Walsh Steel Detailing has invested in Trimble 3D Laser Scanning and Mixed Reality technologies as part of a process that both vastly improves their site/office workflow and ensures that there will be no surprises for their clients or team when an intricate project goes to site.
“If we didn’t have this technology, we simply couldn’t do the work we are doing. We are market leaders for two reasons, our people and the technology that we have invested in.”
Damian Walsh, Managing Director, WSD
Established in 2017, Walsh Steel Detailing Ltd was the result of founder Damian Walsh spotting an under resourced area of the market that he felt could be well serviced by his steel industry knowledge, contacts and interest in technology. Aware that there was a shortage of steel detailers in Ireland and that there would be good take-up for a company that could provide an ‘on-demand’ service to smaller fabricators, he therefore launched Walsh Steel Detailing.
Based in Co Mayo, the new company would focus on meeting the needs of those fabricators that often found themselves unable to tender for works because they did not have the capability to produce drawings to the required level or were unable to justify the costs of a full-time draftsperson and relevant software. The aim of WSD would be to offer advice early in the detailing process backed up by extreme attention to detail and a ‘get it right first time, every time’, ethos to ensure that there would be no surprises when a complex project went to site.
“We have been able to put the detailed 3D models in the hands of site supervisions, operatives, steel fixers, construction managers and more. The result is a better-connected team, increased understanding, and complete end to end digital delivery.”
Antony Bromley, Project Digital Lead, Laing O’Rourke
Augmented Reality has seen a boom in recent years with take up across a range of diverse sectors from entertainment and interior design to manufacturing and medical training. As the technology becomes easier to use, AR is making a profound difference to the way we work. The construction industry is now experiencing its own digital revolution and 3D representations of projects and BIM models are now commonplace, bringing with them the means to easily visualise the graphical representation of the model and data that exists within it, reducing error and uncertainty. Read more
Investing £150K into cutting edge educational tools, The School of Civil Engineering and Built Environment at Liverpool John Moores University is the first in Europe to make use of ‘Spot’ the robot dog to revolutionise their teaching and research.
It might have four legs and love a walk but you won’t find ‘Spot’ barking or looking for cuddles. That’s because it’s an all-terrain robotic dog that is being used to streamline civil engineering and construction surveys.
LJMU bought Spot from and is fully supported by BuildingPoint UK and Ireland – the construction arm of Liverpool-based mapping and surveying equipment specialists, KOREC Group.
However, it was actually designed and developed by American robotic company Boston Dynamics. It also features a 3D Laser Scanner by Trimble.
Between them, Trimble and Boston Dynamics have created an agile, easy-to-use four-legged robot. Perfect for accessing areas that are difficult or unsafe.
It can be pre-programmed or remotely controlled which means it can be used to quarry out surveys in the most hazardous conditions. It can even be controlled by workers who aren’t onsite.
It can also be used to carry out repetitive survey tasks, so skilled surveyors are free to do more technical jobs.
How is ‘Spot’ changing the way the department works?
“LJMU is really at the forefront of what is happening within the construction industry which is currently undergoing a digital revolution. Not only is Spot an important addition to construction sites from a health and safety perspective but also a significant reminder that if the construction industry is to overcome a skills and labour shortage, then this is just the sort of technology to attract a new, motivated generation of engineering surveyors.
Spot is presently active on several construction sites following investment by major construction companies so for LJMU to already be preparing the next generation of engineers in this way will be of considerable importance for the industry as a whole.”
– Sam Hough, BuildingPoint UK and Ireland Business Manager
Left to right: Ben Lewis (KOREC Group) Dr Layth Kraidi (LJMU), Sam Hough (BuildingPoint UK and Ireland) and Dr Fiona Borthwick (LJMU).
“We’ve been excited about Spot for a very long time, so we’re pleased that we now have our robot dog up and running. It’s a great plus for our students that they will be familiar with this technology before they go full-time into the industry, and we look forward to further exploring Spot’s capabilities and options for different payloads.”
– Dr Fiona Borthwick, Interim Subject Head of Civil Engineering and Built Environment
‘Spot’ has its inbuilt 3D Laser Scanner calibrated by the BuildingPoint UK and Ireland Service Centre
Who are KOREC and BuildingPoint UK & Ireland?
Established Trimble Geospatial Distributor, KOREC Group, is one of the largest and most successful in the world and has been for over 25 years. They’ve been active in the construction market since they were formed in the 1960’s.
In 2019, the Trimble construction side of the KOREC Group started operating as KOREC Construction. Then in September 2022, BuildingPoint UK & Ireland joined the global BuildingPoint network.
This network supports the entire collection of Trimble Buildings’ solutions to markets around the world. They help construction companies to be more productive, stick to schedules and keep on budget. They even improve collaboration by improving coordination and project transparency.
Who is LJMU School of Civil Engineering and Built Environment?
The School of Civil Engineering and Built Environment at Liverpool John Moores embraces bright and creative thinkers, offering them accredited academic courses as part of a vibrant community. Thanks to its expert staff and committed students, the school has a history of remarkable research, first-rate facilities and strong links with industry leaders too.
Both their undergraduate and postgraduate programmes have impressive employability rates. The school also supports a large number of postgraduate researchers as they complete projects across a range of subjects.
The school is internationally recognised and runs programmes in conjunction with partners based in Malaysia, Qatar, Sri Lanka, Singapore and Hong Kong.
The 10th November saw the winners of the 2022 Construction Computing Awards announced at the Leonardo Royal Hotel in London City. Over 200 guests gathered to see the outcome of the readers’ online voting and the judging panel’s deliberations.
And of course BuildingPoint UK Ireland was right in the thick of it!
Sam Hough (Business Manager) and Abel Varela Abelleira (Senior Applications Engineer) were delighted to be guests on the Trimble table which saw four awards picked up during the evening including a joint effort with Building Point UK and Ireland!
The newly established BuildingPoint UK and Ireland team was also runner-up in Team of the Year 2022 reflecting the great work they’ve done in this short space of time.
It’s been great to see technological advances within construction over the last decade or so, with BIM software in particular having become a central part of the industry. However, software is in many ways just a part of the story, with digital hardware also having a critical and valuable role to play in helping deliver projects safely, efficiently and productively.
Building Point UK and Ireland’s Sam Hough was delighted to team up with Trimble Technical Manager, Steve Jackson, to put together this informative piece that’s just been featured on the Trimble Tekla website and also by New Civil Engineer.
Synchronised construction
When it comes to synchronised construction, digital hardware can be the second piece of the jigsaw, helping to take the 3D model from the drawing office to the site. All too often, companies will invest time, money and resources in building a constructible 3D model, packed full of information and project-rich data. And yet, when it comes to setting out and building the structure on site, this same data will be reduced into a mere A1 page 2D drawing or General Arrangement plan. With this at odds with the data-rich 3D model, it’s clear that you’re inevitably going to lose some value along the way.
Time never stands still and neither does the newly established BuildingPoint UK and Ireland team! We may only have been around for a few weeks with our new name but we’re already preparing to go out on the road with our own series of launch events featuring a free day of product demonstrations, customer testimonials, networking and a chance to get hands-on with the full BP range of digital solutions.
But as with all great shows, a warmup event is always an excellent idea, so last week we were delighted to be a part of the Trimble Viewpoint EMEA Summit at Tower Hotel in London.
This is the third in our series of “The Future of…” posts where we’ve been looking at trends within the construction industry. We’ve already covered ‘Augmented and Mixed Reality’, and ‘Construction Robotics’, so where next? Well, I did mention that I may mix up Trend 3 due to popular demand so here goes….
In this post we’ll be looking at the move away from paper, or more specifically, taking a closer look at the future of ‘Digital Setting Out’. What better way to start than with two fitting quotes, one is from 50 years ago, the other I heard just recently!
“The most dangerous phrase in the language is: ‘We’ve always done it this way’.”
Grace Hopper, American computer scientist and US Navy Rear Admiral. (Computer World, 1976)
and…
“Do it once, do it right and your other issues will go away.”
We get it. Changing from what you’ve always done can be scary, but when we have such feature rich constructible models using our state-of-the-art software in the office, why, when we attend sites, do our site operatives work from GA plans printed on A0 paper?
During the summer we launched our BuildingPoint UK and Ireland ‘The Future Of….’ Series looking at key trends in digital construction and we decided there was nowhere better to kick off than with Augmented and Mixed Reality – technology that’s truly transforming the way we work!
The second trend that we’ve decided to take a look at is Construction Robots and the nature of ‘true autonomy’.
“An autonomous robot is a robot that acts without recourse to human control” is the official definition. Short and to the point, it’s an easy one to understand.
However, since the introduction of Trimble’s Spot the Dog we’ve realised that our customers and colleagues have plenty more to say on the subject! Spot is a four-legged robot developed by American robotics company Boston Dynamics that’s armed with Trimble’s X7 3D laser scanner and Trimble FieldLink software to collect data while navigating challenging, dynamic and potentially unsafe environments… and it’s certainly had lots of media interest.
During the summer we launched our BuildingPoint UK and Ireland ‘The Future Of….’ Series looking at key trends in digital construction and we decided there was nowhere better to kick off than with Augmented and Mixed Reality – technology that’s truly transforming the way we work!
AR and MR – where are we now?
AR/MR might be regarded as ‘the new kid on the block’ but a quick visit to a TV news report back in 1997 on Trimble shows that this technology has been over 20 years in the making! Development is now continuing apace and in particular, recent software advances are engaging a wider variety of users.
Whilst the current geospatial market for AR/MR is still relatively low, primary research indicates that the construction market will see a 44% increase in the number of AR devices used in 2023 alone.
Here at KOREC, our experiences indicate that whilst initial take up has indeed been slowish, end users love the idea of AR/MR, but it’s only when they adopt it into their workflow that they realise how beneficial it can be to their business.
Helping Hillcrest Structural lower costs, improve accuracy and save time by switching from manual measuring and dumpy levels to point clouds and robotic measurements.
Based in Fareham, Hampshire, Hillcrest Structural is a steel contractor specialising in the design, supply, fabrication and erection of structural steel and ancillary systems throughout the UK. The company has its own in-house design division, production facilities and site team, a set up that enables it to offer a complete solution to its clients as well as a range of useful cross department experiences for employees.
