Case Study: O'Dwyer Steel – Refining the workflow
and delivering total confidence on site
Once I'd familiarized myself with the
new workflow, creating the models
with the point cloud was very easy
and now it's become second nature.
There have been numerous times
when this has enabled us to flag up
issues in the office, presite, which
has been invaluable. For example,
on our very first job with the Trimble
X7 where we were extending a
commercial building, we were able
to pick up an electrical box exactly
where we were dropping a column
and arrange for this to be moved
before we arrived on site.
The new system also means that we
can handle particular complex jobs. A
recent one involved steel work inside
a tower in England. The inside was
not symmetrical, so every piece of
steel work was different. I don't know
how we'd have managed this job
previously!
Operating out of its purpose-built, 4-hectare
fabrication facility, the company delivers steel
structures for the offsite, industrial, commercial
and agricultural markets throughout the UK
and Ireland and has established a hard-earned
reputation through its decades of experience and
successful business relationships.
O'Dwyer Steel's current workflow sees a site
engineer using a manual total station to record
points which are backed up by a sketch made in the
field. On returning to the office, the engineer then
produces an AutoCAD drawing which is passed to
the steel detailer for subsequent 3D modeling.
We are involved in a lot of complex
projects and the new workflow is
enabling us to spot potential clashes or
misalignments present. It's also been
particularly impressive during Microsoft
Teams meetings with the design team
able to open 'Scan Explorer' to take
measurements and levels.
Richard Walsh,
Director, O'Dwyer Steel
O'Dwyer is a long-term user of Tekla Structures
(software that enables users to create and manage
constructible 3D structural models in concrete
or steel), and Richard Walsh was therefore keen
for any new solution to have a familiar interface
and in particular, to work seamlessly with his
Tekla software. He therefore contacted Trimble
BuildingPoint UK & Ireland to research various
scanners and following a number of trials, selected
the Trimble X7 a scanner, a system already
well trusted, respected and proven within the
construction industry.
The adoption of the new system, which included
Trimble FieldLink software to manage the laser
scanner via a tablet and Trimble RealWorks for
point cloud processing and analysis, enabled
Richard to fine tune the workflow.
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