Enjoy the Latest Development in Tekla PowerFab 2021i
All Tekla software by Trimble is committed to continuous development that benefits all users. The newest release of Tekla PowerFab will be released mid-September. For those that are most eager to see the latest development, the Beta version* is already out so you can see and try the new features today. We interviewed Ryan Vander Plaats, the product manager, to get the summary of highlights in the new version.
As always, the newest version will feature beneficial updates and additional components designed to make the day-to-day fabrication management even easier and more efficient for our users. Which one is your favorite, Ryan?
"It is a tough question for a Product Manager because we always aim to make improvements and new developments in several areas of Tekla PowerFab. But if I was to pick one, I think my choice would be the completely new way of managing shipments. For the first time, you can see and organize all your shipments across all jobs in a calendar view, so it helps you transform your shipping process."
"We actually added the Shipping Calendar functionality in the Tekla EPM Go dashboards section already in our Service Pack 2, so some of our users have used it since summer. Although it’s in the dashboards, it’s definitely more a visual tool for scheduling your shipments than just a report."
"Basically, you have all your shipments in a visual calendar view, where you can schedule, unschedule and organize them using intuitive drag and drop functionality. With coloring options (by status, by destination and more) it is easy to see at a glance what the current shipping situation looks like!"
New nesting solution to create Splicing packages
New development was done also in the area of nesting solutions to facilitate splicing where allowed by building code. This way, in regions where non-engineer-approved splicing can be done, you now have more flexibility in showing the packages in your inventory, combining and purchasing.
"As we know, splicing is not something that we do in the USA nor most areas in Europe. However, globally there are areas where steel purchasing is less flexible, meaning you will need to build longer beams and columns out of shorter purchasable lengths. For this, it is important that your inventory, purchasing and combining reflect the splice packages correctly. "
"The same applies for companies doing miscellaneous projects, where you might choose to prefabricate longer sections of, say, hand railing to minimize field welding. So, you will need to see the splice packages in combining, purchasing and inventory. "
Ensure Consistency in Traceability in Production Routing
Have you ever had a situation where something happened in handling the subassemblies and someone painted it before the welds had been inspected?
"We have added a new way to ensure correct routing by prioritizing Stations expected to be completed before an assembly or part moves to the next Station for a given Route."
"The operator at the station will not be able to pull work orders for parts that should first go to another station. This prevents stations from being accidentally skipped and ensures better traceability."
Finding and providing relevant information made easy
Several developments were done to ease your everyday work and make information easy to find and use: "We added an one-click access to material purchasing status from production control so that you don’t have to spend time searching through your Requisitions and Purchase Orders."
"Another improvement was to enable packaging all the information your supplier will need, such as drawings and NC files, to process your cut-to-size orders, already in your purchase order. This way the files do not need to be sent separately."
"Also, you can now download the DSTV+ nesting files using Tekla EPM Go whereas previously you needed to do this in Tekla EPM side."
And more...
Also, we made improvements in the estimodeling IFC import and the way you can control your inventory locations. As always, the list does not end here - there are many other fixes and improvements that were requested by our customers.
Join our webinar (September 8th) to learn more!
*The Beta version of Tekla EPM 2021i is available for all current customers with maintenance and it can be downloaded at https://download.tekla.com.
Here's what you can look forward to in Tekla EPM 2021i:
- New shipping schedule to better plan and organize your shipments across all jobs
- Ensure consistency in traceability in production routing
- New nesting solution to create Splicing packages
- Provide your suppliers everything they need to process your cut-to-size purchase orders
- One-click access to material purchasing status from Production Control
- Ability to download DSTV+ nesting files in Tekla EPM Go
- The estimodeling IFC can now associate welds with parts rather than main members
- Better control of inventory locations
- And more!
For a full list of new features available in the Tekla EPM version 2021i (to be published on September 15th, 2021), please visit the Tekla EPM User Assistance.