Isachsen Anlegg leaves the drawings behind
Norwegian contractor Isachsen Anlegg AS, which was established in 1986, has decades long experience with infrastructure projects. The Bane NOR project, UDK03 which is part of the Drammen-Kobbervikdalen project on Vestfoldbanen, demands that the company draw on all the experience gained over the years, but also that they keep developing their skills on the digital arena.
BuildingPoint spoke with Thomas Bøhlerengen at Isachsen Anlegg AS who explains that there is high adoption of the new digital tools in the company and that the old drawings binder is no longer seen on the construction site.
Bøhlerengen has long experience as a surveyor and knows firsthand what is needed to get the job done on the construction site. For the UDK03 project he has been Survey Manager.
- On this project, UDK03, we get all the data delivered as models in IFC and DWG formats. Everyone working on the project, from management in the project office, to those who work on the construction site, must be able to access these models just as easily as they could with the old drawings that we had before. For this we use Trimble Connect, which works very well, Bøhlerengen says.
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IMAGE: Thomas Bøhlerengen at UDK03 in Drammen with robot dog Spot
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We think it works very well to share data through Trimble Connect. Things, like updating the model to reflect the latest changes from engineering and planning, or creating your own display models to help the craftsmen on the site, are very easy.
Rapidly increasing number of users
The software from Trimble is one with many digital solutions that the industry is using today, with a rapidly increasing number of users. Although the software is easy to use, there are several new challenges associated with this change.
Bøhlerengen points out that some of the people in the construction team are curious about the new solutions and eager to learn.
- Some of the guys take the pad home with them and sit in the evening and play around with it. I tell them that "you can click on whatever you want. You won’t be able to delete anything!" So, they come back having figured things out on their own. But then there are of course some who need a little more training to make full use of the software, says Bøhlerengen
IMAGE: Thomas Bøhlerengen and BuildingPoint at UDK03 in Drammen with robot dog Spot.
Feedback from the construction site
Norconsult works as engineering consultants on the project and collaborate with Isachsen Anlegg. Thomas Angeltveit, who is Group Leader of Digital Transformation, agrees with Bøhlerengen, and they both claim that the information sharing going from engineering to construction works very well. They point out that the next challenge to tackle is the data flow coming back from the construction site to the engineering and project management teams.
- We see now, in cooperation with the contractors, that moving data from us as engineering consultants to the contractors is working well, but getting data back from the construction site has improvement potential, says Norconsult’s Thomas Angeltveit.
Read about how Norconsult looks to robotization to improve flow of data from the construction site)
- It is a large threshold for those who work on the construction site to take that step. Viewing data is easy, but when they want to share something, they think that it’s easier to pick up the phone and call the office rather than take a "snapshot" picture and send that instead. We still have a way to go there, confirms Bøhlerengen.
Taking charge of the change
IMAGE: Isachsen Anlegg at UDK03 in Drammen.
One of the keys to solving this challenge is training, says Bøhlerengen, but points out that it’s not as simple as setting up a training course now and then. One needs to think about the whole process and agree on responsibilities and perhaps also new functions in the project teams.
Bøhlerengen has recently started in a new role as BIM Manager in Isachsen Anlegg and will be heavily involved in this transformation process. Having tried the To-Do system in Trimble Connect with some of the members of the team on the construction site, he has already demonstrated that easy-to-use features are available out-of-the-box. The next step is to look into the full workflow.
- We think it works very well to share data through Trimble Connect. Things, like updating the model to reflect the latest changes from engineering and planning, or creating your own display models to help the craftsmen on the site, are very easy. Now, we need to ensure that feedback from the site through these systems is as easy as a phone call. If we manage that, there are so many more benefits for the project, and it will allow us to work faster and more efficiently to the benefit of everyone, says Bøhlerengen.
FACTS
Project:
Vestfoldbanen Drammen-Kobbervikdalen UDK03
Featured company:
Isachsen Anlegg AS
Featured software:
Trimble Connect
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