Structural engineering and steel detailing provider, Connected Structural Group is using AEC solutions Bluebeam, SDS2, and RISA to build casinos, airports, hospitals, campuses, and other facilities
In 90% of Connected Structural Group (CSG) projects, these three Nemetschek Group AEC solutions play an essential role. The benefits include improved interoperability, increased efficiency, and better results.
CSG is working on a broad range of high-rise, complex structures such as casinos, airports, hospitals, campuses, and other facilities in the US. The company also has an engineering division, Connected Structural Engineers (CSE). All the projects designed by CSG and CSE use BIM for cost estimates, simulations, scheduling, energy analysis, structural design, fabrication, erection, and facilities management.
The company trusts in three Nemetschek Group AEC solutions on 90% of its projects as the basis for its design and fabrication processes.
CSG has been using SDS2 from the very beginning of the company in 2006, when the industry started to turn towards 3D modelling. SDS2 was chosen as opposed to Revit, so that it could be used for both the design and fabrication stages.
In addition, James Warner, founder and owner of Connected Structural Group (CSG), has been using the engineering software RISA for 20 years and the collaboration software Bluebeam Revu for 10 years.
‘Real-time collaboration’
In CSG’s workflow, almost every project starts with SDS2 as the model base. SDS2 is used for 80% of CSG’s steel detailing and 20% structural design from the ground up.
Bluebeam is then leveraged for collaboration both in and out of the office. “Before we started to use Bluebeam, our processes were challenging. We were prone to losing track of a document once it was sent around the office for checking and redlining. With Bluebeam everyone sees the markups, who has picked up that markup, and then it can be back-checked,” Warner explains.
“With more people working remotely these days – especially during the pandemic – we are also benefiting significantly from Bluebeam’s real-time collaboration features.”
RISA is used to analyse the structure during construction for erection sequencing, temporary loading, stability, and deflection. The technology also helps with seismic winds when dealing with structures; tall structures in particular would take months to analyse without specialised software.
For CSG, the additional benefits of working with the Nemetschek AEC solutions include the interoperability between programs and Nemetschek’s customer focus.
“The support centres are always prompt at getting back and supporting us to get new products up and running,” Warner added.
“And the Nemetschek Group has a very interesting portfolio – we are currently also looking at Solibri. The model coordination and checker functionality could be extremely helpful for us.”
