Last Updated on October 31, 2023
Construction staging planning approvals were proving complex and taking many months for the construction client S2M comprised of Acciona Construction with the planning authorities concerned for impacts on rail signals and highway operations. Miscommunication and misunderstanding were high with the approving authorities taking months and years to make progress and as a consequence planning approvals and thus progress were not progressing.
Project link: https://www.mainroads.wa.gov.au/projects-initiatives/all-projects/metropolitan/Stephenson-Avenue-Extension/
Client: S2M Evolution Alliance.
Project Value: $165m.
The designers not providing construction staging information and not making information accessible to construction easily.
Contractors were using Propeller, but need help with structures planning.
Data dispersed – BIM models, survey models, point clouds.
There was resistance to using CGI services and products. Consultants claiming they could do it themselves (but hadn’t). Smart construction manager knew the history, challenges, and opportunities ahead of them, so commissioned a low-cost trial. From there, the whole team and all other projects saw the value and differentiators, and the work progressed quickly.
Construction staging approvals CGI business case
To support construction staging planning approvals and stakeholder engagement requirements across construction projects the client is utilising our CGI Planner solution to win improvements with:
- Improving logistics planning in terms of construction staging planning approvals
- Improving interaction with existing operations within a planned and live construction environment.
- Enhance interface management across work fronts.
- Visualization of complex information in a simple User Interface, for easy dissemination to the wider business to enable more informed decision making.
- Keeping operations informed of impacts of construction staging surrounding the site, informing expected near-term construction staging works, to assist with planning maintenance and minor project works.
- Improve communication with internal and external stakeholders to accelerate decision-making among the executive, agencies, client and key stakeholders, especially for construction staging planning approvals.
- Simulate and test future scenarios to validate planning, methods, integration and site safety planning.
Some of the challenges being faced now are with
- Data in a 2D format
- Clients finding it difficult to understand technical information,
- Competing with others to win clients,
- Clear engagement and trust building with your clients pre-win and during jobs;
- Inefficient internal communications
- A lack of integration in site planning
Utilising the CGI Planning System delivers in short.
- Improving of planning and construction staging for planning approvals with sequencing and interaction with site operations
- Enhance interface management between the projects and expected works
- Visualisation of complex information in a simple user interface
- Enhance health and safety planning with a digital representation of the site
- Improve communication with the client and key stakeholders
Construction staging CGI planner setup
Project Initiation and Site Base Context
- Virtual Machines setup
- 1 x Training workshop (90mins)
- Data Acquisition
- Point cloud integration to 2 GB (to be provided)
- Photogrammetric processing
- Site base content development
- Deploy to Planner (Cloud)
- Access to 3D warehouse and tools
- 1 x Planning Workshop (90mins)
- Cloud Access for 3 users with 40 GB data
Project Modelling
- 3D modelling baseline
- 3D proposed design
- 3D Traffic staging
- 3D safe working zones
- 3D storage areas
- 3D excavation depth offsets
- 3D options
- Design Integration
Construction staging for planning approvals challenges
The client was finding it very difficult to get approvals around interfaces.
Particular challenges included interfaces to signals underneath the proposed bridge and clearance of temporary works and permanent works.
The Public Transport Authority of WA rail unit had many concerns regarding railway clearances and impacts on the rail corridor that were taking a long time (months) to address.
The sequence of works needed to be tested.
Data and information were not easy to use and see.
Construction staging for structures planning methodology
Convert a range of 2D and 3D data types into an integrated 3D model.
Data model separable into layers.
A survey mesh built from LiDAR point clouds and feature survey was the baseline product and particularly useful for context. Built with about 1 million triangles or faces.
Design data provided of the ultimate design in a 3D format.
Construction method drawings provided in PDF with sequence information.
Bridge launch was to be 3 metres per hour.
Temporary works information was provided in 2D PDFs. The team built and animated the bridge method to follow the construction method to make it easy to understand in 3D.
Particular drill rigs were required, the LB28, and some branding added for Acciona Geotech.
Other items included in the CGI Planner deployment
- LB-28-320 LIEBHERR drill rig – see here
- 14T excavator
- Polymer tanks
- Pile layout in separate layers for both bridges from CAD layout of the piles – D walls and piers.
- BG800 barriers as equipment to layout along the freeway
- GE fence (1.8m high chain link fence
- Temporary traffic barrier alignment from survey data showing alignment with BG800’s set to the alignment can be modified (ie put breaks in the barriers) along the alignment).
- Include the client logo (Acciona Geotech) on the LB28 drill rig
- Telescopic crawler model
- Slew radius of the rig as a semi-transparent halo around the rig at all times at level with the back engine overhang radius from centre mast 4265mm.
- Watercorp twin 1500 dia reinforced concrete pipes at BR1400 (subsurface) – from survey
- Bog Mats – timber planks for the piling rig to sit on
- Casting bed
- Slide cradles
- Pier Formwork
- Point cloud data at around 200 GB LAZ (compressed LAS)
- 3D model in 12DA format
- Existing & design triangulation data
- IFC model for bridge 1400, 1418, 9492 underpass & bridge 1903 01-Models (10 Jan 2023).zip
- 3D existing triangulation of road surfaces excluding bridges S2MEA-WSP-9000-CRW-SUR-00015[A01].dwg
- 3D survey model in 12DA format
- 3D Design triangulation
- 20T excavator
- 13T excavator
- Profiler
- 5T roller
- Watercart
- 25T franna
- Concrete jersey barriers
- Container Reach Stacker
- Swept path
