“Having implemented NovapointDCM 19 and QuadriDCM for road and WS design and BIM collaboration, we are now well equipped with appropriate engineering and collaboration tools for future infrastructure projects”, says Arthur Thuman, road, land and WS planner at ÅF´s infrastructure division in Västerås.

Technology-driven enterprise

Headquartered in Stockholm and offices in 30 countries worldwide, ÅF is an 8000+ employee strong Nordic engineering and consulting company – focusing on the energy, industrial and infrastructure sectors. By connecting technologies they aim to provide profitable, innovative, and sustainable solutions for their clients.

Based on an overall enterprise BIM strategy, Arthur Thuman is one of several BIM pioneers in ÅF. Having experienced different vendor tools over the years he and his team have been using Novapoint as their main engineering toolset in recent years.

Future toolset

“In my role as a road planner I have worked with Novapoint for over five years, since version 18.10”, says Thuman. “However, last fall we were in for a change and started to look into Vianova´s new technology generation, the BIM solution NovapointDCM 19 and QuadriDCM.”

“We immediately found the solution very interesting, and ended up deploying our QuadriDCM server at the end of December 2015.

Fully up and running

The Västerås office was the first in ÅF to start using the new BIM solution. Today they count 25 road engineers and 5-6 water and sewer engineers working with the QuadriDCM server – all of them experienced users of the Novapoint tools.

 “In short we are very pleased with the solution. It is a powerful and efficient toolset for infrastructure design projects. Even our smaller projects are now being done in NovapointDCM and QuadriDCM “, says Arthur Thuman.

Very positive experience

“By having several designers from different disciplines sharing a common model and working together in the model, you get a very solid foundation for developing a good road plan”, he continuous. “By assembling all discipline data into one single project model, we are able to visualize different alternatives, and take into account their respective advantages and disadvantages.”

“It is extremely valuable to see the 3D design directly in the model. You see errors and design conflicts more or less instantly, and so much clearer. Consequently you can find good quality solutions earlier in the design process, helping to increase the efficiency and quality of the project.”

“At present we are three road designers and one WS designer working on a shared Quadri model of a specific road project. The collaboration platform works very well indeed”, emphasizes Thuman.

Thumbs up from contractors

“Even our contractors are very pleased with the new model deliveries. They are now very curious to work more in 3D and to exploit the model for machine control and visual quality control.”

“They can for example see potential construction issues much better in a visual model, avoiding bringing the problems to the building site. Consequently reducing building mistakes, and allowing for alternative solutions to be found, that can solve the problem. Saving money of course.”

“The models, independently of how big they are, are not annoyingly heavy to work with either, compared to other tools we use.”

Wish-list

“NovapointDCM and QuadriDCM is no doubt a very useful BIM solution”, Thuman continues. “The design tools have a lot of advantages. However, there are still a few things we would like to see improved. But I know Vianova Systems is working hard on this.”

“I also think it is a pity that the Civil 3D Connector is just a one-way converter. I´d like to see a data conversion option also the opposite way, from NovapointDCM to Civil 3D.”

“Besides, since road sign planning is also part of my job, I look forward to get road signs automatically into the model as well.

Interesting development

“Nevertheless, now that Trimble has a stake in the development, it will be very interesting to follow the product development going forward”, concludes Arthur Thuman. “Presumably it will process even faster now with Trimble having a leading edge in the industry…?”