Consolis is Europe's leading provider of precast concrete solutions, with more than 11,000 employees in 21 countries around the world and a turnover of €1.5 billion in 2019 , and has started to utilize BIM as part of its digital transformation.
Victor Snook, BIM Program Director, has the vision to leverage BIM across the business for sales, design, engineering, manufacturing, and project management. it's the best way for Consolis to collect and generate the kind of data it needs to improve efficiency, safety, and overall quality to benefit its customers.
One of our recent initiatives is a group of 10 use cases that focus on BIM use cases that benefit the business. Snook worked with each business unit to highlight challenges they faced or areas they wanted to be more efficient.
"For example, one of the things we wanted to do was to add 3D visuals to our kit list. we've been using Tekla 3D models for many years, but our production plants often use 2D drawings, so we aimed to make 3D models available for everyday use in the factory."
"In the warehouse, we start using the kitting list from the 3D model to pull together items to send to the production floor, and now the 3D model is our single source of truth, and all of our factories are using it."With the success of these 10 BIM use cases, Consolis' goal for the next few years is to use BIM consistently in more processes, eliminate paper systems throughout the entire process, and have a clear picture of the data being used.
Prefabrication Sequencing with Trimble’s XR10 + HoloLens
Consolis' strategy for success - BIMing the sales process
Consolis' first BIM use case was to create Tekla 3D models at the tender stage: "Usually the models we create are in the second phase of the design, which requires a lot more detail. On this project, we wanted to bring the models in earlier. Creating models at the tender stage allows us to communicate much better with the client and meet their digital requirements."
"We even started using virtual reality or augmented reality to drive sales," Snook adds. "We looked at what our customers were asking for and what the industry was asking for, and we realized we had to deliver."
Pay it forward
they realized that including 3D models in their bids didn't just benefit their sales team and customers, but also their suppliers. "Creating models at the bid stage allows us to generate automated bills of materials and create quotes much faster and more accurately. We can also communicate these models throughout the design phase and supply chain, making communication between the stages from sales to assembly much smoother."
"What we get out of the model is exactly what we sell to the client, so the designer knows exactly what they need for the design. no project is complete without unexpected costs and no one knows where they came from. Putting together a bid is something you want to do as soon as possible, but if the project meets the risk analysis threshold, it actually saves time to build that model up front."
제작 제품 이해
Consolis uses Trimble Connect as the collaboration platform for the Consolis mobile tools used throughout the production facility. "Imagine producing a very complex component, such as rebar cages and inserts. it's invaluable for a production person to be able to rotate a 3D model on an iPad to see the layers and get a good understanding of what they're making. because we're building 3D items, it's much more helpful to see them in 3D rather than 2D, and that brings a lot of value to the people on the shop floor."
ERP, BIM을 만나다
Another way Consolis has been able to leverage technology is by building nodes in Tekla to place product data alongside models in the Trimble environment. "We can literally take a detail and place it on a drawing, so all the interaction of metadata is actually held in that item," says Snook. "Then all the data is populated into the ERP system." Once the model data is entered into Consolis' ERP, they can generate bills of material, calculate costs, and figure out how to get the most efficient flow in the factory.
문화 변화
getting existing companies to understand the value of BIM and get comfortable with using 3D models is no easy task, Snook admits: "It's not just a process change, but a culture change. we looked at Trimble products and saw how they could help with training and data utilization."
"For a long time, we used Tekla mainly to create models and import data into our ERP, and that was it. With the introduction of Trimble Connect, Hololens, and other Trimble products, we've been able to take a broader view of BIM. BIM is like a relay race where the 3D model takes over the baton and passes the information from stage to stage, and we're trying to convince our internal staff that it's important to have confidence in the models created in the early stages so that they can be used in the later stages. that's something we're still working on," says Snook.
we need to use the best tools possible to drive quality, and by doing so, we can show our clients that what they really want is what BIM delivers. - victor Snook, BIM Program Director, Consolis
