A construction program does much more than generate drawings. Ideally, it should match the user's mindset—be an extension of their hands and thoughts— all the way to industrial manufacturing.

In this article, Tobias Sigvardsson and his colleagues at Sjölins Smide talk about how they work with Tekla Structures and Trimble Connect on the Multi Arena project in Sandviken Sweden, and how the constructible model optimizes the work process.

Sjölins Smide is a company that has been working with smithery and steel for an impressive 140 years. With a cohesive production team based in Hudiksvall, the company undertakes projects across the country.

A few years ago, a strategic decision was made to take on larger projects, and along with that, Tekla Structures was introduced at Sjölins Smide.

To sharpen the company's expertise, Tobias Sigvardsson was hired as the head of the design department, along with several colleagues. This new direction has increased Sjölins' profitability and allowed them to take on larger projects than before.

- The advantages of Tekla Structures are that we get the foundation for our manufacturing personnel and installers. When transitioning from other CAD programs, we found that Tekla Structures offered superiority in building and visualizing complex structures, says Tobias Sigvardsson, who is a very experienced and advanced Tekla user.

He says that the introduction of Tekla Structures significantly simplified the work and allowed Sjölins to design larger and more advanced projects more quickly.

- I want my design program to match my way of thinking; it should be an extension of my hands. We appreciate that the program is very user-friendly, and the fact that we can stay in 3D all the time makes it even more intuitive, says Tobias.

Steel Framework in Arena Construction

A current project at Sjölins Smide is the Multi Arena, a facility for various sports and events in the classic sports city of Sandviken. There, Tobias works with the designers Viktoria Strandberg and Alfred Åkerlund, along with Johan Engholm, who has led the project from the start.

The main building of the arena consists of a framework of steel trusses, steel columns, and steel beams with intermediate floors of hollow-core slabs. Its stands are made of prefabricated concrete with tiers spanning between rectangular concrete beams. The beams rest on concrete columns that support the intermediate floors and the roof in the area of the stands.

- Our task has been to design the steel framework and produce manufacturing and assembly drawings. The assignment grew significantly during the work process. What was initially supposed to involve 150 tons of steel ended up being double that, explains Tobias Sigvardsson.

Many joints

The framework construction consists of rolled steel profiles in various shapes with many and complex joints between them and other building parts in other materials. This has, among other things, required specially adapted fastenings.

- Some of the challenges have been ensuring welding space and avoiding collisions between different elements, explains Alfred Åkerlund.

The challenges have instead been the freer tolerances between the steel and other materials.

- When you have a combination of steel and concrete, particular problems with tolerances arise. To handle this, we have used overlengths that are cut on-site. By anticipating where problems might occur and being aware of the potential differences between steel and concrete, we have successfully navigated these challenges and ensured a smooth construction, says Alfred.

The entire steel framework of the Multi Arena divided into phases, giving different colors in the model. This way, the Sjölins team could focus on one phase/color at a time all the way from construction to assembly.

Time-saving tools

When the project grew, it meant that a very large number of drawings had to be completed in a short time.

- To still keep the schedule, we worked in stages. We built on previous project experiences and applied them to this project, says designer Viktoria Strandberg.

The fact that both the designers and the production team in Hudiksvall are very knowledgeable in Tekla Structures and use the tool's advantages has contributed to time being used efficiently and the work processes being facilitated.

All the foundation for our production and assembly needs to be generated directly in Tekla Structures.

- Our self-developed plugin provides us with finished lists of cutting angles and types of cuts. These lists facilitate our material handling and make it possible to buy pre-cut profiles from steel suppliers like Tibnor and Stena.

- With the ability to customize the tool through our own plugins and adaptations, we have created a highly optimized work process. The open API in Tekla Structures has been a crucial advantage that has enabled these adaptations, says Tobias Sigvardsson.

Designers Alfred Åkerlund and Viktoria Strandberg, Sjölins Smide.

”Clone drawings”

The relatively new "Smart Create" function in Tekla Structures has proven to be particularly useful in the Multi Arena project.

- If one drawing resembles another, it can 'clone' itself. Thanks to AI, the program can perform this with minimal manual intervention. We have used this function a lot; it is really valuable, both smart and time-saving, says Tobias Sigvardsson, Sjölins Smide.

He continues:

- Creating drawings and changing views would probably take up to 30 percent longer if the function were not available. Previously, it was possible to clone, but it required a lot of manual work. Now it is easier because the program identifies connections between drawings and can effectively recreate them.

Efficient Assembly

Another function that has created great benefit in the Multi Arena project is Tekla Model Sharing, which allows Sjölins designers to work in the model simultaneously.

- Throughout the project, our partners have had access to the IFC model via Trimble Connect, which among other things has enabled detailed logistics planning. Transportation and assembly have been optimized by determining how many tons per transport and how much can be assembled per week. This has eliminated unnecessary preloading of material through the workshop and created a streamlined plan for when and where the work should be done, says Johan Engholm, project manager at Sjölins Smide.

Trimble Connect is used as a communication platform.

- Trimble Connect has played a crucial role in our assembly work. Our foremen have used this tool daily to receive files and updates. The model has been our constant companion. By using general 3D views, we have been able to reduce the number of assembly drawings and instead focus on using simpler drawings. Many details have instead been solved directly in the model. This has greatly simplified the assembly and made it smoother, says Tobias Sigvardsson.

Collaboration around the model

The team at Sjölins Smide has a close collaboration and shared IFC models with Strängbetong, which is performing the concrete part of the building. Through coordination meetings and joint reviews, the models were adjusted to ensure a smoother integration between different materials and parts of the project.

- Sharing IFC models ensures that our steel constructions harmonize with their concrete solutions. The close collaboration between us and Strängbetong has been crucial for achieving a coherent and successful construction process, says Tobias Sigvardsson.

Magnus Key, design manager at Strängbetong, agrees:

- The use of Tekla Structures and Trimble Connect was very positive. The tools made it easy to exchange files and collaborate with other actors. The models were accessible to everyone and made it possible to quickly detect any problems.

He continues:

- Of course, there were collisions and clashes between different materials. But thanks to the 3D models, these could be detected and handled very effectively.

Learning process

Tobias Sigvardsson says that the project has served as a learning process for his team at Sjölins Smide.

- We have developed a standard for handling complex projects, where Tekla Structures has played a central role.

- By dividing the project into stages, we have managed to create a streamlined work process that has worked very well both for ourselves and our partners. So now we are ready to continue taking on even larger and more advanced projects, concludes Tobias Sigvardsson, design manager at Sjölins Smide.

Tobias Sigvardsson, design manager at Sjölins Smide, uses the new "Smart Create" function in Tekla Structures, which, with the help of AI, saves a lot of time.