the Digital Transition 

Plan for Buildings (PTNB) 

awards recognise software 

innovations that help building 

design and construction professionals 

transition to and work 

within a BIM workflow. 

"Our objective is to highlight 

the digital tools that allow all 

building professionals to work 

on digital models using BIM," 

said Bertrand Delcambre, President 

of the PTNB. "Of the 93 

entries, we selected 30 nominees," 

he said. 

The jury then selected 11 winners 

in 10 categories. Most of 

the participating software will be 

listed on the French Government's 

PTNB website as a 

guide for design and construction 

professionals to consider 

the best BIM software tools 

available on the market today. 

www.abvent.com 

6 

November/December 2016

60 

50.35 

50.35 

6.20 

7.30 

32.40 

YOU SEE 

THE WORLD 

DIFFERENTLY. 

ST 17H 

TRANSFORM IT. 

DESIGN WITH VECTORWORKS 2017. 

VECTORWORKS.NET/EXPLORE2017 

Our intuitive software enhances your design process, 

enabling you to collaborate from inspiration to execution 

and explore the possibilities of BIM and beyond. 

IN PARTNERSHIP WITH

INDUSTRY news 

UK MISSING THE MARK ON HOUSING TARGETS 

Nearly 90% of local authorities 

believe that the Government's 

housing targets will 

be impossible to meet due to a 

lack of planning resources, 

according to a new joint 

research report from the Federation 

of Master Builders (FMB) 

and the Local Government 

Information Unit (LGiU). 

The report, the first of its kind 

to draw upon the experience of 

both local authorities and SME 

house builders from right 

across the UK, also found that: 

• 64% of builders and 45% of 

local authorities see lack of 

planning resources as a barrier 

to developing more small sites 

• More than half of councils 

deliver fewer than 40% of 

homes on small sites 

• Builders and local authorities 

call for councils to be 

allowed to raise planning application 

fees. 

Brian Berry, Chief Executive of 

London South Bank University 

(LSBU) is has announcing 

a £50K award from the 

Higher Education Funding 

Council for England (HEFCE) 

to support a research pilot conducted 

by the University’s 

School of Architecture and the 

Built Environment (BEA), looking 

at encouraging students 

and staff within the AEC arena 

to collaborate and work together 

better on joint projects. 

The research pilot launches 

this month and is set to run 

from December 2016 until May 

2018 for a period of one and a 

half years. 

The project is being led by 

Jennifer Hardi, Senior Lecturer 

at LSBU’s School for Architecture 

and the Built Environment, 

together with her colleagues 

the FMB, said: "The Government 

aim to build one million 

new homes by 2020 won't be 

realised unless more SME 

housebuilders can enter the 

housing market. That's why the 

barriers that SME house 

builders currently face need to 

be removed. We know that the 

availability of suitable small 

sites and the difficulty of getting 

planning permission on them 

are two of the biggest barriers 

these firms face. In this 

research, both local authorities 

and SME builders identify 

under-resourcing as a key barrier 

to allocating more small 

sites and getting planning permissions 

in place on them. 

Too often small sites are dealt 

with entirely by inexperienced 

officers. There simply aren't 

enough senior and experienced 

planners to make the 

system work effectively." 

www.fmb.org.uk 

£50K FUNDING FOR AEC RESEARCH PILOT 

Steve Pittard and Professor 

Andy Ford, who were both in 

the original bidding team. 

Jennifer Hardi said, "The culture 

within the UK’s construction 

industry currently shows a 

tendency towards silo working, 

where different professionals 

working on the same project 

often fail to communicate well 

with one another about the different 

stages of that project. In 

the past this has proved 

extremely frustrating and even 

led to delays in projects being 

completed and deadlines 

being missed. 

This is not a sustainable or 

efficient way for the UK’s construction 

industry to be working 

if it is to retain its competitive 

edge in a post-Brexit economy." 

www.hefce.ac.uk 

NEW WAYS TO DESIGN FOR MEP DISCIPLINES 

The new version 2016.11 of 

the MEP design software 

MagiCAD for Revit and Auto- 

CAD introduces new productivity-enhancing 

workflows on 

top of Revit and AutoCAD 

technologies. MagiCAD offers 

a comprehensive and 

advanced solution for all ventilation, 

piping and electrical 

BIM, design and calculations 

needs. MagiCAD 2016.11 supports 

Revit 2017-2016 and 

AutoCAD 2017-2013. 

The new release offers a 

complete MEP calculation 

solution on Revit platforms, 

with the capability to perform 

all of the thorough MagiCAD 

calculations now also on 

native Revit families. In previous 

versions, MagiCAD for 

Revit has already offered full 

design functions with both 

native RFAs and MagiCAD 

RFAs, as well as full calculations 

with MagiCAD RFAs. 

The new version also integrates 

consistently with native 

Revit units of measurement, 

optimises drawing legends for 

quantity take-off documents 

and bills of materials, and 

provides easy functions for 

locating potential errors and 

failed objects in the model 

after IFC export. 

www.magicad.com 

INTERACTIVE, 3D MODELING PLUG-IN 

RDV Systems has released 

123BIM Publisher, a 3D 

modeling plug-in for Auto- 

CAD Civil 3D and Bentley 

MicroStation. 123BIM Publisher 

enables engineers and 

visualisation experts to use 

their existing CAD platforms 

to democratise their designs 

by publishing their models 

into a browser-based Google 

Earth-like 3D environment 

that is fully interactive. 

By using 123BIM Publisher 

to import external data such 

as aerial photographs, GIS 

data, SketchUp models and 

much more, designers will be 

able communicate intent 

quickly and inexpensively. 

"123BIM Publisher was built 

in a way so that actual, complex 

project design created in 

any industry standard CAD 

platform can be seamlessly 

converted to 3D digital models 

and uploaded to the 

cloud for collaboration and 

public engagement on the 

123BIM platform. This is not 

trivial since the 3D digital 

documents created by the 

engineers are huge and 

require dedicated software to 

be viewed," said Dolio Kafri, 

VP North America Sales with 

RDV Systems. 

www.rdvsystems.com 

8 


From design 

to reality 

Louis Vuitton Foundation (France) 

Tekla Structures is intelligent 3D modelling software at the heart of the digital 

construction process. From concept drawing to reality, collaboration between 

people and across technologies becomes more efficient and rewarding. 

Together we are shaping a smarter future for construction. 

www.tekla.com/uk/solutions 

TRANSFORMING THE WAY THE WORLD WORKS

INDUSTRYfocus 

Innovating in the Cloud 

Bentley Systems and Topcon join forces to advance cloud services for 'constructioneering' 

We looked at 'conceptioneering' in 

the last issue - now we are being 

introduced to 

'constructioneering'. Bentley appears to be 

pioneering a new method of describing 

the bringing together of a number of 

different disciplines to make a more 

valuable 'whole'. 

It's not an uncommon concept, as 

traditional construction activities such as 

architectural design, structural, MEP and 

environmental applications are all well 

integrated and capable of sharing models 

and data, improving efficiency and 

enhancing workflow processes. Bentley is 

taking the process one step further, 

though, by bringing together construction 

workflows that traditionally operate within 

their own environment - surveys, 

engineering design and construction - 

providing benefits not previously 

attainable. 

The recent Bentley Year in Infrastructure 

event in London was the perfect venue for 

launching the joint intentions of Bentley 

Systems and Topcon Positioning Group to 

connect their respective cloud services to 

promote the concept of 

constructioneering. Topcon is a world 

leader in positioning instruments for 

survey and construction, and for the use 

of GNSS (Global Navigation Satellite 

Systems) and robotics in the automatic 

positioning of construction equipment like 

graders, bulldozers and excavators. 

Adopting elements of each other's 

software solutions, Bentley Systems will 

offer ProjectWise CONNECT Edition users 

seamless access to Topcon's MAGNET 

Enterprises, whilst Topcon will incorporate 

Bentley's ContextCapture image 

processing for its mass data collection via 

unmanned aerial systems (UAS). 

A TWO-WAY PROCESS 

The symmetry between the two processes 

is quite satisfying. The construction site 

survey data - an accurate 3D model of the 

current conditions that includes both 

terrain and existing structures - is captured 

using Topcon UAV photogrammetry and 

laser scanners. This is then processed 

into engineering ready 3D reality meshes 

by ContextCapture software, where it 

becomes the basis of further engineering 

design and terrain development within 

Bentley's numerous applications. 

With the connection between Topcon's 

MAGNET cloud service and Bentley's 

ProjectWise CONNECT Edition Cloud 

established, the updated model can then 

be automatically conveyed to engineers 

engaged in construction processes in the 

field, with the digital engineering models 

feeding the 3D machine control that 

guides the construction machinery. 

Greg Bentley, CEO of Bentley Systems, 

explained the benefits quite clearly. "To 

date," he said, "surveying, engineering, 

and construction industries have 

separately advanced to 3D technologies. 

But unbelievably, until now, 3D models 

have been recreated - rather than reused - 

at each phase." 

He explained further, pointing out that 

engineers are now able to start from 

reality-captured surveys, and to update 

their digital engineering models 

throughout the construction process - a 

real-time bilateral process that provides 

construction workers with the latest 

construction model at all times. The joint 

cloud service innovations for constructing 

and improving roadways, which include 

as-built capture, are now enabling the 

highest level of workflow automation. This 

has to be compared to traditional 

workflows between design and 

construction in which data from survey 

and digital engineering models can be lost 

and inefficiently recreated. 

Constructioneering empowers engineers 

to extend their role within both surveying 

and construction. 

Actually, constructioneering is just the 

start of a whole new way of handling 

infrastructure projects, said Greg Bentley, 

who believes that Topcon will continue to 

pioneer new positioning devices to take 

advantage of every emerging opportunity: 

"We are enthusiastic about working with 

them, enabling us to advance 

constructioneering into the mainstream for 

infrastructure projects around the world." 

TOPCON UAS 

Aerial surveys are certainly the way things 

are going with drones, like Topcon's 

Falcon 8 rotary winged UAV. Powered by 

Ascending Technologies, it’s the latest 

addition to the company's line-up of mass 

data collection technology (it's also being 

used for inspection and monitoring, as 

well as surveys and mapping). 

According to Charles Rihner, VP of the 

Topcon GeoPositioning Solutions Group, 

such devices provide perfect solutions for 

small-scale sites and projects for which 

flexibility of take-off and landing, or oblique 

perspectives are required. Drones like 

Falcon 8 can manoeuvre in small spaces 

and cope with challenging environments, 

and can cope with mapping and 

modelling projects up to 85 acres in size 

that require high-resolution imaging. 

The onboard Trinity system makes the 

Falcon 8 very efficient and safe in daily 

operation. The triple flight controllers 

onboard contain a total of 31 sensors, 

synchronise all sensing data, and identify 

10 


INDUSTRYfocus 

signal interference and compensate in 

case of trouble. Unmatched position 

accuracy can even be guaranteed at high 

speeds in highly dynamic flights. Topcon 

has two models of the Falcon 8. The 

GeoEXPERT is for surveying, modelling 

and mapping projects - now mobilised 

with ContextCapture - and uses the UAS's 

high definition RGB cameras to create 

geometrically and visually accurate 3D 

representations of both terrain and asbuilt 

structures. 

The InspectionPRO model is for industrial 

inspection and monitoring applications, 

and adds infra-red sensors to the payload. 

Using established ground control and the 

Navigator software for photo-tagging, the 

system is able to generate high quality and 

easy to edit outputs. The Falcon 8 is not 

Topcon's first entry into UAS territory. it 

complements the Topcon Sirius Pro, a 

fixed wing UAS which is used for larger 

area mapping without having to rely on 

traditional ground control. 

MAGNETIC APPEAL 

Topcon also has a full range of optical and 

surveying solutions like the GT Total 

Station, driven by MAGNET Field software, 

which provides users with comprehensive 

data collection and surveying solutions. 

MAGNET works with a wide range of 

industry file formats, and can tackle any 

survey task. 

At the centre of the MAGNET system is 

MAGNET Enterprise, which provides 

managers with access to project data via 

the cloud, and also to disparate members 

of survey teams using MAGNET Enterprise 

Mobile on their tablets. This is backed up 

further by the MAGNET Office Suite which 

serves the whole project, enabling users to 

process fieldwork, produce reports 

(customisable on-the-fly) and view data 

with a satellite image background. 

ROBOTICS AND GNSS 

Accurate positioning is not just a 

requirement for engineering design 

purposes; it is also used for stakeout 

using Hybrid positioning (combined 

Robotic and GNSS) and to control 

construction vehicles such as graders. 

Topcon's Hybrid solution uses lightweight 

GNSS receivers combined with Topcon's 

high end Robotic prism-tracking 

equipment to provide flexible solutions 

with millimetre accuracies. As you move 

about the site, the Total Station stays 

locked-on and the user can chose to use 

data from the Robotic or the GNSS 

receiver depending on the environment. 

The user can upload or download data to 

the cloud-based Enterprise solution as the 

job progresses. 

Managing bulk earthworks with dozers 

and excavators can be challenging, even 

for seasoned drivers. Whether you're 

grading flat or inclined 3D surfaces, 

Topcon allows operators to get the job 

done quickly and precisely first time. The 

system gives operators real-time cut/fill 

data in their cab at all times, making 

overcuts and undercuts a thing of the past. 

On the stage at the Year in Infrastructure 

conference with Greg Bentley was Ray 

O'Connor, President and CEO of Topcon 

Positioning Group. He spoke about the 

vision that both he and Bentley shared. 

"With these advancements we can achieve 

through what I call the continuous 

representation of reality. We also share a 

commitment to rolling up our sleeves and 

working together to make possible 

tangible results and real benefits for our 

customers as we advance 

constructioneering. I believe that our 

strategic collaboration will continue to 

integrate surveying, engineering, and 

construction, improving outcomes for 

project delivery." 

www.bentley.com 

www.topconpositioning.com/en-gb 


CASEstudy 

Marwell Tropical House 

Its 3D BIM and advanced modelling tools made Vectorworks the ideal choice for Terence O'Rourke 

when designing Marwell Zoo's new Tropical House 

Designed by award-winning 

planning and design 

consultants Terence O'Rourke, 

Marwell's Tropical House is scheduled 

to be completed by February 2018 and 

is intended to replace the existing 

Tropical World exhibit. It incorporates 

an Energy Centre using a sustainable 

energy source to power both the 

Tropical House and other exhibits within 

the park. 

Run by Marwell Wildlife, Marwell Zoo 

is a well-established, highly respected 

and successful zoological park in the 

south of England. It has an international 

reputation for wildlife conservation as 

well as being a very popular visitor 

attraction in the South Downs National 

Park. Marwell Wildlife is a charity 

dedicated to the conservation of 

biodiversity and 

other natural resources. It undertakes a 

broad portfolio of conservation 

activities. Marwell Wildlife is also 

committed to promoting sustainable 

living through initiatives such as 

renewable energy generation. 

With a strong ethos of involving 

people in successful conservation 

projects, the charity works closely with 

local communities, both at home and 

abroad, to find sustainable ways of 

living alongside wildlife. 

The building features an elongated S- 

shaped plan, 1277sq.m in gross 

internal floor area, with an elevated 

entry and a lower level exit. The 

environmentally controlled Tropical 

House to the south is separated from 

the Energy 

Centre to the north by a central 

concrete thermal wall. The enclosure of 

the building will also serve as the 

defining element of its architectural 

identity, which is a lightweight curved 

roof clad with a translucent ETFE 

membrane, supported by an exposed 

curved steel structure. 

Entering at high level you are taken 

along a meandering boardwalk and 

path through a tropical themed 

environment of vegetation, waterfalls, 

rock faces and aquariums populated 

by animal species that will interact with 

the visitors, such as sloths, monkeys 

and lizards. The visitor will feel that they 

are in the animals' environment. The 

base of the exhibit will be sculpted to 

reflect an uneven forest and desert 

floor with water features. 

12 


CASEstudy 

The building is split into several 

temperate environments to reflect the 

species' living environment. The back 

of house area serves as animal housing 

and plant areas for animal life support 

and the building's environment-friendly 

biomass technology. 

This complex architectural form (in 

terms of the curved roof and S-shaped 

plan) suggested early on that using 3D 

BIM with Vectorworks 2015 and 2016 

was the most rational and efficient 

method to document the building. The 

initial setting out of the building was 

established by a 2D plan grid in a 

regular arrangement, dividing the 

building into a series of bays, which 

meant that it could be easily extended 

or reduced through the design process 

to meet performance requirements and 

cost limits. Breaking the building into a 

series of bays to achieve the overall 

complex form ensured constructional 

efficiency as well as making the design 

easier to document. 

Due to the bespoke nature of the 

structure and envelope, extensive use 

of Vectorworks 3D modelling tools was 

required instead of standard plug-in 

tools. For example, the main structural 

elements were formed as curved 

circular beams in 3D, using the 'extrude 

along path' tool, and the completed 

elements converted into a 3D symbol 

with IFC data applied. 

These symbols were next set out on 

the centre point of the set circular grid 

and duplicated and rotated to grid. In 

order to form the 'pillows' of the ETFE 

membrane, a curve was drawn 

following the top of beams either side 

of a bay, with a third line connecting 

them at the base. These were next 

converted to spline lines, and using the 

surface array tool allowed a curved 

pillow shape to be generated that 

closely resembles the look of a typical 

ETFE installation. 

This had the advantage of allowing 

easy adjustment of the design by 

altering the generating geometry, but 

the design team discovered the 

importance of adding the right IFC data 

so that all information within the model 

could be exchanged with other team 

members. 

The production of a 3D model early on 

in the design process also presented 

clear advantages for design exploration 

and demonstration of the proposals to 

the client and design team. The team 

was able to quickly produce animated 

walkthroughs and 3D views from the 

model, but utilised some postprocessing 

in other software packages 

to achieve the required level of softness 

and 'sketchiness' to this early stage of 

presentation. 

The designers exported IFC data from 

a working model and used this to 

coordinate with structures and M&E 

with relative ease. The new project 

sharing facility of Vectorworks 2016 

allowed several members of the design 

team to work on the project at the same 

time, enabling the deadline to be met. 

The combined consultant BIM model 

was used in design team meetings to 

review, coordinate and question the 

design, with the knowledge of 

outcomes allowing decisions to be 

made quickly. With such a highly 

themed building Terence O'Rourke 

added a 3D model layer of theming to 

allow the client to visualise the potential 

of the space and show the consultant 

team how the structural, mechanical 

and electrical designs would be seen 

within the space. The theming designer 

was able to use the model to take the 

project to its next stages, and it also 

enabled Terence O'Rourke to efficiently 

add an extra bay to the main exhibition 

hall late into the tendering process. 

Marwell's Tropical House has enabled 

Terence O'Rourke to develop an 

understanding of complex modelling 

techniques and the importance of 

collaborative working with BIM models 

both in-house and with consultant 

teams - David Dexter Associates for the 

structural elements, Hoare Lea for MEP 

and fire assessment and Main 

Contractors Drew Construction Group. 

www.torltd.co.uk 


CASEstudy 

Lendlease gets ahead in the cloud 

Meeting Health & Safety requirements prompted Lendlease to 

deploy Human Recognition Systems' cloud-based MSite 

biometric site access system 

Construction sites are notoriously 

challenging to manage and keep 

safe. Even today they often lack 

technical infrastructure or 

communications, and hardware has to 

survive in harsh environments with 

unreliable power provision. Solutions need 

to be easy to use but meet an everonerous 

list of moral, Health and Safety 

and legal requirements. And then there's 

the contractor who expects it to simply 

work ... and work simply. 

These very special requirements were one 

reason Human Recognition Systems (HRS) 

turned to the cloud when it pioneered a 

construction-specific biometric site access 

and contractor management product which 

uses worker identity and skills information 

to manage sites effectively. 

Its cloud-based MSite system, which is 

now deployed on more than 600 sites, with 

more than 1 million workers enrolled to date 

and 150,000 entries and exists processed 

per day, has captured this requirement so 

completely that it has become a main 

contractor's virtual site manager, saving one 

of them six figures on a single element of a 

single project alone. 

HRS has worked with Lendlease on 

numerous large projects using MSite as the 

contractor's preferred access control 

system, and a prime example of this is the 

10-year regeneration scheme currently 

underway at Elephant and Castle in 

London. As Southwark Council's 

development partner, Lendlease was 

selected to carry out the regeneration of 

more than 28 acres across three sites in its 

initial phase and a total of eight sites for the 

life of the project, and needed an access 

control system that could cope with crosssite 

access rights and a complex set of 

reporting requirements. 

As part of the project, Lendlease had a 

Section 106 requirement from Southwark 

Borough Council to demonstrate its 

commitment to the development of local 

skills and labour, including apprenticeships 

and skills training programmes. 

Lendlease chose MSite to service up to 

3,000 site workers with 100,000 secure 

entries/exits per month. The initial delivery 

of this was so successful Lendlease asked 

HRS to provide an automated solution for 

all the required site reporting and 

management, including the monthly 

automated diversity reporting. 

A quarterly report was designed which 

provided the exact information required, 

reporting on the key groups and the 

respective time spent working on site. This 

report was automatically produced for the 

client and used to show key progress 

against diversity and local labour targets. 

MSite's comprehensive reporting engine 

answered all of Lendlease's reporting 

requirements and more. In fact on-site's 

Lendlease staff estimate that without MSite 

they would require one person per site for 

the duration of the project just to create the 

diversity reports alone - a cost saving of 

over £200,000 on this element alone. 

"MSite saves us considerable time in 

reporting and allows our on-site project 

team to focus on managing projects on 

site, while giving our head office instant 

visibility to all the data needed in real time," 

said Andy Fulterer, Lendlease's head of 

strategic procurement. 

Apart from specific sites, HRS has also 

worked with Lendlease to improve overall 

processes across the entire company, and 

for the past 18 months MSite pre-enrolment 

has been mandated across all Lendlease 

sites. Most recently, HRS has developed an 

extensive skills management sub-system of 

MSite for Lendlease which effectively 

manages and records training sessions 

across a multitude of sites. 

"What's different about this is its ability to 

link seamlessly with our MSite access 

control system," said Brian Van 

Campenhout, Lendlease's health and 

safety director. "This assures us that our 

health and safety policies are being 

followed on all sites across thousands of 

operatives. If they're not, untrained workers 

won't be able to enter and we are alerted to 

the problem. Simple training attendance 

reports also allow us to automate our CITB 

grant claims process across all sites and 

maximise the financial returns." 

Along with the cast-iron guarantee of 

biometric identification which eliminates 

'ghost' workers and time fraud, the cloudbased 

MSite system provides: 

CSCS integration and card usage, 

where workers use their own cards to 

access site - this has been shown to 

save £59,000 in purchased cards and 

faster induction, 

Pre-enrolment and induction booking, 

where suppliers enter their workers' 

details online prior to the first visit to 

site - saving £110,000 in induction time 

and errors 

Local labour and environmental 

reporting, for the logging of workers' 

travel-to-site distances to contribute to 

a site's CO2 footprint, saving £13,500 

on the average half a day per site per 

month it usually takes to do this, 

Diversity reporting by category, saving 

£25,000 

Delivery management where suppliers 

and contractors book their slots online, 

saving £15,000 on a part-time 

employee per site. 

With a revolutionary fingerprint-enabled 

touchscreen display also launched this 

year, a system combining sophisticated 

workforce management software with 

biometric hardware has set the bar in an 

industry typically slow to embrace new and 

innovative methods of working. 

www.hrsid.com 

14 


Call 020 3002 8700 or go to www.redskyit.com 

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customers make the critical decisions regarding product direction and development. 

Contact 

Management 

Workflow/ 

Approvals 

Estimating 

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Production 

Time, Mileage 

& Expenses 

FM/Customer 

Care 

Post Contract 

& Planning 

MI/Role Based 

Dashboards & 

Reporting 

Auto-email & 

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House Build 

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CONTRACT MANAGEMENT 

Procurement 

Excel & 

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SOFTWAREreview 

Boxing Clever 

Graphisoft adds VR support 

to the ARCHICAD experience with the 

latest release of the software 

If you are old enough, you might 

remember getting a View Master for 

Christmas, along with half a dozen 

discs showing some improbably sunny 

landscapes in 3D. I spent hours looking 

through them (if you want to know more, 

there are loads for sale in vintage toys on 

eBay) but, looking back, the distinct 

impression wasn't the images seen, but 

the technology - and even that had been 

superceded by 100 years or so. 

I was recently reminded of the View 

Master by Google's Carboard VR -fold-up 

cardboard boxes that convert into 

disposable Virtual Reality viewers when 

you insert your smart phone. They are 

ideal for handing out to clients who want 

to view their properties in virtual 3D 

walkthroughs, which is why Graphisoft has 

made them available to ARCHICAD users, 

who can convert their building models into 

viewable 3D, thus enabling users of their 

free BIMx viewer to explore models at will. 

Aside from enhanced modelling tools like 

Rhino and Grasshopper, integrating within 

ARCHICAD 20, Graphisoft has 

concentrated with the latest revision of the 

software on improving usability and the 

viewer's experience, with a new Properties 

Manager amongst other handy tools. 

We seem to have pretty much exhausted 

what extra features we can add to 

architectural geometry, as the tools we 

already have allow us to design anything 

we can dream up, thanks to things like 

morphing tools and algorithmic or 

generative design provided by Rhino and 

Grasshopper (covered in the last issue). 

Adding freeform modelling and scripting 

to parametric 3D modelling applications 

adds new dimensions to the concept of 

architectural design - not least, the 

addition of advanced concept modelling 

to ARCHICAD's traditional strengths in 

formal design and construction 

documentation. 

And talking of advanced modelling, there 

is a bonus in the latest version of 

ARCHICAD, namely the ability to support 

more accurate representations of NURBS 

(Non-uniform rational Basis spline) curves 

and surfaces. As a result, complex Rhino 

models can be imported directly into 

ARCHICAD 20 as Global GDL objects 

using native NURBS definitions, giving 

ARCHICAD users better control over them 

- of which more later. 

IT'S THE HOW, NOT THE WHAT 

The bulk of the latest upgrades to 

ARCHICAD concentrate on improving the 

user experience, making it easier to use 

the software and reorganising the way in 

which ARCHICAD tools are organised and 

how non-geometric information in a BIM 

model (such as manufacturers 

information, costs, fire ratings, etc.) are 

imported, created and used. 

Immediately apparent, though, is the 

refined user interface. Adding so many 

bells and whistles to the software probably 

went too far, and tended to detract from 

the main element - the model display 

Consequently, the toolbars have been 

reduced in size and toned down (a more 

muted two colour system) to give the 

display more prominence, but with the 

numerous features of the software still 

available in pull-down menus. Graphisoft 

has also added a Quick Options toolbar 

below the graphics display which gives 

quick access to frequently used features 

without having to use the Navigator. 

And there are now three levels of 

resolution available - low, medium and 

high - taking advantage of the higher 

resolution and retina displays becoming 

available to provide sharper resolutions in 

complex drawings. 

MODEL VIEWS AND FAVOURITES 

Rather than reducing the number of 

features available, though, a couple of 

new ones have been added. View tabs 

provides a drop-down list of available 

views, which can be used to save model 

views directly from the tab, irrespective of 

the view on display. If you are showing a 

floorplan, for instance, you can create and 

save a view from the model in any other 

mode. This saves the hassle of switching 

to a particular view before it can be saved. 

Access to Favourites has also been 

enhanced. All of the tools that you have 

used in a particular project are stored in 

the Favourites palette, supported by 2D 

and 3D thumbnail previews, will display 

their properties when you hover the 

mouse over them. Favourites are also 

available from individual element types - 

such as walls, doors, windows, etc. - and 

16 


SOFTWAREreview 

Rhino, Grasshopper and ARCHICAD integration 

ARCHICAD 20 Graphical Favourites 

can be organised into individual folders to 

be used on a project, or exported to be 

shared across multiple projects. Once 

selected, all tools and components within 

Favourites are fully editable. 

ELEMENT PROPERTIES 

Properties in ARCHICAD are absolutely 

any type of information about an element 

that isn't geometric information - the 'I' bit 

of BIM - and can come from numerous 

sources: COBie, IFC, Excel or ARCHICAD 

GDL files, or keyed in directly. In earlier 

versions of ARCHICAD, property data was 

managed within individual property 

dialogue boxes - an onerous task when 

fire-ratings had to be applied, individually, 

to each type of element such as a wall, 

door or window. A new Property Manager 

dialogue box is also now available and 

can be used to define properties and 

allocate them to elements within different 

groups or categories. 

If property data is to be added from a 

non-CAD source, or from a different 

discipline, the Property import/export 

function allows users to export the 

property data and element types to project 

team members as an Excel file, which they 

can fill in, and send back. It’s an ideal tool 

for manufacturers to update all of the 

information on a full range of products for 

incorporation within each BIM model. 

GRAPHIC OVERRIDES 

Graphic Overrides is used to change the 

representation of model views to highlight 

different elements. Available in both 2D 

and 3D views, rules can be applied to the 

graphical parameters of any element. This 

is particularly useful for fire ratings, MEP, 

space types and usage, MEP elements 

and so on, specifying which graphic 

elements are to be changed for specific 

displays - colours, line types, surfaces etc. 

To take an example, using the properties 

manager to allocate different levels of fire 

resistance to different wall sections, each 

of these can be assigned a different 

colour using the graphic override. When 

selected, the model will display the 

appropriate walls with the chosen colour 

scheme. The original model will retain its 

standard graphic attributes. 

RENDERING AND VISUALISATION 

ARCHICAD 20 uses the latest Cinema 4D 

R16 rendering engine, which provides 

more accurate renderings with more 

realistic surfaces. The reflectance and 

specular levels make it easier to define the 

reflective characteristics of surfaces, 

together with enhanced backlight shaders 

that further enhance surface effects. 

The enhanced rendering engine provides 

improved global illuminance with highly 

realistic contact shadows, thanks to an an 

improved physical ray tracing engine 

boosting performance. 

In 3D perspective views, users can 

switch to any two part perspective in any 

camera position, which enables verticals 

in any 3D model view to remain as vertical 

in perspective views 

GOOGLE CARDBOARD VR 

BIMx is used to navigate 3D models in 

real-time. As Virtual Reality is now all the 

rage the viewing experience can now 

feel old hat unless you have the option to 

view the model in 3D. The good news is 

that you don't have to invest in an Oculus 

Rift or HTC Vive as Google’s Cardboard 

VR is cheap and simple enough for you 

to send to your client, who can download 

the BIMx app and explore your designs 

at their leisure. The instructions for 

moving around the model are shown on 

the smartphone display, and are 

activated by a simple, clickable point on 

the cardboard devices. 

CONCLUSION 

The integration of Rhino and 

Grasshopper within ARCHICAD 20 is a 

significant development. The degree of 

integration allows bidirectional links 

between all applications in real-time, 

providing an apparent native looking 

integration. Although algorithmic design 

looks complex, its foundation lies in 

being able to lay out complete logical 

workflows for each element of the 

design, and is a joy to use. 

The other major new feature - the ability 

to add building information to elements 

in a much more organised manner using 

the Property Manager - together with 

improved interoperability for sharing data 

throughout the full project team, make 

ARCHICAD 20 a very worthwhile update. 

www.graphisoft.co.uk 


VIEWPOINT 

Are we there yet? 

As 2016 draws to a close, Jason Ruddle of Elecosoft muses on the BIM journey so far, and what 

2017 might hold for contractors who are continuing to transform around digital construction 

Jason Ruddle - Chief Operating 

Officer, Elecosoft 

The past few years have been 

tumultuous for construction 

companies. It is five years since 

the launch of BIM as a UK directive, 

and it only intensified this year. They 

have battled their way through a tough 

economy and been pushed to start a 

process of change which will see their 

businesses and modus operandi alter 

almost beyond recognition. Even the 

truism that construction always involves 

laying brick on brick is starting to 

change, thanks to huge developments 

in new and smart materials, and the 

rise and rise of off-site construction and 

pre-fabrication. 

Now, construction businesses must 

also cope with an extreme level of 

uncertainty. Not only must they 

consider the implications of Brexit, 

especially around possible limitation of 

labour movement, but now we must 

consider the global impact that may 

arise from the change of US 

administration. Trading may become 

less free, more fraught and more 

expensive, if signals from incoming 

leaders are to be believed. Our 

immediate trading environment is sure 

to be impacted by Brexit, on a timeline 

that is murky, at best. It has never been 

more vital for British businesses to be 

in the best possible shape, both 

operationally and financially, to 

navigate such choppy waters. 

DIGITAL CONSTRUCTION 

MOMENTUM 

The digitisation of construction is 

already a focus of the discussion 

around change, as it is not really a 

choice. However, done right, it will play 

a significant role in improving 

construction businesses' ability to see 

ahead, manage risk, drive best 

practices, and manage more efficient 

and effective operations and projects. 

BIM was the starting step on the 

digital path for many. A lot of hard work 

later, the first key milestone has 

passed. Firms which have not yet truly 

met their Level 2 BIM goals will be 

working hard in 2017 to do so. This will 

be the year that losing out on public 

sector contracts starts to bite if they do 

not, but further impetus will come from 

the fact that it is highly likely that we will 

see an acceleration of BIM adoption by 

private sector clients. It promises them, 

too, better visibility and efficiencies - 

but, even more vitally, it promises lower 

lifecycle costs and easier management, 

thanks to the rich data model that they 

gain in addition to their asset. 

Not only is the Government firmly 

standing behind BIM Level 2, it is now 

looking ahead at Level 3, and has 

outlined a vision of digital data 

supporting the entirety of building and 

infrastructure lifecycles, enabling the 

development of smart cities, 

infrastructure and services. 

So, the answer to the title question is, 

of course, no. We aren't there yet. As 

Confucius said, roads were meant for 

journeys, not destinations - and that 

couldn't be more true of BIM. In fact 

we've barely scratched the surface. 

SHIFTED WAYS OF THINKING 

If BIM was only a step on the road, it 

was nonetheless significant. It marked 

18 


VIEWPOINT 

a paradigm shift for construction: from 

thinking in a linear way about the 

process of building, to a threedimensional 

outlook which was more 

connected with the design intentions of 

architects, more comprehensible for 

clients, and easier to communicate to 

sub-contractors. 

But that shift hasn't finished yet. 2017 

will be, we confidently predict, the year 

when the emphasis moves to 5D 

thinking. En route, construction 

companies must first fully embrace 4D, 

but we believe they will move on 

rapidly. 

4D BIM, which blends BIM data from 

3D models with time, has become 

familiar. The 4D BIM module of Asta 

Powerproject has certainly seen 

increasing adoption. Even as 

contractors continue to explore how 3D 

visualisation can enhance project 

management, we believe the focus 

should move to 5D planning and the 

project delivery as fast as possible. 

5D planning is an essential next stage 

of the journey. Only with this can 

contractors fully integrate project cost 

plans with programmes - and keep 

them in step throughout the build. 

Embracing 5D BIM will deliver benefits 

in spades. Contractors will be able to 

go beyond cost estimation to achieve 

true cost control. They will be able to 

manage inevitable supply chain issues 

with greater agility, and to project and 

plan for the impact of a supplier 

collapse, a manufacturing delay, a 

missed key delivery, in both cost AND 

time terms - and communicate it all to 

clients. 

5D BIM will not only be a vital step 

towards Level 3. The Digital Built Britain 

vision not only envisages fully open 

BIM, but also its application for better 

long-term sustainable, manageable, 

and smart built environments. The 

information models that construction 

companies build today will be critical 

for clients, as they look to empower 

managers with smart building 

management controls, and demand 

data-driven FM services. Unless 

builders gets to grips with 5D BIM, 

there will be a far weaker foundation for 

clients to leverage BIM data to support 

long-term operations, termed '6D' BIM. 

LOOKING FORWARDS 

2017 must be a year not only of forward 

momentum, but of consolidation. Many 

changes were implemented this year: 

strategies were developed, BIM 

departments established, champions 

identified and systems trialled. The next 

must be one of driving for stability, 

embedding the learnings of the past, 

and creating concrete plans for the 

future. Newly-minted digital 

construction experts must educate and 

spread their knowledge to reach every 

corner. This will be the year where 

many contractors finally start to see 

benefits and savings from their first BIM 

projects - although only when 5D BIM is 

fully embraced do we believe such 

savings will hit their peak. As tangible 

commercial benefits emerge, it will 

further incentivise clients to demand 

BIM - and so the cycle will continue. 

Digital transformation is not yet 

complete - either of projects, or of the 

businesses that run them. We also 

expect this year to see a greater 

emphasis on mobility, with greater 

engagement and involvement in the 

BIM value chain of managers on site, 

subcontractors and suppliers. Whether 

it is about uploading site progress 

updates seamlessly from mobiles into 

the master programme, or better 

information gathering to enrich BIM 

models, construction will undoubtedly 

be a more collaborative sector. 

Software developers have a significant 

role to play. We are working together 

with our customers to meet their needs. 

The aim must be for developers to 

deliver tools that will enable contractors 

to improve their businesses, as well as 

their projects, ensuring that systems 

can do more than simply exchange 

data, integrating in ways that benefit 

business, delivering functionality to 

drive success. 

As we head into 2017, uncertainty 

remains the only thing contractors can 

rely upon. They must do their utmost to 

reduce risk and exert control through 

better forward visibility. They need to 

embrace digital change to take 

advantage of digital data, as well as to 

secure business around BIM, and be 

part of a smarter and Digitally Built 

Britain of the future. We're not there yet 

but we've achieved a huge amount 

already. Elecosoft wishes every 

construction contractor and supplier a 

confident and productive New Year - 

and we look forward hugely to seeing 

what 2017 will bring. 

www.astapowerproject.com 

Twitter @astapmsoftware 


CASEstudy 

Rebar Prefabrication 

Midland Steel finds that using Tekla Structures to plan Rebar fabrication leads to considerable 

savings in all areas of a project 

Midland Steel is the fastest 

growing reinforcing steel 

fabricator in the United Kingdom 

and Ireland and offers a diverse range of 

reinforcing steel products and 

accessories, from accredited cut and 

bent reinforcement and standard and 

special mesh products, through to 

advance 3D detailing and prefabrication 

services. The company has the technical 

capability and capacity to supply any 

reinforced concrete project, regardless 

of complexity or size. 

REBAR FABRICATIONS 

In the top tier of independent fabricators 

in the UK and Ireland, Midland Steel's 

bent rebar fabricating operation centres 

on value engineering and rationalisation. 

As such, one of the key drivers to the 

business is to promote collaborative 

working within its industry. 

Tony Woods, Managing Director at 

Midland Steel, explained the company's 

strategy. "From our experience, within the 

construction industry and working on 

projects that include a BIM process, we 

have discovered that there are many 

business benefits that come with 

adopting an open and joint approach to 

a project. For example, we are currently 

trying to get to a stage in the business 

where we can collaboratively work with 

everybody to reduce delays and costs. 

The benefits of everyone involved in a 

project using 3D modelling are huge as 

it provides a greater understanding of 

how the building works during the 

construction - which ultimately results in 

a smooth process all round." 

Midland Steel uses Tekla Structures 

because of its ability to precisely build 

constructible models to visualise larger 

quantities of material and produce 

accurate schedules and drawings from 

the model. "Tekla Structures", he said, 

"enables us to help contractors make 

cost savings as it provides a full 

package: beginning with a model, rebar 

detailing and a collaborative discussion 

with the contractor regarding his 

program of works, through to the delivery 

sequence and finally, the elements 

delivered on site. The investment in the 

software is recognised the minute you 

start working with it, as you can instantly 

start reducing costs and time on 

projects. The software is fantastic and 

we're using it because we believe it is the 

best in the market." 

FROM 2D DRAWING TO 3D MODEL 

AND MANUFACTURE 

In the initial stages of a project, Midland 

Steel reviews an engineer's 2D drawings 

before converting them into a 3D model 

using Tekla Structures, to detail every 

element against the design brief. The 

constructible model is then submitted 

back to the engineers and the 

contractor for review. 

"At this stage, we've involved the 

contractor and the engineer, and 

everybody agrees as to what they can 

physically see in 3D. There are no 

questions later saying, 'I never saw that 

in the drawing.' We then plan the delivery 

sequence," clarifies Tony. "The most 

important thing to take from this is 

contractor involvement with the engineer 

and ourselves - collaboration is the only 

way it will work, no planning is planning 

no future. Midland Steel creates all the 

essential building information in the Tekla 

3D model - infinitely more dynamic than 

traditional drawings, and easier to adapt 

to design changes, find and fix errors 

and plan to avoid any potential 

difficulties in the build." 

In its factories, Midland Steel utilises 

production software to manage 

fabrication of its 'Cut And Bend Rebar'. 

Due to Tekla's ability to link accurate 

model data with different industry 

software solutions, Midland Steel can 

send data to production directly from the 

constructible model. Easy to understand 

3D model information then helps the 

fixers to produce prefabricated cages 

effectively and without errors. 

Tony continues: "We are now able to 

take information from the model directly 

into the software at the factory and 

export the schedule eliminating errors 

from manual data entry. The 3D images 

20 


CASEstudy 

and the 3D model on the Tekla BIMsight 

viewer are being used by all our 

production staff - and in prefabrication, 

we are using the model more than the 

2D drawings that we can produce from 

the model, and because the information 

in the schedules generated from the 

model is so detailed, we can actually fix 

the steel from the model." 

CONSTRUCTIBLE MODELS AID 

COLLABORATION 

By using Tekla BIMsight collaboration 

software, all project participants can 

review, comment and make suggestions 

about the model and design, which 

significantly benefits all of the supply 

chain. With Tekla software and Midland 

Steel undertaking the detailing, the rebar 

fabricator can control delivery schedules, 

and contractors can extrapolate from the 

model their profit or loss against a 

budget on a daily basis, thanks to 

quantities extracted from Tekla 

Structures. Collaboration throughout a 

project helps to keep it on track and to 

implement or monitor changes. Working 

with a contractor to create a concrete 

programme benefits the entire project 

and removes the hand to mouth culture. 

Tony goes on to explain the efficiencies 

of using BIM for 3D visualisation: "With 

BIM, there is a big difference in looking 

at a 2D drawing and looking at a 3D 

model, which actually allows you to preempt 

and identify problems. Before we 

start fabrication we've identified probably 

95% of the issues that may arise 

resulting in cost savings some 20% 

lower than traditional processes. It's a 

big step change for some, but BIM helps 

you save money by identifying problems 

prior to build." 

ACCURATE INFORMATION DRIVES 

VALUE ENGINEERING 

Tekla software helps Midland Steel become 

more knowledgeable in all areas of its 

operations; live information, prioritising and 

organising itself as a company and also 

contractors on-site. The company is now 

looking to reduce labour costs - the most 

expensive part of reinforcing. Formwork 

makes up approximately 50% - 60% of the 

total cost of a project. Concrete materials 

account for about 18%, labour on concrete 

adds another 5% to 6%, while formwork 

materials work out at about 6%. The 

balance of costs are spread between 

reinforcement supply, prefabricated and 

reinforcement labour costs. 

"If you can take out your labour cost, 

break it down and improve on each part of 

it, you're going to improve the concrete 

frame program, improve the prelims on the 

project, and you're going to save time 

spent on the project. Prefabricating 

material, which we believe as a company is 

the only way to go to improve our 

business, and which we have already 

proved with the help of Tekla software, 

gives us knowledge prior to producing an 

element - an enormous advantage that, for 

example, enabled us to save 

approximately £250,000 to £300,000 on 

one project alone," commented Tony. 

Labour intensive processes such as 

formwork and reinforcement, can be 

addressed, planned and subsequently 

improved using the 3D model created in 

Tekla Structures. 

By effectively using the 3D Tekla model, 

Midland Steel has proven to reduce 

formwork labour cost by 20%, efficiency on 

rebar fixing on site 60% and costs overall 

by 25%: Tony explains: "In the past, you 

can have a fixer foreman who spends 85% 

of his time inside an office, reading the 

drawings and relaying that information, 

taking up another 15% of his time, to the 

labour force. 

Now, by using 3D model information 

from Tekla, they are able to move around 

the site with an iPad and view the 

elements they are about to fix, becoming 

significantly more productive. The 

progression of using Tekla 3D imagery, 

scheduling internally, fabricating internally, 

and dropping prefab elements on the site 

has improved overall efficiency on site by 

approximately 50-60%." 

Modelling and visualising the concrete in 

Tekla software enables accurate 

assessments of the area of formwork 

required. Having this knowledge allows for 

the precise ordering of materials, as well as 

the exact planning of where formwork can 

be reused and scheduled - this is value 

engineering deriving from having accurate 

quantities and dimensions of the concrete 

modelled in Tekla. In addition, the 3D 

model reduces the likelihood of unforeseen 

errors onsite, eliminating the need for 

additional labour to rectify mistakes. 

INDUSTRIAL ADVANTAGES 

Tony concluded: "The advantages of using 

Tekla as a rebar modelling system is that it 

provides very accurate information. 

Compared to other leading software 

systems we've trialled for 3D and BIM, we 

were very confident that Tekla software 

would best demonstrate our business. 

From the most intricate jobs to the easiest 

projects, it enables you to save money on 

a daily basis: in prefabrication, waste, 

design engineering and in adding value. 

The schedules are very prescriptive, 

extremely easy to read and input." 

www.tekla.com 


TECHNOLOGYfocus 

VR4CAD 

Virtalis, pioneers in virtual reality, have recently launched VR4CAD, providing engineers and 

architects with a serious interest in VR with an easier entry point 

Most of the conferences that you 

go to now have at least one 

company displaying the latest 

VR technology. In fact you have to step 

aside frequently to avoid Oculus Rift 

wearing attendees bearing down on 

you, as they interact digitally with 

whatever they have on screen, totally 

oblivious to external elements. 

Like every other technology that hits 

the mainstream after being honed by 

early adopters and technology buffs, VR 

prices are now at acceptable levels, 

and you can even knock up your own 

viewer by folding up some stiff 

cardboard, fixing a couple of lenses into 

a box and placing your smartphone 

inside so that you can wander through a 

3D scenario at will, thanks to free 

downloads of viewing software and 

Google's Cardboard VR kit. 

'That'll do me!' you may think, but 

whilst entry level VR devices enable 

users to navigate complete buildings, 

or inspect, measure and check for 

design problems, both within the 

construction industry, and where it is 

most commonly in demand, in 

manufacturing, Virtual Reality solutions 

are capable of doing so more. 

If you want to interact with your model 

at a higher level and use it for 

collaboration with project members, to 

train staff in assembly and 

maintenance procedures, or just to 

enhance your sales and marketing, 

then there is more that you can do - 

but the software required to activate 

some of the more advanced features of 

Virtual Reality notches up the 

complexity by a considerable margin. 

This is where Virtalis come in. Virtalis 

have been playing around with Virtual 

Reality for some time. I went to see 

them in Salford at least 10 years ago 

and even attended a demonstration at 

the ERF factory in Leyland, where 

assembly technicians were shown a VR 

mock-up of a new lorry chassis. The 

critical point in the demonstration 

allowed the technicians, wearing 3D 

glasses, to reach into the chassis, 

wielding a large spanner that was 

available in an accompanying tool 

store and work out whether they could 

access and turn a couple of wheel nuts 

placed in awkward positions. 

Another demonstration in the studio in 

Virtalis’ Salford office showed a kitchen 

design which was used to ascertain 

optimum heights and placings of 

kitchen equipment for someone in a 

wheelchair. The obvious point from all 

this is that Virtual Reality enters a 

different world when viewers can fully 

interact with what they are seeing (or 

holding, using haptic gloves). 

VIRTALIS 

As a pioneer in the technology, Virtalis 

has the expertise to set up VR 

scenarios for the most demanding of 

22 


TECHNOLOGY focus 

clients. The company has developed 

partnerships with research companies 

within some UK universities, setting up 

VR studios, like the Virtual Engineering 

Centre at the University of Liverpool’s 

digital innovation centre in London - 

which also served as the venue for the 

recent launch of VR4CAD. 

Not everyone has the time and 

inclination to become a VR expert, 

hence the release of VR4CAD as an 

entry-level piece of VR software, 

designed to make it quick and easy for 

architects, CAD engineers and 

designers to view, investigate and 

annotate their CAD models using PCbased 

HMDs or 3D screens. Easy to 

use and offering plug-and-play 

functionality with direct CAD file 

readers, VR4CAD is a low-cost VR 

viewer based upon Virtalis' Visionary 

Render software. VR4CAD directly 

reads the 3D CAD file to quickly import 

and build a VR scene for viewing in 

low-cost PC-based HMDs such as the 

Oculus Rift or HTC Vive, or on a 

zSpace or similar 3D screen. 

VR4CAD is a full professional VR 

software tool, meaning that when you 

are in the PC-based HMD you can do 

real work. Users can bring up menus to 

change materials, move items, add 

lights and annotations, slice through 

models etc. just as they would do with 

the Virtalis high-end Visionary Render 

from which VR4CAD is derived. 

Users therefore have an interactive 

experience whilst using the HMD as a 

design tool alongside their CAD 

system, rather than just a 'dumb' viewer 

of a model that someone else has 

created, enabling them to focus on 

using VR as a design review and 

effective communication tool, rather 

than just for viewing files. VR4CAD is 

also able to import data from major 

mechanical CAD software packages, 

thereby becoming a more flexible tool 

than a viewer or real-time engine that 

just works off a certain file format. 

Although most of the software 

applications that are currently covered 

by VR4CAD are mechanical design 

applications, architectural formats are 

available and under development. It 

takes considerable effort and expertise 

to configure the links between VR4CAD 

and the native file formats. 

The University of Liverpool campus 

runs courses for postgraduates and 

those pursuing Continuing Professional 

Development Programmes. Lynn 

Dwyer, interim Head of Business 

Development within the Virtual 

Engineering Centre, commented: "Our 

new VEC@London facility is multidisciplinary, 

though there are core 

subjects including architecture, urban 

planning and industrial design. By 

working closely with Virtalis, we are 

exposing our students to VR 

technology for them to take into their 

research, as well as their future 

working lives. We know that VR is a 

safe place to take risks!" 

THE SCOPE OF VR4CAD 

Unlike game engines that require 

considerable know-how to make a VR 

experience, VR4CAD adopts a plugand-play 

approach, instantly 

recognising which VR viewing device 

you have installed, presenting users 

with a start window that directly reads 

the 3D CAD file, and setting up the 

interactive features required for an 

impressive list of CAD formats. 

These include Creo View, SolidWorks, 

Autodesk Inventor, FBX, Collada, 

Unigraphics NX, CATIA V5 and STEP 

format. CATIA, of course, is the 

framework for Dassault Systèmes 

3DEXPERIENCE, which we have 

covered in recent issues of this 

magazine. 

As a gateway to Professional VR, 

such as its high-end sibling Visionary 

Render, VR4CAD is able to rapidly 

transform CAD models into full 3D VR, 

ready to go. Besides being able to 

interact fully with 3D models, changing 

materials and surfaces, users can save 

viewpoints, annotations and snapshots 

and set up ambient occlusion and 

shadowing. Upgrading to Visionary 

Render takes VR further, giving users 

access to a full feature set including 

collaboration, clustering, Iray, point 

clouds, terrain module and gallery 

capabilities. 

Virtalis' blue chip clients, like Rolls- 

Royce, Siemens, BAE Systems and 

Raytheon, acknowledge that its VR 

technology saves them money right 

across the product lifecycle, with other 

engineering firms, like CNH, using VR 

for market research and marketing. 

VR4CAD can now bring these 

advantages within the reach SMEs for 

the first time. 

Up until now, you had to make a 

considerable investment in software, 

hardware and training to use high level 

VR, which is viable if you know the 

benefits and have experience of the 

technology. However engineers or 

architects that are new to VR are not 

going to jump straight to a Visionary 

render or 3DExcite (even more 

advanced) level of commitment. 

Instead Virtalis sees VR4CAD as an 

affordable way of stepping into using 

professional VR as a daily design tool 

at the desktop or on VR devices such 

as the Vive. 

Virtalis expects that many users, once 

they have experienced the power of VR 

at their desktop, will want to upgrade 

to more high-end, full-featured 

software, like Visionary Render, and 

look at animating and scripting 

functions and collaborating between 

sites and stakeholders. Virtual Reality 

is forecast to be one of the most 

exciting technologies for 2017, and 

Virtalis sees VR4CAD as a "Gateway to 

Professional VR". 

SYSTEM REQUIREMENTS 

So what do you need to run VR4CAD? 

As a state-of-the-art solution, you will 

need an equivalent set-up which will 

include either an Oculus Rift version 

1.3 and above, an HTC Vive version 1.0 

and above, an zSpace version 3.1 and 

above, or a 3D capable monitor/TV, 

along with a workstation powerful 

enough to run 3D CAD software. 

www.virtalis.com 


2016 awards 

Sponsored by: 

Champagne Reception Sponsors: 

@CCMagAndAwards 

Beating the Brexit Blues at The Hammers XI! 

We are still in something of a sea of uncertainty in the 

UK, with the government still unable to spell out the 

terms of disengagement with Europe. Those who 

voted for leave are getting exasperated at the lack of any 

action to kick Article 50 into motion, whilst those who wished 

to remain are, naturally, using whatever resources they have to 

hand to delay or reverse the result of the referendum. 

So life, for now, goes on as normal. We may well be in a 

'phoney war' situation, with potential calamities waiting for us 

just around the corner, but the economic signs, as reported, 

seem to be buoying us up with a fair degree of optimism. The 

problems that are shaping the construction industry are not 

yet reflecting the imminent changes in our relationship with the 

rest of Europe, but stem from more traditional issues - such as 

the shortage of skilled construction workers, the lack of 

planning resources in local government to facilitate the takeup 

of land needed to build houses, and government policies 

that have derailed the buy to let market. 

It was heartening, then, to see professionals from all sectors 

of the industry coming together for this year's Construction 

Computing Awards, held at the historic BMA House in 

London, to celebrate another year of achievements in a 

convivial atmosphere, with friends, colleagues and even 

competitors. 

Over 180 supporting guests gathered to see the outcome of 

the online voting and judging panel‘s deliberations, and you’ll 

find all of the details of this year's winners across the following 

pages. We would once again like to thank everyone involved 

in this year's awards, from our sponsors and guests on the 

night to everyone who took the time to vote online - and of 

course our winners and runners-up - for making it such a 

successful event. We hope to see you all again in 2017! 

One to Watch Product 2016 

WINNER: Human Recognition Systems for MSite TV 

RUNNER-UP: Reference Point for SkillSight 

We were delighted that MSite TV, our game-changing new digital signage product, has 

been awarded One to Watch Product 2016. After winning One to Watch Company in 2015 

at the Construction Computing Awards, it was fantastic to see our new product recognised 

this year. 

MSite TV launched in the summer to industry acclaim as an innovative way to 

communicate on construction sites. Whether sending vital safety messages to people on 

the ground or welcoming visitors, MSite TV is the only clear way to get your message across 

in what is often a confusing and dangerous environment for construction workers. To see 

why this product has generated so much attention, take a look at a personalised demo 

here: https://www.hrsid.com/msitetvdemo/ 

24 


2016awards 

One to Watch Company 2016 

WINNER: 2020 Architects 

RUNNER-UP: Vectorworks Inc. 

2020 Architects were thrilled to be announced UK winners in the 'One to Watch Company' 

category of the Construction Computing Awards 2016. As an architectural practice situated 

in the North Coast of Northern Ireland, 2020 architects are passionate about pushing the 

boundaries of design demonstrating a practical commitment to enhancing the overall 

experience of architecture. We see this in the design of our houses across the country - 

which have a specialised aesthetic gained through our thorough knowledge of natural, 

local materials and how these can be used in house design to create a truly varied and 

exclusive design palette. This has been assisted by our fully-immersive Virtual Reality suite 

which enables design aesthetics to be changed and tested in real time. Naturally, our award 

takes pride position in our office and is a huge testament to the work of all our employees. 

Visit 2020architects.co.uk and follow and like us on social media @2020architects 

Best Use of IT in a Construction Project 2016 

WINNER: Terence O’Rourke Architects for Farnborough International Exhibition and Conference Centre 

RUNNER-UP: Asite with Imtech for Refurbishment of BBC White City Studios, London 

Planning and design consultancy Terence O'Rourke are delighted to have been named 

winners of the 'Best Use of IT in a Construction Project 2016' at the Construction 

Computing Awards for its work on the Farnborough International Exhibition and 

Conference Centre. Dan Fairley, Associate Director at Terence O'Rourke, said: "The 

Farnborough International Exhibition and Conference Centre has been the most demanding 

and comprehensive use of BIM on any of our projects to date, and has highlighted to us 

both the added complexities and exciting possibilities that BIM can offer to a project. 

"In particular, it has demonstrated how BIM streamlines the delivery of a large complex 

project with an extensive multi-disciplinary project team and facilitates a positive and 

responsive collaboration process." 

BIM Project of 2016 

WINNER: Bond Bryan Digital for East Dormitory Project 

RUNNER-UP: Carillion for Morpeth Northern Bypass 

Bond Bryan are delighted to have won BIM Project of 2016. The award was for Bond Bryan 

Digital's East Dormitory project which was a collaborative project with Bill East (Prairie Sky 

Consulting), the original author of the COBie standard. Bill and Bond Bryan Digital have 

worked together to publish the architectural design model as well as releasing a book 

together demonstrating the practical application of COBie. 

This award follows Bond Bryan's success in the same category in 2015. Associate Director, 

Rob Jackson said: "We are delighted to win an award for a project that was designed to 

help the industry understand COBie from a practical point of view. To win such a 

prestigious award against such tough competion two years in a row is a fantastic 

achievement for the team. We now feel inspired to try and make it a hat-trick in 2017! 

Collaboration Project of 2016 

WINNER: Asite for Royal HaskoningDHV Project 

RUNNER-UP: Clearbox for Where’s the Bear? 

Tony Ryan, Asite's Group CEO said; 'It was great to catch up with the great and the good of 

this industry of ours at Adoddle's Champagne reception before dinner. We were delighted 

to pick up the award, it meant more to me that it was our new young talent that made it 

happen. They celebrated in style when the tunes came on by giving us a team dance 

display - so proud - well done Ateam, and a big thanks to the organisers for such a great 

event' Asite went on to win the 'Collaboration Project' of the year award for outstanding 

work with our client, Royal Haskoning DHV globally. Asite were also runners up in the 

following categories; Product of the Year: Adoddle and Best use of IT on a Construction 

Project: Imtech's BBC Studio refurb project in London where Adoddle is the Enterprise 

Common Data Environment (CDE). 


2016 awards 

Cloud Based Technology of 2016 

WINNER: Clearbox for BIMXtra for True project collaboration in the cloud 

RUNNER-UP: OpenECX for WebContractor 

Graeme Forbes, CEO, Clearbox, said, "This award really is great recognition of the hard work 

our team has put into the product. It's also fantastic to receive acknowledgement from the 

industry - we started our lives out on site and suffered the frustrations that exist, so it's 

great to be recognised for helping to solve the challenges surrounding project knowledge, 

collaboration, management, activity tracking and cost control. 

"The case study we submitted demonstrated a fantastic ROI to the team surveying Chelsea 

Bridge, saving 36 project days with a great ROI on their investment. As well as giving the 

project team the ability to collect more in depth information to handover to the client, it 

really highlighted the benefits our technology can bring." 

Team of the Year 2016 

WINNER: Carillion for the Morpeth Northern Bypass Team 

RUNNER-UP: Integrity Software with Bracknell Roofing Ltd for Evolution M Implementation 

Dave Bennett, project director for Carillion Plc's £30m Morpeth Northern Bypass scheme, 

said: "Being named Team of the Year is great recognition for the hard work that has gone 

into the bypass since it started in 2015. We're a team of hard workers, innovators and 

friends - we focus on strong relationships with our sub-contractors and team members 

across disciplines, to make sure the project runs smoothly and efficiently, and, just as 

importantly, that we're running a happy ship. 

"Our team had a fantastic night at the awards and we're delighted to add a new trophy to 

our cabinet to congratulate our team on all of their hard work." 

Health & Safety Software 2016 

WINNER: McGee for AppGo 

RUNNER-UP: Lightsout Computer Services for CORONA Health and Safety Software 

We would like to thank Construction Computing Magazine for awarding us with the 

category of best Health & Safety software of 2016, for our GO Inspect application, which is 

a huge achievement for a new start-up business. 

Industry recognition at the highest level is testament to our continuous development 

strategy of fully integrated mobile applications for the construction industry, which we 

believe are of vital importance in supporting the industry to meet their regulatory 

compliance, maintain a safe work environment and exceeding best practise. 

Thank you, from all the team at www.weareappgo.com 

BIM Product of 2016 

WINNER: GRAPHISOFT – ARCHICAD 20 

RUNNER-UP: Solibri UK Ltd – Solibri Model Checker 

We are obviously delighted that for the sixth year running, Graphisoft ARCHICAD® has 

won the prized 'BIM Product of the Year' award at the Hammers. Six years in succession 

really makes us feel that we continue go in the right direction! For design and modelling, 

ARCHICAD continues to lead - combining industry leading BIM capabilities with a design 

environment which helps architects to thrive. We work hard to ensure that collaboration 

becomes embedded in the design process giving all users the power of BIM with IFC data 

exchange and COBie. 

Huge thanks go to the readership of Construction Computing for taking the time to vote 

for ARCHICAD as the BIM Product of the Year. Receiving this recognition from users of BIM 

solutions, and from our peers, makes it all the more special. To contact GRAPHISOFT about 

ARCHICAD please e-mail mail@graphisoft.co.uk or call +44 (0)1895 876222. 

26 


2016 awards 

Structural Design Software of 2016 

WINNER: Trimble Solutions UK Ltd – Tekla Structural Designer 

RUNNER-UP: Autodesk - Robot Structural Analysis Professional 

Richard Fletcher, Managing Director at Trimble, commented: "We are delighted to win this 

award and we cannot thank the readers of Construction Computing, and the judges 

enough for voting for Tekla Structural Designer. Winning this award is a real testament to 

all the passion, dedication and hard work that is undertaken by everyone throughout the 

company. 

"At Trimble, we understand the challenges our customers face in the construction and 

structural engineering industry, which is why we are dedicated to improving our software 

continually to provide them with products that support the delivery of projects on time, at a 

lower cost and with less material wastage." 

For more information please visit www.tekla.com/uk 

Collaboration Software of 2016 

WINNER: Viewpoint Construction Software – Viewpoint for Projects 

RUNNER-UP: Aconex 

"We greatly appreciate the recognition by the Construction Computing Awards and we are 

over the moon to win this particular award for the sixth year running which is a fantastic 

achievement. We are also very proud that the construction industry at large recognises that 

our products are making a difference in how projects are delivered and we would like to 

thank all of our customers and users who voted. 2016 saw unprecedented levels of usage 

of Viewpoint For Projects with over 7,500 new users created each month and an 87% 

increase in projects created, so it's important we are leaders in our field. As Construction 

moves further towards digitisation we will be continuously developing our products to give 

customers and their supply chains the tools they need to complete projects faster and more 

cost effectively". Steve Spark, Commercial Director EMEA, Viewpoint Construction Software 

Document & Content Management Software of 2016 

WINNER: Newforma – Project Center 

RUNNER-UP: Asite - Adoddle 

'It is a privilege to have Project Center named a winner in The Hammers for a second year 

running and to be recognised amongst industry heavyweights. Newforma aims to create 

a better connected project environment that doesn't impact on working practices, while 

optimising project processes to discover, manage and collaborate critical information 

with project information consumers. 

With rapid implementation, Newforma Project Center is perfectly placed to de-risk 

projects, add value and increase profitability in the increasingly competitive construction 

industry' - Paul Daynes, Director UK & Northern Europe, Newforma 

Project Lifecycle Management Software of 2016 

WINNER: IFS – IFS Applications 9 

RUNNER-UP: OpenECX - WebContractor 

Kenny Ingram, global industry director, Construction, Engineering & Infrastructure, IFS: 

"We are thrilled to have won at this year's Construction Computing Awards. IFS is a 

specialist in both Project and Asset Lifecycle Management solutions, and this award 

reflects the innovation and hard work our team has put into making IFS Applications 9 

the ideal Project Lifecycle Management Software. IFS Applications 9 is a single, integrated 

business software suite that enables global and demanding businesses to successfully 

construct, operate and maintain assets." 


2016 awards 

Estimating & Valuation Software of 2016 

WINNER: RedSky IT – Summit 

RUNNER-UP: Elecosoft - Bidcon 

A big thank you our customers for voting for us across the categories and for making 

Summit the best Estimating and Valuations Software product of the year 2016. This is a key 

module in the range of software the RedSky offer and has become an essential part of 

many of the businesses in managing their contracts. 

RedSky IT were pleased to be recognised as the runner-up in the Construction Accounting 

category, building on our previous awards wins for best product of the Year. We were also 

named runners-up in the Project Lifecycle Management and Team of the Year categories. 

For more details contact us on 020 30028600 or visit our website for case studies and 

testimonials www.redskyit.com 

Construction Accounting Software of 2016 

WINNER: Eque2 Ltd – EVision 

RUNNER-UP: Access Group – Access Dimensions 

EVision software from Eque2 automates and streamlines business processes and is 

designed to manage the full construction and contracting lifecycle. The software is certified 

for Microsoft Dynamis NAV signifying that it continues to meet Microsoft Corp.'s highest 

standard for partner-developed software. 

Richard Boston, Marketing Director at Eque2 commented: "We are honoured to have won 

this award for the fifth consecutive year. It is a great achievement and demonstrates our 

commitment to providing industry-specialist software to help our customers manage their 

business processes. We would like to thank all of our customers that voted for us." 

Contact details: W: www.eque2.co.uk T: 0161 939 0111 E: construction@eque2.com 

Project Management/Planning Software of 2016 

WINNER: Elecosoft UK Ltd – Asta Powerproject 

RUNNER-UP: Geniebelt - Geniebelt 

Elecosoft is pleased to have won the award for Project Management/Planning Product for 

the third consecutive year as recognition for the contribution that Asta Powerproject makes 

to the construction industry and wish to thank all those who voted for their support. 

Winning this award reflects our continued commitment to providing market leading 

solutions to our customers. It is testament to the skill and flair of our outstanding team of 

developers and also to the significant and valued support and collaboration which we 

continue to receive from the many construction companies who use Asta Powerproject. 

For more information see www.elecosoft.com 

Mobile Technology of 2016 

WINNER: Viewpoint Construction Software – Field View 

RUNNER-UP: Graphisoft - BIMx 

"Since we launched Field View the response from the industry has been amazing and we 

receive regular positive feedback from users regarding how much time they save and how 

easy the product is to use. This is testament to the hard work that goes into making the 

product a success and I'd like to give a special mention to our development team in 

Swansea for all of their efforts. 

"We are delighted to win Mobile Technology of 2016 for the second year in a row and 

believe Field View complements our portfolio of products perfectly, delivering real benefits 

to users and additional value to project teams". 

Steve Spark, Commercial Director EMEA, Viewpoint Construction Software 

28 


2016 awards 

Hardware Product of 2016 

WINNER: Faro Technologies - Faro Focus X330 3D laser scanner 

RUNNER-UP: Panasonic - Toughbook 

FARO Focus X330 won best hardware product at the Construction Computing Awards 

2016. David Southam Regional manager Europe North collected the award on behalf of 

Faro Technologies and had the following to say - "It was a great pleasure to be nominated 

for this year's best hardware category at the Hammers 2016, it was a fabulous evening with 

many of the key construction players represented at the awards. The team and I had a really 

good night with superb entertainment and great networking opportunities." 

FARO Won best hardware product for the Faro Focus X330 which is a terrestrial 3D laser 

scanner capable of collecting 3D data of complete areas that can be used to integrate with 

the design model or used to capture the as built information. 

Channel Partner of 2016 

WINNER: Excitech 

RUNNER-UP: Applecore Designs 

Excitech are delighted to have won Channel Partner of the Year for the tenth year in a row, 

even more so because this award is voted for by our customers. 

We pride ourselves in building close working partnerships with our customers based on 

mutual trust, going the extra mile and extensive sector knowledge. Our purpose is to 

enable our customers to take advantage of the role that technology can play in achieving 

their own business goals. As industry innovations are developed, Excitech will continue to 

remain at the forefront, bringing the most up-to-date and relevant solutions to our 

customers." 

Editor’s Choice 2016 

WINNER: Vectorworks Inc. – Vectorworks Architect 2017 

Vectorworks Architect 2017 software has been honoured with the Editor's Choice award at 

the annual Construction Computing Awards. For over a decade, the awards, better known 

as "The Hammer" in the UK, have celebrated the tools, solutions and technology that 

support effective design, construction and civil engineering projects. This year marks the 

seventh consecutive year that a Vectorworks product has been recognised. 

Vectorworks Architect is the industry's only modeling, drafting and documentation 

software built with the creative design process in mind. As the architect's BIM tool, the 

software enables users to tackle complex ideas in 2D and 3D, refine construction details, 

explore a project's energy efficiency and streamline costs. Learn more at: 

vectorworks.net/architect. 

Company of the Year 2016 

WINNER: GRAPHISOFT UK Ltd 

RUNNER-UP: Trimble Solutions UK Ltd 

Winning this Company of the Year 2016 award for the second time was a real pleasure and 

shows that we have not rested on our laurels. It is a great honour and recognises all of the 

hard work and effort that the Graphisoft team have made over recent years. Being entirely 

customer lead has made us look at industry standards and trends and how we can allow 

our users to take advantage of them. Combining a great design product, in ARCHICAD, 

with a strong service portfolio really seems to be what our customers want. We want to 

thank Construction Computing readers for casting their votes to make Graphisoft the 

Company of the Year 2016. To contact GRAPHISOFT about ARCHICAD please e-mail 

mail@graphisoft.co.uk or call +44 (0)1895 876222. 


VIEWPOINT 

A Light Touch 

A new survey has found that increased investment in technology is not showing a commensurate 

increase in project performance. Paul Daynes of Newforma explains why 

Exceeded deadlines, gone over 

budget, losing staff, clients or 

both? All of these have been cited 

as the result of poor collaboration, 

according to a joint survey undertaken by 

Newforma and Vanson Bourne. We 

spoke to Paul Daynes of Newforma, and 

asked him to put some flesh on the 

survey, and explain how companies can 

reverse the decline in performance. 

The report is an annual survey which 

holds in-depth interviews with 100 UKbased 

professionals working in the 

construction industry in companies with 

over 20 employees on the payroll. The 

surveys are undertaken to assess the 

impact of technology adoption on the 

processes and operations of firms. 

The survey confirmed that the 

Government's BIM mandate prompted a 

big upsurge in the take-up of new 

technology, as you would expect, but a full 

85% of the respondents experienced 

challenges when doing so. This was put 

down to a lack of digital skills in the 

workforce by over 40% of the respondents, 

with another 34% citing that the lack of 

digital training by the company hampered 

the integration of new technology. The most 

alarming signals showed that a growth 

in investment in digital tools was 

actually accompanied by a 

reduction in their 

usage. 

LACK OF COLLABORATION 

It wasn't just the decline in the usage of 

technology to support project development 

and design that is worrying - down to 31% 

from 36% - but the indication that 70% of 

AEC firms had struggled to collaborate 

effectively - the impetus that BIM was 

supposed to provide - with the explosion in 

information forcing AEC professionals to 

spend an average of four hours a week 

dealing with admin, such as finding emails, 

searching for project files and similar tasks. 

Paul Daynes, Regional Director UK & 

Northern Europe of Newforma alluded to 

this when he said that "The AEC industry 

has succeeded in capturing all of the 

information it was struggling with last year - 

but sifting through it to find the information 

needed is now taking up an inordinate 

amount of time." 

Paul then started to analyse the reason for 

the disconnect between the different 

groups engaged on a project - the 

architects, engineers and 

contractors who have 

each developed 

their own 

strategies which, however well intentioned, 

prevented design companies from 

delivering value to contractors. With 

projects being conducted globally in many 

cases, the disconnect was even more 

pronounced, he said, with team members 

finding it difficult to get the information they 

need, when they needed it. 

"The information," Paul added, "is within 

silos. Each discipline within the project 

team holds its data within its own silo, and 

they need to be knocked down if you want 

all members on a project to work 

collaboratively." 

Expanding on the point, he continued, 

"There is no continuous loop between 

design and implementation, no continuous 

audit between design and construction. 

With companies now managing multiple 

projects it is even more 

essential to know what 

information needs to 

be delivered - and 

what is being 

delivered." 

30 


VIEWPOINT 

CORRELATING INFORMATION 

With reference to the survey, Paul 

explained that it is the skills required to 

handle the flow of information that are 

lacking and need to be enhanced. Thanks 

to BIM, all model information should be 

available from a single source, and that 

includes financials as much as any other 

type of construction information. Keeping 

control of the costs related to a project on 

a day-to-day basis is just as important as 

monitoring resources, materials and the 

management of the construction process, 

keeping a track of day to day costs and 

making sure that appropriate fees are 

being charged. 

To do this, project members need to be 

able to correlate the flow of information 

between all processes, keeping them 

within teams and providing access to 

models, simulations, schedules and 

reports - and to support the flow with full 

audit trails. 

"There is no need to change working 

processes to achieve this," said Paul. "In 

fact all of this is being done already, and 

the provision of new technology is 

helping companies to achieve it, but the 

emphasis has been on training people to 

use the equipment to bolster the 

company's creative processes, rather 

than administration." 

"What Newforma proposes," he 

continued "is to facilitate the flow of 

information between different processes - 

but with a light touch. This can be done 

without setting up new databases, or 

changing working processes, but by 

improving relationships between the 

different sources of information, and 

leveraging the strengths of the processes 

already in place." 

Companies can still use software like 

SharePoint and Outlook, but Newforma 

can provide an indexing layer on top of all 

of these, enhancing the flow of information 

within organisations, catering for 

distributed sources, using the excellent 

resources of Revit for deliverables, 

providing extra tabs within Outlook, and 

keeping track of documents and drawings 

without replacing the authoring system. 

Instead of spending hours a day looking 

for information, administration tasks are 

simplified, becoming more of a natural 

step, and providing an auditable process 

of what you really want to achieve. 

A case in point. Some 10 years into the 

life of the building, should a failure occur, a 

properly audited and archived system 

would be able to provide a consistent view 

of all information from all sources, to 

support any contentious issue or 

agreement. 

A GROWING PROBLEM 

Whilst Paul explained that enhancing 

access to information being held in silos in 

either single or multiple projects is 

achievable and desirable, sharing 

information between them could still raise 

problems. Companies using extranets will 

have geared up their processes to suit 

their needs, which may differ from future 

partners. It is probably too much to expect 

all companies to work on the same 

baselines, and they will already have 

problems sharing data between silos. 

Companies, naturally, will have based 

their requirements on what they thought 

they wanted to achieve, without 

considering what will be both desirable 

and achievable in the future. They will not 

have foreseen the dramatic rise in mobile 

technology - now in widespread use on 

the building site. Not only has this resulted 

in a considerable rise in the amount of 

information being made available in real 

time, but it has also widened the decision 

making force. And, of course, you can't 

make valid decisions on the ground 

without access to all appropriate and up 

to date information. 

NEWFORMA 

Newforma has been in the information 

gathering field for 13 years, providing 

document information management for 

the design and construction industries. 

The company is headquartered in 

Manchester, New Hampshire and 

operates on a global basis - with new 

offices recently opened in Germany. 

The ethos of the company is to provide 

hybrid platform technology (on-premise 

and cloud) that embraces the adoption 

of lean strategies, while putting 

Information Management at the core of 

BIM strategies. 

The company provides solutions to 

break down information silos, and to 

enable continuous workflow and 

collaboration processes - and, of course, 

to more effectively handle the increasing 

amount of information being collected on 

each project. 

www.newforma.com 


YOUR GUIDE TO 

4 

5 

6/10 

9 

7 

8 

1 

2 

12 

14 

15 

17 11/13 

35 

41 

40 

16 

18 

20 

33 

32 

29 

23/42 

21 

25 26 

24/27 

19/30 

22 28 

3 

31 

42 

*location guide 

not 100% accurate 

SCOTLAND 

GLASGOW 6 

CADASSIST 

Contact: 

Gordon McGlathery 

Tel: 0141 354 8993 

Fax: 0141 353 9315 

training@cadassist.co.uk 

www.cadassist.co.uk 

ACDEGHIJKLMNOPQTX 

FIFE 7 

GlenCo Development 

Solutions 

Contact: Jack Meldrum 

Tel: 01592 223300 

Fax: 01592 223301 

jackm@glenco.org 

www.glenco.org 

A C M K 

ABERDEENSHIRE 8 

Symetri 

Contact: Craig Snell 

Tel: 01467 629900 

training@symetri.co.uk 

www.symetri.co.uk 

A B D H I J K M N O P S X 

ABERDEEN 1 

TMS CADcentre 

Contact: Craig Hamilton 

Tel: 01224 224421 

info@thom-micro.com 

www.tmscadcentre.com 

A C E L H O 

LARBERT 9 

TMS CADcentre 

Contact: Craig Hamilton 

Tel: 01324-550760 

info@thom-micro.com 

www.tmscadcentre.com 

A C E L H O 

GLASGOW 10 

Excitech Ltd 

Contact: Alan Skipp 

Tel: 01992 807500 

Fax: 01992 807574 

info@excitech.co.uk 

www.excitech.co.uk/cut2015 

A B C D E H K L M N Q S X 

IRELAND 

DUBLIN 4 

Paradigm Technology Ltd 

Contact: Des McGrane 

Tel: +353-1-2960155 

Fax: +353-1-2960080 

dmcgrane@paradigm.ie 

www.paradigm.ie 

A C M G K L 

SOUTHWEST 

BRISTOL 2 

Excitech Ltd 


Tel: 01992 807500 

Fax: 01992 807574 




NEWBURY 3 

RWTC Ltd 

Contact: Richard Willis 

Tel: 01488 689005 

Fax: 01635 32718 

richard@rwtc.co.uk 

www.rwtc.co.uk 

A M 

Bristol 12 

Micro Concepts Ltd 

Contact: Peter Hurst 

Tel: +44 (0) 8432 898162 

training@microconcepts.co.uk 

www.microconcepts.co.uk 

A B D I J K M N O P S T X 

N.I 

BELFAST 5 

Pentagon Solutions Ltd 

Contact: Tony Dalton – Training 

Services Manager 

Tel: +44 (0) 2890 455 355 

Fax: +44 (0) 2890 456 355 

tony@pentagonsolutions.com 

www.pentagonsolutions.com 

A C D E G K L 

TRAINING COURSES OFFERED KEY: 

AUTOCAD AND LT : 

AUTOCAD P&ID TRAINING: 

AEC/BUILDING SOLUTIONS : 

3D MODELLING & ANIMATION: 

AUTOCAD ARCHITECTURE: 

FM DESKTOP: 

GIS/MAPPING : 

REVIT: 

VAULT FUNDAMENTALS 

AUTODESK VAULT FOR INVENTOR USERS 

A 

B 

C 

D 

E 

F 

G 

H 

I 

J 

VISUALISATION : 

AUTODESK CIVIL : 

INVENTOR SERIES/MECHANICAL : 

NAVISWORKS TRAINING : 

PRODUCT UPDATE COURSES 

INVENTOR PUBLISHER : 

GOOGLE SKETCHUP 

CHARACTER ANIMATION : 

AUTODESK SIMULATION : 

FACTORY DESIGN SUITE : 

AUTOCAD ELECTRICAL : 

K 

L 

M 

N 

O 

P 

Q 

R 

S 

T 

X 

For further information about authorised CAD training or to advertise on these pages please contact: 

Josh Boulton on 01689 616 000 or email: josh.boulton@btc.co.uk

SOUTH/EAST 

GUILDFORD 22 

Blue Graphics Ltd 

Contact: Matt Allen 

Tel: 01483 467 200 

Fax: 01483 467 201 

matta@bluegfx.com 

www.bluegfx.com 

A D R K 

HERTFORDSHIRE 23 

Computer Aided 

Business Systems Ltd 

Contact: Gillian Haynes 

Tel: 01707 258 338 

Fax: 01707 258 339 

training@cabs-cad.com 

A C D E K H 

BUCKINGHAMSHIRE 42 

Causeway 

Technologies Ltd 

Contact: Sue Farnfield 

Tel: +44 (0)1628 552134 

Sue.Farnfield 

@causeway.com 

www.causeway.com 

A C D E K 

LONDON 24 

CADASSIST 

Contact: 


Tel: +44 (0)208 622 3027 

Fax: +44 (0)208 622 3200 




BERKSHIRE 26 

Cadpoint 

Contact: Clare Keston 

Tel: 01344 751300 

Fax: 01344 779700 

sales@cadpoint.co.uk 

www.cadpoint.co.uk 

A C D E K 

CENTRAL LONDON 27 

Excitech Ltd 


Tel: 01992 807500 

Fax: 01992 807574 




SOUTHHAMPTON 42 

TRAINING 

NORTH LONDON 28 

Excitech Ltd 


Tel: 01992 807500 

Fax: 01992 807574 




OXFORDSHIRE 25 

Man and Machine 

Contact: Robert Kenny 

Tel: 01844 263700 

Fax: 01844 216761 

training@manandmachine.co.uk 

www.manandmachine.co.uk 

A D I J M N O P Q X 

BERKSHIRE 30 

Mass Systems Ltd 

Contact: Luke Bolt 

Tel: 01344 304 000 

Fax: 01344 304 010 

info@mass-plc.com 

www.mass-plc.com 

A E F 

HAMPSHIRE 31 

Universal CAD Ltd 

Contact: Nick Lambden 

Tel: [44] 01256 352700 

Fax: [44] 01256 352927 

sales@universalcad.co.uk 

www.universalcad.co.uk 

A C M E K H 

MILTON KEYNES 21 

MicroCAD - Milton Keynes 

Contact: David Huke 

Tel: 01908 410026 

training@microcad.co.uk 

www.microcad.co.uk 

A B C D E G H I J K L M N O P Q S T X 

High Wycombe 19 


Contact: Kerrie Braybrook 

Tel: +44 (0) 8432 898162 




Cambridge 29 

THE NORTH 

MIDLANDS 

MANCHESTER 11 

CADASSIST 

Contact: 


Tel: 0161 440 8122 

Fax: 0161 439 9635 




MANCHESTER 13 

Excitech Ltd 


Tel: 01992 807500 

Fax: 01992 807574 




NORTH EAST 14 

Symetri 


Tel: 0191 213 5555 




YORKSHIRE 15 

MicroCAD - Bradford 

Contact: Darren I’Anson 

Tel: 01274 532919 




NOTTINGHAM 33 

MicroCAD - Nottingham 

Contact: George Gubas 

Tel: 0115 969 1114 




NORTHAMPTONSHIRE 32 

AIT Spatial Ltd 

Contact: Philip Madeley 

Tel: 01933 303034 

Fax: 01933 303001 

training@aitspatial.co.uk 

www.aitspatial.co.uk 

A C D E F G K L 

BIRMINGHAM 35 

NORTH EAST 16 

MicroCAD - Durham 

Contact: Chris Swinhoe 

Tel: 0191 374 2020 




LANCASHIRE 17 

QUADRA SOLUTIONS 

Contact: Simon Dobson 

Tel: 01254 301 888 

Fax: 01254 301 323 

training@quadrasol.co.uk 

www.quadrasol.co.uk 

A C M K 

YORKSHIRE 18 

Symetri 


Tel: 01924 266262 




SOUTH YORKSHIRE 20 

THE JUICE GROUP LTD 

Contact: Sarah Thorpe 

Tel: 0800 018 1501 

Fax: 0114 275 5888 

training@thejuice.co.uk 

www.thejuicetraining.com 

A C D E K R 

CHESHIRE 41 

Excelat CAD Ltd 

Contact: Vaughn Markey 

Tel: 0161 926 3609 

Fax: 0870 051 1537 

Vaughn.markey@ExcelatCAD.com 

www.ExcelatCAD.com 

B N 

Excitech Ltd 


Tel: 01992 807500 

Fax: 01992 807574 




Head Office 

Riverside House 

Brunel Road 

Southampton 

Hants 

SO40 3WX 



Contact: Emily Howe 

Tel: +44 (0) 1223 716200 




Armada Autodesk 

Training Centre 

Contact: Steven Smith 

Tel: 01527 834783 

Fax: 01527 834785 

training@armadaonline.co.uk 

www.armadaonline.co.uk 

A D E M K H

CASE study 

Fusion in practice 

Barratt Developments finds that manufacturing building components off-site allows contractors to 

save on delivery costs, reduce manpower on erection, speed up construction schedules 

Afast-growing trend, and one that we 

shall be covering in greater detail in 

the magazine next year, is off-site 

manufacturing. The proven benefits are 

beginning to exercise contractors in all 

disciplines, helped in part by the growing 

importance of BIM and its emphasis on 

collaboration. Sharing building information 

about a project allows architects and 

engineers to provide manufacturers with 

precise fabrication information, 

guaranteeing the delivery of ready-to-use 

building components, and eliminating both 

wastage and bad workmanship on site. 

One of the leading proponents of off-site 

fabrication is Fusion Building Systems, who 

recently hosted a visit by Barratt 

Developments, the country's largest 

housebuilder, to its Northampton factory as 

part of a selection process to find suitable 

offsite manufacturers to support its search 

for new off-site and modern methods of 

construction. 

The visit by Barratt Developments' CEO, 

David Thomas and COO, Steven Boyes, 

took place as part of a two-year review 

which has seen over 150 possible building 

suppliers examined, including the trial run 

with Fusion's light gauge steel frame 

system on a development in Southampton. 

Barratt aims to produce at least 20% of its 

new homes using offsite construction 

methods by 2020, and from its selection 

process concluded that Fusion's light 

gauge steel system was a practical option, 

alongside two other offsite suppliers. 

The trial project in Southampton saw light 

gauge steel frames used in the 

construction of social housing properties at 

Barratt's Swanbourne Park development. 

With made-to-measure structures delivered 

to site on time and according to precise 

specifications, Fusion was able to 

demonstrate how efficiently the offsite 

process can work - five times less transport 

than traditional methods, only five workers 

needed on site and individual house 

structures completed in just one day. 

A BESPOKE REVIT PLATFORM 

Fusion currently uses a combination of 

design software. Projects are fully modelled 

in 3D using Autodesk Revit, showing the 

Fusion walls and openings matching the 

client's architectural drawings, floor levels 

and joist spans, including service hole 

routes through the floor zones, and coordinating, 

if they are available, with a 

client's own Revit project models. This 

model is used to drive client sign-off of the 

Fusion structure. 

The actual panelised light gauge steel 

frame detailed design and fabrication 

drawings are created using a framing 

software bespoke to Fusion, in which all 

necessary detailing for factory assembly 

and EPS injection can be added, providing 

CNC data for the roll-formers. 

Fusion is investing in a custom 

development of a Revit platform - fully BIM 

compliant, light gauge steel framing 

software called StrucSoft MWF. This will 

allow the frame design to be created 

directly from the Revit model used for 

client sign-off. 

Although Fusion has specific wall panel 

types and works to constraints that govern 

the manufacturing and erection processes, 

every wall panel and floor cassette is 

designed specifically to suit every individual 

building. Further customisation, therefore, 

is perfectly feasible, and the Fusion product 

can be designed to suit any of the client's 

individual project designs. 

Oliver Novakovic, Barratt Developments' 

technical and innovations director, said: 

"Offsite construction is high on our agenda 

and if we're to meet our 2020 target, we 

need to find the right technologies and 

partners to help us deliver the quality 

homes our customers expect. 

"Our trial working with Fusion was a 

success. We were impressed with each 

stage of the process from design through 

to delivery and assembly on site. And now, 

as we're about to embark on live, large 

scale developments with Fusion, I'm 

confident they can deliver, offering the 

business a further alternative to both 

traditional brick and block construction, 

and timber frame." 

The visit to Fusion's factory included 

seeing roll-forming, wall and floor assembly 

and Fusion's patented pre-insulation 

process. Following the tour, Barratt 

personnel were also shown the Fusion 

system being used on a large three storey 

extra care facility in Northampton. 

Mike Fairey, Fusion Building Systems 

director, outlined the importance of Barratt's 

visit, emphasising that the use of light 

gauge steel frames and floors, 

manufactured offsite for use in the 

construction of residential housing on a 

large scale, is a significant cultural change 

for the industry. He stated that the trial 

project with Barratt was a key moment in 

their analysis of both the building system in 

a live environment and the evaluation of the 

company in general - and that the visit 

opened the door to the widespread use of 

light gauge steel in high volume house 

building - and probably the start of a 

significant partnership. 

"Barratt Developments has taken the time 

to understand every step in the offsite 

construction process," he said. "They've 

trialled our product, visited our factory and 

seen other developers who are using our 

system. They agree that light gauge steel 

frame should form part of their house 

building construction process now and into 

the future, and we're delighted to be 

working with them." 

Barratt and Fusion will now look to do full 

trials with Southampton, Southern Counties 

and Stratford Divisions. 

www.fusionbuild.com 

34 


Comprehensive Project Delivery 

“With ProjectWise, we 

completed a complex project 

50 percent faster – on time and 

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– Larry Ehlers, Project Manager 

AECOM 

“ProjectWise securely 

managed 1.5 million 

documents, with 4.8 terabytes 

of data accessed by more 

than 2,000 users in 50 global 

locations – saving us 23,000 

hours locating data, 

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updating drawings, and 

AUD 3.6 million in 

travel expenses.” 

– Mark Patis, Technical Executive, Design 

Parsons Brinckerhoff 

Reduce Project Delivery Risk 

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“ProjectWise gives us a 

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for sharing information – 

allowing the design and 

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– Mark Williams, Senior Vice President 

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www.bentley.com/ProjectWise 

© 2016 Bentley Systems, Incorporated. Bentley, the “B” Bentley logo, and ProjectWise are either registered or unregistered trademarks or service marks 

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