NQE Rakennetekniikka Oy, or NQE Structural Engineering Ltd, is an engineering company specialising in structural design, established in the summer of 2018. NQE specialises in the structural design, structural engineering development and external verification of structural designs for all types of building construction and industrial projects. NQE employs a total of nearly 30 structural design professionals and has offices in Oulu and Turku. The Southern Finland unit was established in Turku in early 2021 and currently employs 6 structural designers, 2-3 of whom use the model-based Tekla Structural Designer design and analysis software.
- The Southern Finland unit has mainly focused on designing building construction projects, and in terms of materials, the design is mostly concrete structures with some wood and steel, says Elmeri Kryssi, Unit Manager and Project Manager for Southern Finland. "On the industrial side of NQE, we mainly design steel structures for boiler plants and hall buildings, for example, including projects abroad. NQE has also got off to a good start in Southern Finland and as we are still a relatively small company, we are agile in getting new and necessary software up and running. With two more designers joining our Southern Finland unit in the autumn, we have plenty of work to do.
NQE uses Robot Structural Analysis and Tekla Structural Designer for dimensioning and FEM calculations. For structural modelling, Tekla Structures and Revit are used.
- "We are currently using Tekla Structural Designer, for example in the Hippos project in Jyväskylä," Kryssi says.Depending on the complexity of the project, we may also use Excel spreadsheets for basic design and dimensioning, but especially in concrete, TSD can be used to calculate structures quickly. It is particularly useful when comparing frame options and stiffening systems. Updating the TSD calculation model is very fast and TSD is easier to use than many competing programs.
- TSD is well suited for reasonably simple calculations of the basic stress and stability of concrete," says Project Manager Antti Metsälä, "It is approachable for projects of a certain size. Personally, I prefer the program because of its simplicity. I can quickly get accurate enough results to get on with the job, as the models don't have to be 'sunny-side up'. A simple structural model with basic structures is easy to make, and it's handy to look at the initial dimensions. More complex cases can be checked by hand on the side. For example, the loads on a gravity wall can be obtained directly from the application and even the reinforcement up to a certain point. It is relatively simple to create geometry for smaller entities, such as roof structures. I often make more detailed analyses of the pieces removed from a large Tekla Structures model separately to speed up design and calculation. In TSD, it is best to do the first sketches before the structural model exists and export the frame model that results from the calculation to Tekla Structures for refinement.
- Import and export from TSD to Tekla Structures works well in general, Metsälä continues. The best way is to create a simple sketch model in Tekla Structures, export it to TSD when all the details are not yet included, and then back to Tekla Structures for more detailed modelling. The errors in the program are usually related to the shells, i.e. walls or slabs, and the program still needs further localisation for Finnish solutions. In Finland, a lot of hybrid frames are made with composite columns, which are basically concrete-filled steel tube columns. The challenge is therefore the concept of composite pillars, which is often different in the world than in Finland.
- As the editing and filtering logic for Tekla Structural Designer reports has opened up, I have started to include parts of the calculation in the published report. Reporting tools seem to be a challenge for all software developers. There is always a lot of "cleaning up" to do with reports, but once you get familiar and know what you are doing, the software produces neat reports on the basics. In DXF format, we mainly use the export as input data for other designers, for example to send foundation loads to a foundation engineer," says Metsälä.
Kryssi and Metsälä praise the continuous development of Tekla Structural Designer's concrete functionality.
- The new features are such that it's worthwhile to get the latest version. We are particularly pleased that our comments to Trimble have been well received and that the shortcomings commented on have been corrected in future versions. Tekla Structural Designer is simple in a good way and therefore fast compared to competing software. The design program is not intended to try to solve everything possible, but just what is needed, and that is where it brings efficiency to structural design. No sizing program is easy to use, but TSD is more approachable and easier to use than competing alternatives. Big offices have separate calculation departments, but in a small company no one does the calculations every day. TSD is more easily taken up by any planner. Once you become more familiar with the program, you can do complex things in a fast process. Another absolute advantage is that TSD works together with Tekla Structures.
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Read more about NQE: https://www.nqe.fi/
