Toolbox: 3D Design
In 1994 Beca AMEC embraced the use of 3-Dimensional intelligent design. This has allowed us to improve communication between the design team and the project stakeholders (owners, operators, maintenance and constructors), to reduce field construction costs, and to reduce engineering design costs. The Plant Design Management System (PDMS) is our prime 3D design tool for mechanical and piping work. Our co owner - AMEC - introduced PDMS to our company in 1994. AMEC's extensive experience with both PDMS and PASCE contributed to our ability to implement 3D design quickly and effectively within Beca AMEC. We also have experience in other systems including: PASCE, Autocad, Rebis, Microstation 3D, SolidWorks, and Inventor. We believe that PDMS is an effective design solution for large projects, for small projects, for greenfields projects and for brown fields work. From our experience we know that we can do the job faster, with fewer designers, and clients achieve a constructed plant at a lower cost through the application of this technology. PDMS is a data centric design system: - It is a database at heart - using these to store design information.
- Data is entered & stored only once.
- It uses a Catalogue database to store component data.
- And Specification databases that we customise to each specific project.
- Multiple users operate simultaneously in the same database.
- Work is done in a realistic graphical environment.
- Any view of the data is produced on demand.
- The design team can be in different physical locations - utilising a WAN or even the Internet for database synchronisation.
- Physical clash detection is automated
We have a large in-house team of experienced 3D designers. We have the ability to rapidly produce a variety of accurate documents for your business, including: perspectives, piping isometrics, material reports and a host of orthographic views. In addition, interactive or 'movie style' walkthroughs are used to improve communication from the conceptual development stage of a project all the way through to construction. This encourages ownership by the various project stakeholders via collaborative troubleshooting and problem solving, and accelerates the understanding of the work by construction contractors. 3-D visualisation contributes to interference checking, operability, access and safety considerations and client approval. The benefits of using PDMS can be substantial as shown from the following chart. | Project Value Saving | Capital Rework | Indicative | | | Screen replacement | $30m | 0 | $0.4m | | Paper machine conversion | $280m | < 0.2% | $2.5m | | Chip Bin replacement | $16m | 0 | $0.2m | | New fine papers machine | $340m | < 0.5% | $3.8m | | New paper machine saveall | $8m | 0.5% | $0.1m | | New newsprint machine | $450m | 0.5% | $5.5m | | Deinking plant | $120m | 0.6% | $2.6m |
What you see is what you get. 3-D design, in partnership with intelligent schematics and robust 2-D detailing, helps us to deliver a project more effectively, more efficiently, and at a lower overall capital cost to the client.
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