Construction industry is very large and complex and to make it easy,it is divided into many segments; so that the final goal of completion can be accurate, strong and as per the initial plan. Structural engineers are part of this industry. Civil engineers, structural engineers and architects need to collaborate with each other and must complete the project successfully with full coordination.
Structural engineers achieve the main key points ‘coordination and integrity’mainly through the intelligent usage of Bim Modelling. Bim is popularly known as‘Building Information Modelling’. It contains collection of data generated and managed along with the provision of digital representations for everything.
Structural engineers have to face so many challenges that they need to satisfy their clients among many other competitors. Clients nowadays expect the best of everything without spending too much. They have to produce cost effective plans,convince them the cost factorsand need to maintain it till the end of the project. For all these, bim Modelling helps them a lot.
Bim Modelingcan be presented in the form of;
• Geometrical models of structures
• Models on Separate elements with regard to analytical and calculations.
• Complete details of specifications for these models
• All types of documents
Some popular software companies develop BIM applications making it easy for the structural engineers to go through all their processes and to bring forth various kinds of reports.
Another tool used for representing details is Fabrication drawings. Through these drawings, engineers come out with various plans and representing most of the details.
Uses of Fabrication Drawings:
• Only through these Fabrication Drawings, accuracy and perfection areachieved in construction whether it may be a small single storey building or tall skyscrapers.
• Skilled people, who are experts not only in drafting but also in communication, reasoning and logic, can draw fabrication drawings. Of course, they are engineers and know how to use CAD software applications.
• Only from these drawings, people come to know about all factors through studying the graphical representations marked in the drawings.
• Standardengineers will use only the internationally accepted graphical terms and follow the global guidelines.
• From these drawings people can know the placement of various components like elevators, cabinets, windows, doors, electrical fittings and all other details.
• There will be detailed specifications for each component separately.
• They will include a list of materials that are needed to build the construction.
• They will contain all the dimensions, geometric and linear tolerances.
• These drawings must have only lower case alphabets or sub units of item numbers such as 1/1, 1/2, or 1/a, 1/b.
• These drawings can be further divided into steel fabrication drawings, metal fabrication drawings and so on.
• Steel
fabrication drawings are used by architects, structural designers and engineers, fabricators, steel detailers and shop drawing experts.
• These drawings are drawn with the help of software applications like AutoCAD, Tekla, Revit and others.
It is a wide known practice for those in the construction industry to outsource these works to get their Bim modelling and fabrication drawings. This reduces the workloadand the stress and tension involved in building very large establishments.