Hinkley Point C is one of the biggest and most complex projects currently under construction in Europe, responsible for delivering the buildings that will house the two new nuclear reactors. This video from Trimble Viewpoint explores how a range of Trimble products have been used in the project
Hinkley Point C is the first digital power station to be built in the UK for a generation, making it one of the largest and most complex projects in Europe. Once completed, the power station will generate 7% of the UK’s low-carbon electricity.
The project is currently under construction with BYLOR, a joint venture between Bouygues Travaux Publics (TP) and Laing O’Rourke.
The video opens with Ben Wallbank, BIM strategy and partnerships manager at Trimble Viewpoint, on-site at Hinkley Point C.
Tekla Structures, Trimble Connect, and Viewpoint Field View have been used on Hinkley Point C
“Several Trimble products are being used on this site. We run through the entire process, from design using products like Tekla, through to the innovation, which is the use of the 3d model for construction in Trimble Connect and Connect Mobile right through to the use of Viewpoint Field View for recording all the processes on site and taking that information through to the client.
“What’s been happening here has helped to inform the development of the product. Field View users will already have seen that you can now use overnight sync, which comes directly from suggestions made here. There are also going to be future developments which are really, really exciting.”
‘Field View can adapt to suit what is needed’
Alina Turda, quality systems engineer at BYLOR, explains how Field View is used on the project: “For a project of this scale, you’ll never be able to do anything with paper. We officially started using Field View in 2017. We started using it by digitizing our biggest piece of work to date, which is the reinforced concrete inspection and test plans. The digitization consisted in breaking down the execution checks into a series of sequential steps which are represented by a Fieldview process.”
Michael McKee, project engineer at Hinkey Point C added: “One of the huge benefits of Field View is that it can adapt forms to suit what is required. If there are any lessons learned from the site, we can implement that into a form and collaborate with the client.”
Project coordination with Tekla Structures
Andrew Jackson, technical director, and nuclear quality lead working for BYLOR at Hinkley Point C explores how Tekla Structures is used on the project.
“All of the concrete and the reinforcement on the structure across all our structures are designed in Tekla. The project has used Tekla to design everything that we do here on the project. And one of the mind-blowing things about Hinkley is the range of scale.
“A key factor of the software is coordination and joining the different complex bits of design, ensuring that they work together. That’s everything from structural design and reinforcement. By using digital models, we can put them together beforehand to be sure that out in the field, everything fits perfectly.”
‘Getting things right the first time’
Tim Davis, central digital engineering lead for BYLOR, explains how Trimble Connect is used on-site.
“Our main use of Trimble Connect is to get information that’s traditionally only on laptops or desktops, such as 3D models and PDF documents, out of the office and onto the construction site, and give that information to the workforce so they can have up to date, correct information at the right time.
“Our workforce use Trimble Connect to understand the very complex designs we have here. It’s a design that’s difficult to convey with traditional 2D drawings. By giving the workforce the ability to view 3D models out in the field as they are doing the work, it makes it much easier for them to build the right quality and to get it right the first time.
“Trimble Connect is a very flexible tool, and after training people in it, we encourage them to be creative with how they use it on-site. For example, the lifting teams like to use it so they can carry around a large library of lifting plans on just a small tablet or even just their phone.
“We use the Trimble Connect API to automate our workflows as well as to scale up usage of the product across the whole project.”
