Worth a thousand words: software allows accurate 3D renderings
It’s no surprise to hear that metal buildings are not the boxy, straightforward, and simplistic designs of the past. Architects, engineers, and construction companies have been collaborating with clients over the past decade to create some of the most innovative, forward-thinking metal building designs the industry has ever seen.
It is a surprise, however, when a software system can take the complex metal building design, provide alternative design schemes to establish the best solution, implement a cost-effective change management system, speed up the overall design times, and establish seamless 24/7 Building Information Modelling (BIM) collaboration between all contractors on the job…essentially making easy work of just about everything that used to make jobs, well, complicated.
What is Tekla® Structures?
Tekla® Structures (BIM Software) is revolutionizing the process as well as the possibilities–and Robertson Building Systems is utilizing its advantages to offer customers the unique, custom buildings they want with greater simplicity and affordability than ever.
Matt Carter, Drafting Squad Leader at Robertson, described the advantages that software offers the company: “Tekla® has allowed us to integrate with our normal workflow and expand our capabilities for production, giving us more capacity for design complexity.”
Matt Carter, Drafter IV
The program produces a 3D model, ensuring that what the customer sees is exactly what they get. “One of the advtanges of Tekla®,” explained Matt, “is that when we’re at the final point of releasing our job to fabrication, everything is 100% accurate in our model.” This part of the process is invaluable in saving time, money, and frustration for everyone.
“It gives customers a resource to go to their sub-contractors and make sure there are no conflicts between the desired outcome and what is being submitted for production.”
Once a design is approved by the customer, the model can be shared with all of the other sub-contractors on the project so that everyone involved is informed and aware of every aspect of the project. “With everyone using the BIM, the general contractor can pull the models together from every sub-contractor and see the entire project in full,” said Matt.
Tekla®-generated BIM models and the final building project by Robertson, Christ the Redeemer Church in Swift Current, SK
Robertson does not use Tekla® exclusively, as some projects are best served through other software systems. According to Matt, the more complex projects are where Tekla®’s features really shine: “We assess every project and if there’s just too much going on or the design is too complex to work with our normal software, we’ll switch to Tekla® to make sure we get everything correct.”
Tekla®-generated BIM model and the final building project by Robertson, Grand Park Sports Campus in Westfield, IN
Overall, the project is simplified at every phase, with a single set of data throughout the process. And as we all know…greater team communication and collaboration nearly always result in greater customer satisfaction.