KGS Group benefited from modeling cast in place with Tekla from the very beginning
Pointe du Bois Generating Station had been producing electricity for over a hundred years when the spillway had to be replaced with a new one. Manitoba Hydro's owner chose KGS Group to design this innovative project, and KGS selected Tekla as the optimum tool to perform cast-in-place concrete modeling and deliver construction drawings.
KGS leverages Tekla Structures for efficient problem-solving in the design stage, minimizing on-site issues
As KGS utilized Tekla all around, they benefited from the beginning to the end by including all possible information in the model.
“Many issues were resolved early in the design stage instead of the construction site. From beginning to end, we have benefited from having as much information in the model as we can add”
James Tapper, Tekla Administrator, from KGS Group.
Successful Tekla Structures implementation
Pointe du Bois Spillway Replacement was KGS’s first cast-in-place reinforced concrete project designed and detailed with Tekla Structures. A team of just three Tekla users - two new to the software – completed the rebar and concrete model, drawings, and schedule while the experienced steel detailing department took care of structural steel.
-“Tekla was a much simpler and user-friendly solution than I expected; I am certainly a fan of Tekla Structures for CIP and steel design work,” says Donovan Kroeker, Senior Structural Engineer from KGS Group.
Tekla's accurate rebar modeling boosts efficiency
KGS modeled every single piece of reinforcing steel with Tekla. The first benefit they experienced was the accuracy of modeling the rebar, and the second was pinpointing clashes early and effectively. Otherwise, these could have caused design delays or, worse, issues more difficult and expensive to solve on the construction site.
Pointe du Bois Spillway involved significant earthworks, and as a replacement project, KGS had to consider the existing structures. The team used several topographic models from Civil 3D, scans, and point clouds for planning. Thanks to these, they could cut the underside of concrete pours to accurately match the terrain.
“We used Tekla for quantity take-offs, including concrete, steel, and miscellaneous items, including critical profiles such as water stops. “
James Tapper, Tekla Administrator, from KGS Group.
Meeting the standards and utilizing Tekla for efficient coordination
To coordinate the Spillway Replacement project, the KGS team fully utilized Tekla with IFC, DWG, and Tekla BIMsight (now Trimble Connect) exports to share with the client and other subcontractors. The team customized many inp and db files to meet the Canadian Rebar standards and created industry-specific profiles and a complete metric cast-in-place environment. They also created custom templates to associate the Canadian Standard Bend Types with the Tekla internal shapes.
The first but not last project with Tekla Structures
While KGS has been trending towards BIM solutions for several years, the Spillway Replacement was a pilot project to explore fully using complete BIM environments for large-scale projects at KGS Group.
At KGS, we benefited from the practical, full-blown modeling approach. We had control over the contents and precision in the model
James Tapper, Tekla Administrator, from KGS Group.
As various disciplines added numerous components to the model, clash detection proved to be the most significant benefit. KGS’s team solved many problems in the design stage, which saved a lot of time and money compared to finding fixes on-site.
And what next would you like? KGS has already begun preparing for more complex projects to be completed using Tekla Structures.