An aerial view of Toledo’s Collins Park Water Treatment Plant before the $50 million expansion and modernization project. two new water basins operational ahead of summer 2020. “We had five subconsultants on our team and a tight, mandated deadline set by the Ohio Environmental Protection Agency,” said Kurt Smith, project manager for Arcadis. “We knew collaboration was essential to delivering an upgraded water system to Toledo’s residents on schedule. It was time to rethink our processes and embrace every tool we could to be successful.” Cloud collaboration saves 1,000 design hours During the design phase, Arcadis decided to integrate Autodesk BIM 360 Design as a cloud collaboration tool used by everyone on the proj- ect, including four subconsultants. The project team brought together a range of disciplines including architectural, structural, mechanical, HVAC, electrical, I&C and civil site work, and team members were spread out from Ohio to Florida. But, with BIM 360 Design, which will go by the name of Autodesk BIM Collaborate Pro in early 2021, the data was all in one place: 13 Autodesk Revit models of various parts of the project, along with project timelines and workflows, and it all came together in the cloud. Every member of the team was trained on BIM 360 Design, so they could interact with the data in real-time and see updates as they happened. The impact of anytime and anywhere cloud collaboration was measur- able. Project coordination was improved by eliminating email discus- sion threads and file downloads, which reduced lag time due to file transfers by 80 percent. Arcadis saved over a 1,000 design hours on the project and delivered the bid set on time in 2018. Reality capture and AR aid on-time project delivery In addition to collaboration tools, Arcadis embraced reality capture and augmented reality (AR) to improve designs and collaboration and prevent errors. The project team used Autodesk ReCap to provide 3D scans of the site and Autodesk InfraWorks to layer in GIS data for the plant’s surfaces and utilities. The results were rich 3D models provid- ing precise representations of conditions on the ground. Not only was the modeling critical to completing the design work, but it could be used and enhanced throughout construction. The Arcadis team had the capacity to monitor the construction process with 360-degree pho- tographs of active jobsites and integrate the data into a site model of record, where progress could be tracked and documented.
What’s more: the models could be interacted with directly on the job- site using augmented reality. Wearing a Microsoft HoloLens headset, the construction team could virtually travel inside the 3D models while on the jobsite and see how the plans either aligned or conflicted with real-time conditions. The AR experience can assist in identifying sur- face design problems and issues, so the teams may refine models and workflows proactively and without unforeseen delay. Remote capabilities keep work going through COVID-19 Bringing two additional basins online was critical because the city needed the new capacity to begin upgrades and modernization of the other six aging basins. The culmination of four years of design work and construction paid off: Two new water basins were operational on time in the spring of 2020, with only finishing work stretching into the fall. Arcadis delivered on efforts to prevent a public health crisis for the city, just as another one was emerging for the world. While COVID-19 caused new restrictions on crew sizes and disrupted supply chains, Arcadis didn’t miss a beat. Using BIM 360 Design and its remote capabilities, workers involved with the finishing work have continued to visit the jobsite virtually and maintain safe workplaces, reinforcing for Arcadis that cloud collaboration is vital to the future of a resilient AEC industry. “We saw value in these collaboration tools throughout the lifecycle of the Collins Park project,” said Smith. “The 3D models and AR devices are exciting and cool, but at the end of the day, they really are about delivering a better result for our customers. The winners here are the residents of Toledo, who now have a water treatment facility they can count on.” There’s no going back for the Arcadis team now. They have adopted BIM 360 Design and Revit across the entire organization to bring better coordination and cost savings to every project. The sub-consultants are converted to this new way of working too. The results for Arcadis’ future customer? Better managed, more efficient project from start to finish, able to overcome almost any challenge which may come their way. CAROLINA VENEGAS MARTINEZ, PHD., is the Autodesk Strategy Manager specially focused on water infrastructure and committed to continuously enabling innova- tion in an industry vital to life and to every sector of the economy. Carolina holds a Doctoral degree in Environmental Engineering and Environmental Sciences and Hydraulics and a Master’s degree in Environmental Engineering Technology. Autodesk design, engineering, and construction technologies supported Arcadis and other project team members’ ability to meet tight deadlines, collaborate remotely, and save time. Courtesy of Arcadis.
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