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Thursday, December 8, 2011

Top 5 Tips For Detailing Software in Construction Design


Detailing is perhaps the most demanding of software requirements. It involves a staggering range of design requirements, including components, welds, reinforcements and even individual parts. This type of work was once an ordeal, rather than a job, particularly on big projects. Detailing software is now doing in seconds complex, advanced work that once took hours or days.

Detailing in detail- Managing the details en masse

Detailing is an areas where the huge practical advantages of engineering software become self evident. An expert designer using structural drafting software can turn a massive workload into an "assembly line" process instantly, by simply creating templates and design parameters.

The "assembly line" approach has infinite value to designers and construction engineers, particularly with truly massive tasks. It ensures quality and greatly improved completion times. For design contractors, this is a real "must have" capacity.

Specifications and detailing

Specifications and detailing require extreme accuracy. The "assembly line" also operates as a quality control in this field, but most importantly allows proper attention to details. This is a particularly valuable function for managers, to allow direct oversight of difficult design issues.

For example:

Highly complex specifications and detailing of some design elements must be done on a no-mistakes basis. These elements can be isolated and given intensive scrutiny to ensure performance values. They can then be integrated into the design stream with a string of correlates to ensure accurate configuration.

Sequential planning

Sequential planning is a fundamental aspect of construction. Stages of construction, building schedules, and sometimes dozens of contracts are based on this type of planning, and nobody wants grey areas in the plans.

Project managers will insist on reliable, well-constructed sequential planning at all stages of any construction project. Steel detailing is a case in point. This absolutely fundamental design area is critical to the entire construction process. Sequential planning ensures baseline oversight of structural construction, and operates as a driver for other schedules.

4D schedules- Simulations can make a big difference

"4D schedules" is planning jargon for scheduling. Simulations are often used to provide a working model of construction programs, sometimes in great detail. This is the graphic version of sequential planning, and it's invaluable for visualization.

You'll have seen simple versions of 4D, showing how a building or object is assembled. The professional version of 4D can cover everything from structural assembly to components, in a real time configuration allowing accurate time measurement and evaluation of site and construction issues.

Tasks and objects

Tasks and objects is design-speak for construction functions and design objects. Some tasks and objects are major issues, and they require intensive planning. Designers factor in these situations, and design the tasks to efficiently work with the objects.

In many cases, tasks and objects are used as cost savers. Designers work with them to streamline construction and reduce time usages. This is invaluable in terms of big projects, where it can drastically improve construction efficiency with a corresponding cost benefit.




Pacific Computing is the exclusive distributor in Aust and NZ of Tekla Structures 3D modelling construction software for structural detailing and drafting. For more information and to view our range of products, visit Construction Software.




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