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Sophie Riou, Project Manager in the design office at Eiffage Energie Systèmes Clévia Centre Est, is passionate about a job that is never monotonous, and has taken part in numerous studies, from the simplest to the most complex buildings. She explains how Trimble Nova software comes into its own when it comes to saving time.
For the past 5 years, Sophie Riou has been technical studies project manager in the health-cleanroom department of Eiffage Energie Systèmes Clévia Centre Est. Eiffage, one of the top 3 construction and public works majors, posted sales of just over 18 billion in 2019 and employs 72,500 people worldwide.
In France's Centre-Est region (*), Eiffage covers 12 departments and generates sales of 290 million euros. Through Clévia, its brand dedicated to HVAC and energy engineering, the Group generates sales of €120 million via its 8 regional sites. This expertise, which is highly developed in this region, represents 30% of national sales (€445 million in sales, 2,200 employees).
Like her colleagues, Sophie Riou has been trained in Trimble Nova, the computer-aided design software offered by Trimble MEP. This solution covers the heating, ventilation and air conditioning, electrical and sanitary trades. The software integrates not only design, but also drafting, calculations and technical analyses, with its own CAD core.
"I first got to know Trimble Nova at Crystal, a company acquired by the Eiffage Group in 2009. At the time, I was even involved in the choice of software, which I've been using since 2008. We were impressed by two things: the intelligent schematics and the outstanding calculation capabilities. I find the software easy to access, and I like the tree structure and the way it handles drawings. It's an intuitive program into which it's very easy to integrate plans created with AutoCAD , for example. Another advantage is that you don't have to deal with a cumbersome global model. You can also work in groups on the same project, with two people working at the same time on the same level
Sophie Riou is currently working on an office renovation project in the heart of Lyon. " And as deadlines are tight, I'm once again using the Trimble Nova solution. The 26,000 m², 4-storey building is due for completion in December 2021. It's a renovation project on an occupied site. Four stages have been scheduled. There are kitchens, a company restaurant, substations for heating, air coolers to evacuate heat, refrigeration units... Thanks to Trimble Nova's intelligent schematics, we're able to directly dimension the right diameters for ducts or pipes. This saves us a great deal of time, as it naturally takes longer to draw up working drawings. What's more, in a building that's 50 years old, there are bound to be surprises on site, the consequences of which are very quickly taken into account thanks to these famous intelligent diagrams."
Synoptique hydraulique_SY 100 and synoptique aéraulique AMENAGEMENT: The intelligent synoptic system lets you quickly dimension both hydraulic and aeraulic networks, saving precious project time before moving on to the execution plan.
For the project manager, the time saved is significant. "Trimble Nova has enabled us to go three or four times faster on some projects than with other software."
After many years of use, 3D is finally arriving on the construction site. we have to admit that the construction world has had a hard time bringing digital technology to the worksite until now," explains Sophie Riou_. People weren't trained. As a result, we had to provide working drawings with far too much detail. But this is changing with a new generation of site supervisors, more specialized and trained to use these tools. On a simple tablet, a fitter can see the room in 3D as he has to build it. He understands more easily what he might not have been able to imagine from a 2D plan or a sectional view..."_ This collaboration is now facilitated on the worksite by tools such as Trimble Connect, which enables each of the players to access the level of information they need right on the site, whether it's large-scale or detailed. This collaborative tool is fully compatible with Trimble Nova.
Talking about the future at Clévia also means giving ourselves the means to master the most appropriate and useful tools according to the constraints and objectives of the various projects. In addition to Trimble Nova, the health-cleanroom design office team has recently taken training in Stabicad for Revit, adding another string to its bow.
*12 departments in the Centre-Est region within the Eiffage Group: Ain, Allier, Ardèche, Cantal, Drôme, Isère, Loire, Haute-Loire, Puy-de-Dôme, Rhône, Savoie, Haute-Savoie.
