Skanska makes construction of E18 Vestkorridoren easier with apps from BuildingPoint
VIDEO (subtitles available in English and Norwegian!):
Learn about how BuildingPoint Scandinavia helps Skanska and Armeringsservice develop an app for better use of design data on the construction site.
Skanska is the main contractor for the E103 contract for Strand-Ramstadsletta, a part of the E18 Vestkorridoren project in Bærum, west of Oslo. Statens vegvesen (The Norwegian Road Authorities) has great ambitions for the use of digital construction processes in this project, something that Skanska, as the main contractor, is ready to meet.
IMAGE: Bård Olav Aune, Skanska Anlegg (click for larger picture)
However, as construction is under way, it is also clear that the accurate and highly detailed engineering data provided from engineering consultant company Norconsult is not always easy to use for the individual skilled workers on the construction site dealing with very large reinforced concrete structures.
Skanska’s Bård Olav Aune set out to address this with their sub-suppliers on the site and local software partner BuildingPoint Scandinavia.
GOAL: Make life easier – not more difficult!
IMAGE: E18 Vestkorridoren, Ramstadsletta in Bærum, drone photo of the construction site, E103 contract. (Image courtesy of Skanska, click for larger picture)
«The goal for us with model-based construction, is that we want to simplify the daily life for the skilled workers and not make production more difficult by taking away the drawings. We want to make digital tools as convenient and simple as flipping through the paper drawings,» says Bård Olav Aune.
As BIM coordinator for Skanska on the E103 contract, as well as discipline manager for BIM processes, he is familiar with the highly detailed BIM model supplied by Norconsult.
«The challenge in a project like this, where we have ambitions to work completely model-based, is that the digital models contain everything we need to build the structures, but we aren’t always very good at presenting Information in a simple way,» Aune explains.
His concern is that the skilled workers do not have the luxury of sitting down in front of a huge screen in an office to find the correct information needed to build, they need to access the data on the construction site.
Additionally, there are also some who are not as familiar with digital tools as others, although many of the workers on the site are familiar with the use of Trimble Connect on iPads which makes the data more accessible on the site.
That does not help, though, if the large models overwhelm them.
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Break down the job into smaller parts.
«We like to break the model down into what we call «work packages» so that they have one task to concentrate on at a time, » Aune says.
Aune explains that this is the key to succeeding with the use of digital models, in the same way that one used to supply 2D drawings to describe detailed construction steps in the recent past, and in fact still do in many projects.
«We want to show only parts of the model for a specific work operation,» Aune says and explains that he wants to address the construction phase of digitalization with the detailed and high-quality BIM model.
IMAGE: Trimble Connect with the Rebar Labels extension (click to see large picture)
“
The goal for us with model-based construction, is that we want to simplify the daily life for the skilled workers and not make production more difficult by taking away the drawings.
We want to make digital tools as convenient and simple as flipping through the paper drawings.
- Bård Olav Aune, Skanska Anlegg
Closing the gap with an app.
IMAGE: Base plate under construction
Skanska’s Bård Olav Aune and Anders Sand-Larsson from BuildingPoint Scandinavia are standing in front of a huge base plate at the E103 construction site. Aune explains that the plate has many casting stages and many rebar parts/position numbers which are used in various places in the base plate.
Trimble Connect is used extensively in many projects, but as adoption in the work force increases and more people start using this solution in production, Skanska identifies possible new features in the software that could make production more efficient. To address this, they work closely with the suppliers in production and their local software partner, BuildingPoint Scandinavia.
«In this project, we have focused on the rebar model by developing an extension for Trimble Connect for coloring groups of rebar by position number, as well as grouping of the rebars. And then, with just a few clicks, you can easily get to a specific position number and look at the quantities, dimensions and installation distances and similar information that the skilled worker needs to do the job,» Aune says.
IMAGES: Concrete reinforcement rebars in Trimble Connect before and after using the Rebar Labels extension for Trimble Connect. This app helps tidy up the model and make it a lot easier for the skilled workers on the construction site to access the data they need and not be overwhelmed by too much data.
«The app that we've had developed helps with tidying things up to convey information to the end user on the construction site, but also to be able to show the model on the iPad to clearly show how things shall be built,» Aune states and continues to praise all the partners in the project - from Statens Vegvesen who has defined a contract that motivates process innovation and the engineering consultants who create the BIM model.
For the app development he explains that they also worked closely with the sub supplier for rebar installation, Armeringsservice AS and adds a testimonial to the collaboration with the app software developer:
«I think that the collaboration has been very productive! BuildingPoint is very hands-on when it comes to developing their apps exactly the way they want them.»
And hopefully this will help make life easier for the team on the construction site.
IMAGE: Real and digital world in Trimble Connect. (Click for larger picture.)
