Bolting it all together

How integrating structural steel detailing with plant or offshore

layout design reduces project cost, risk and delivery time

An AVEVA Business Paper

AVEVA Solutions Limited

Published March 2013

Bolting it all Together - An AVEVA Business Paper

Contents Page

The steelwork challenge 3

Risk reduction through close collaboration 4
Making it work 5
Why use AVEVA Bocad Steel? 6

Page 2
 Bolting it all Together - An AVEVA Business Paper

The steelwork challenge

Far from being just simple framework, the support structure of
an industrial plant or offshore facility presents considerable
challenges in design and construction. It shares the tight
delivery schedule and the iterative design process with other
disciplines. Often, plant layout criteria must take priority, leading
to demanding space constraints, while still having to comply
with stringent structural design standards. And because steel
erection must start early and progress in advance of the rest of the
construction process, there is invariably a very tight time window
for fabrication and erection.

The challenge is increased by the common industry practice of

subcontracting steel detailing and fabrication to specialised
companies anywhere around the world, depending on cost, facilities
and availability. This stretches communication links in a process
which needs particularly close collaboration. As if this were not
enough, the capabilities of most specialised plant or outfitting
design solutions do not generally extend sufficiently far along the
steelwork design/fabricate/construct workflow.

Evidently, there is considerable business advantage to be gained

by engineering contractors (EPCs) or shipbuilders through the
use of a specialised steelwork solution that can be used efficiently
with a plant or outfitting design solution, and can support close,
collaborative working through an entire design and construction
project. Recognising this, AVEVA has added AVEVA Bocad Steel to
the AVEVA Plant and AVEVA Marine solutions, enabling steelwork
specialists to work closely and effectively with either plant layout
designers using AVEVA Everything3D (AVEVA E3D) / AVEVA
PDMS, or with shipbuilders using AVEVA Outfitting.

Far from being just simple

framework, the support structure
of an industrial plant or offshore
facility presents considerable
challenges in design and
construction. It shares the
tight delivery schedule and the
iterative design process with
other disciplines...

Page 3

Risk reduction through close collaboration
In any complex multi-discipline activity, success can only be
achieved through effective teamwork. In the capital engineering
industries such as process plant, shipbuilding or offshore, this
means that the various engineering and design functions must be
able to see each others work, and respond correctly to it, as they
continuously refine the overall design around the evolutionary
spiral.
Historically, integration between steelwork and the other design
disciplines has been relatively limited. In AVEVA E3D, PDMS or
Outfitting, designers can create steelwork, together with piping,
plant and cable layout and access structures, in a common 3D
design environment. But, while these solutions provide clash
detection and management between the steelwork and plant/
outfitting elements, and efficient design of support assemblies that
connect the two, they do not inherently provide the same extensive
support for steel fabrication that they do for, say, pipework
fabrication.
Bolting it all Together - An AVEVA Business Paper
An EPCs or shipyards designers would therefore generally create
sufficient detail in their steelwork models to ensure correct
integration with piping layout and to enable a specialist fabricator
to then complete the detailing of the steelwork. In principle, this
should be a satisfactory arrangement, but only if the steelwork
design is substantially frozen when released to the fabricator. In
practice this is rarely possible; todays highly concurrent project
scheduling requires committing to steelwork production before
the rest of the design has been completed. Inevitably, the layout/
outfitting design continues to evolve and can become out of step
with the structural design. Moreover, part of the work of the steel
detailer involves adding local reinforcements, gussets and so on,
which create the potential for undetected clashes with the piping
layout. This can be a serious programme risk, especially on tightly
packed designs such as offshore platforms.
As part of AVEVAs commitment to Lean Construction, we believe
the combination of the specialist functions of AVEVA Bocad Steel
with AVEVA E3D, PDMS or Outfitting enables a user to detect and
eliminate such clashes at an early stage. Making it easier for
steelwork and layout/outfitting designers to collaborate reduces
the risks of costly rework, delayed start-up and liquidated damages
imposed by the contract terms.
Making it easier
for steelwork and
layout/outfitting
designers to
collaborate reduces
the risks of costly
rework, delayed start-
up and liquidated damages
imposed by the contract terms...
Page 4

Making it work
The relationship between the functions within AVEVA E3D or PDMS
and those within AVEVA Bocad Steel are illustrated below.
The key capability lies in developing the steelwork design
concurrently with the rest of the layout, in a common 3D model, so
that the overall design meets essential requirements for functions,
accessibility, space constraints, safety, and so on, and so that
at least any hard clashes are eliminated. AVEVA E3D, PDMS and
Outfitting provide the ability to quickly create steelwork elements at
concept level, in the context of an overall layout design. This design
is then elaborated to add essential elements such as decks and
access structures.
As the design progresses, the capabilities of AVEVA Bocad Steel
begin to add value in creating a progressively higher level of detail
in the steelwork design. Connection details may be readily defined,
materials requirements and layout drawings refined, and weight and
COG data generated to enable more detailed construction sequence
planning. Finally, the steelwork may be fully defined down to
fabrication deliverables level. Fully detailed deliverables, including
fabrication sketches and CNC data, are generated automatically
from the 3D model, eliminating inaccuracies and many sources of
error.
In use, the typical workflow involves creating the steelwork in
AVEVA E3D, PDMS or Outfitting, developing all essential design
features, eliminating clashes and specifying pipe supports before
transferring the 3D model to AVEVA Bocad Steel via the AVEVA Bocad
Steel Interface.
Concept Layout
Primary steel Primary steel & plates
Basic layout drawings Secondary steel
Stairs, ladders & handrail
Layout drawings
AVEVA E3D / PDMS / Outfitting
Bolting it all Together - An AVEVA Business Paper
Once the model is available in AVEVA Bocad Steel, full detailing
can be carried out. Clearly, however, design in AVEVA E3D, PDMS
or Outfitting will still be continuing, and the steel detailing will
introduce changes as connection details are added. The two parts
of the design therefore tend to diverge and must periodically be
synchronised. This is where AVEVAs unique Compare & Update
capabilities add value. Re-importing the steelwork model from
AVEVA Bocad Steel does not overwrite the original, but will
generally result in numerous inconsistencies with the earlier
version, and invariably some new clashes to be resolved. But this
does not stop the workflow; it only alerts the AVEVA E3D, PDMS or
Outfitting designers to the existence of the changes. Elimination of
the inconsistencies may be carried out in an informed, prioritised
manner and may involve adjustments either to the piping layout or
to the steelwork, or both, as appropriate.
This capability overcomes one of the biggest risks in project
execution. Because other technology solutions cannot achieve this
level of design coordination, EPCs or shipbuilders must either bear
the risks of steelwork design diverging from the layout design,
try to keep the designs in step using 2D drawings (a notoriously
unreliable method) or attempt to keep control over the entire
process by performing the steel detailing in house. While AVEVA
E3D, PDMS and Outfitting have good structural design functions,
they do not provide the extensive productivity and capability
offered by AVEVA Bocad Steel. Only by using both together can
one achieve maximum design consistency and the high quality
deliverables necessary for accurate, right-first-time steel
fabrication and construction.
Detailed design Fabrication design
Primary steel & plates Primary steel & plates
Secondary steel Secondary steel
Stairs, ladders & handrail Tertiary steel
Significant connections Stairs, ladders & handrail
Layout drawings Welds
Rough MTO Detailed MTO
COG COG
Connections
Fabrication deliverables
AVEVA Bocad Steel
Page 5

Why use AVEVA Bocad Steel?
Evidently, the ability to coordinate the interdependent designs
of piping layout and steelwork design is essential for efficient
execution of a high quality project. But there are other structural
design solutions available, so why would one use AVEVA Bocad Steel
in preference to an alternative?
There are several aspects to the answer, but they all come down to
minimising project cost and risk:
z AVEVA Bocad Steel has been specifically optimised to work with
AVEVA E3D, PDMS and Outfitting. For example, features added
to the structural design in AVEVA Bocad Steel are not lost on
re-import, an essential requirement for reducing the risk of
undetected errors and clashes. Future releases of the AVEVA
Plant and AVEVA Marine solutions will progressively tighten this
integration to provide a seamless environment for concurrent
development of structural and plant design.
z This two-way integration supports AVEVAs unique Compare &
Update capability. This powerful capability combines rigorous
control of design changes with maximum flexibility of working.
The result is an environment which enables maximum efficiency in
creating error-free design.
AVEVA Bocad Steel offers some of the most advanced features available
for accurate parts fabrication and construction...
Bolting it all Together - An AVEVA Business Paper
z AVEVA Bocad Steel offers some of the most advanced features
available for accurate parts fabrication and construction. In
design, it can handle the most complex and difficult structural
configurations, from parts at compound angles to structures
with no rectilinear elements at all. Automatic creation of cones,
transitions and straight pipe sections, as well as fully automatic
unfolding and layout drawings, save considerable design time.
z A macro language is provided to enable customisation by the user
to meet unusual requirements. This enables AVEVA Bocad Steel
to be adopted without requiring costly, specialist customisation,
enables a user to develop proprietary functions for extra
efficiency or competitive advantage, and enables the deployment
to be developed by the user as business needs evolve.
z AVEVA Bocad Steel generates high-quality, fully detailed
deliverables automatically, directly from the 3D model. It
maintains the relationship between 2D and 3D data to ensure
accuracy in the deliverables.
z Unlike competing solutions, in normal circumstances AVEVA
Bocad Steels deliverables require no subsequent editing. Even
where editing may be required on particularly complex designs,
the amount of work required is far less than with other solutions.
Page 6
 Bolting it all Together - An AVEVA Business Paper

z Deliverables can be configured to comply with the specific

standards of industry, company or project. Sophisticated part-
marking functions are provided and support all currently used
rules.

z AVEVA Bocad Steel generates fabrication data (such as CNC data

for cutting, welding and many other automated manufacturing
processes) direct from the project model, to suit the specific
equipment used by the fabricators.

z Automatic creation of Cones, transitions and straight pipe

sections, including fully-automatic unfolding and layout
drawings.

z AVEVA Bocad Steel enables Just-in-Time fabrication. By being

able to automatically generate fully detailed, 100% accurate
deliverables at the last possible moment, fabrication can
commence with minimum risk of subsequent design changes
requiring scrap and rework. This not only increases efficiency in
conventional project workflows, it is an important element in
the development of Lean Construction processes.

z While AVEVA Bocad Steel provides extensive functions for a wide

variety of project types, customers in specialist industry sectors
may wish to extend these functions with one of its add-on
products: AVEVA Bocad Onshore or AVEVA Bocad Offshore.
As their names suggest, these add specialist functions for the
efficient creation of industry-specific types of steel structure.
For example, AVEVA Bocad Offshore provides a range of
predefined, parametric design elements, such as mudmats,
which save considerable design time on the most common types
of offshore structure.

AVEVA Bocad Steel enables

Just-in-Time fabrication. By
being able to automatically
generate fully detailed, 100%
accurate deliverables at the last
possible moment, fabrication can
commence with minimum risk
of subsequent design changes
requiring scrap and rework...

Page 7
AVEVA Group plc Headquartered in Cambridge, England, AVEVA Group plc and its operating
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Tel +44 (0)1223 556655
Fax +44 (0)1223 556666 For more details on AVEVA Worldwide Offices, visit www.aveva.com/offices

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