CC1705

CASEstudy
Solid Foundations
High quality precast concrete solutions from Tekla keep O’Reilly Concrete ahead of the industry
O'Reilly Concrete, Ireland's
leading precast concrete
manufacturer, moved from 2D
design to 3D design over ten years ago,
by incorporating Tekla software from
Trimble into its business - and has been
saving an impressive amount of time
and money ever since.
With an unrivalled track record in design
and build construction projects, along with
its complete range of precast concrete
solutions, O'Reilly Concrete is one of the
largest, and leading, precast
manufacturers in Ireland and the UK.
Established in the early 1930s, the
manufacturer provides precast concrete
solutions to all sectors of the Irish
construction industry, including education,
healthcare, industrial and infrastructure.
Like most manufacturers in the past,
O’Reilly Concrete produced all of its
designs and fabrication drawings using 2D
CAD software. However, with the company
dedicated to researching new products to
increase its range, it knew it had to
upgrade its software. In 2005 the company
moved to 3D design by adopting Tekla
Structures in its drawing office to develop
improved precast solutions, a key
differentiator for O’Reilly Concrete, with 3D
design allowing them to deliver projects to
clients more efficiently.
WHY CHANGE FROM 2D TO 3D?
Richard Kowalski, Technical Director at
O’Reilly Concrete, said: "Prior to
incorporating Tekla software within the
business, we employed traditional 2D
design methods; these were slow and time
consuming. We used 2D CAD software for
fabrication drawings with no link between
GA drawings and individual cast unit
drawings. Alterations made in the general
design had to be changed manually on the
production drawings - and any late
changes made to a design from the
architects or engineers resulted in
mistakes and time delays.
"After a lot of market research, we
implemented Tekla Structures as our
main design package - a very clever
piece of software, as you can view the
future development in a 3D model and
identify and correct all design clashes. It
also highlights sections where the design
could be improved - not possible in 2D -
as well as helping to split a building into
precast elements, create accurate
drawings, and to manage transport, the
erection of the building and all
associated design processes."
Richard continued: "At first we only
purchased two licenses for Tekla
Structures, as we weren't completely aware
of what the benefits of using 3D tools were.
However, after quickly realising the many
benefits, we purchased four extra licenses.
Looking back, I wish we had started with
more licenses to make the transition from
2D to 3D quicker.
"When we purchased Tekla Structures, we
received training on the software, which
was quite intensive and at the time, we
thought it was a lot to absorb in a short
period. Nevertheless, when we started
using the software we realised how easy
and self-explanatory it was to use - you
learn as you go, so in all honesty the
learning process was quite fast. At first we
didn't use all of the automated tools that
Tekla Structures offers, but it was brilliant to
see exactly how a building was going to be
built, how our connections featured in the
design and to show our installers the
sequence of the erection."
NEW WAY OF WORKING REDUCES
THE PROGRAMME TIME
O’Reilly Concrete baptised the software on
one of the biggest residential
developments in Dublin: Adamstown.
Richard said: "Using the software on this
project was a completely new way of
working for our drawing office, but it came
with a lot of benefits and time-savings. In
fact, we managed to reduce the
programme of Adamstown from 20 weeks
to 16 weeks and reduced design errors by
80 per cent. These savings were made
mainly in the design and detailing phase; if
the 3D model was correct then the
production drawings generated directly
from the model, were accurate too.
"The 3D model also allowed for any late
changes to be accommodated easily and
update all of the drawings. With a model
based process we avoided a lot of drilling
and coring on site - quite common when
18
May/June 2017