NIRAS A/S: “AGACAD’s Cut Opening software supports our Lean BIM processes”
After achieving impressive efficiency gains for its building operations in Denmark, this leading Scandinavian engineering consultancy now plans to use AGACAD’s Cut Opening tool for BIM projects of many types worldwide.
Client Profile
Niras A/S is a Denmark-based consulting engineering firm with projects in more than 100 countries: from process plants, building, energy and environment, to infrastructure, development consulting and urban planning.
Business Need
As a next-generation AEC consultancy, Niras was an early adopter of BIM, which has long been a standard part of the diverse projects the growing firm now undertakes in Europe, the Middle East, Africa, Asia and Australia.
“We’ve focused on BIM with a Lean approach, automating processes for improved efficiency and quality,” says Salman Pey, Head of BIM at the company.
Due mainly to Autodesk® Revit® limitations, Niras was losing a lot of time creating structural openings for doors and windows in Revit models, and holes for mechanical, electrical and plumbing (MEP) services. So the team defined related processes and searched for software that could help.
Solution
“We looked at different tools and saw that Cut Opening by AGACAD was what we wanted, since it could best support our processes. That was true as regards doors and windows, and also for MEP work,” Mr. Pey explains.
Cut Opening is advanced BIM software for the automated insertion of openings in a Revit model based on clashes it detects in current, linked and/or IFC files. It takes into account parameters like opening location, clash type, component sizes and joining intervals. And openings move to reflect changes in the model.
“A big strength is revision control: you can get a list of all the modifications, and our engineers can get inside the model and quickly see what’s changed since last time,” Niras’s BIM chief notes.
Another great feature is the software’s simple yet highly flexible rules for generating and managing openings: “We can make rules be project-specific. So we have generic rules for all of Niras and when setting a project up we can add or modify rules for that project’s requirements.”
Results
After setting up Cut Opening, Niras started using the tool for building work in Denmark, to create openings for windows and doors in BIM models. In one recent project, they generated 1,300 holes in 20 minutes – something Mr. Pey says would have required 2 or 3 days to do manually.
“The obvious value of this automation makes it so much easier to convince a project team about the big benefits that BIM and related tools can offer,” he says. “Plus we’re saving time, which can be used for quality assurance, so we’re improving the quality of our models.”
He says Niras will soon start using Cut Opening also for MEP work in its home market, and plans, after a bit more testing, to roll the BIM tool out to other countries and engineering areas where the firm is active.
AGACAD’s team, meanwhile, has not only provided great support, but has also collaborated with the engineers at
Niras on new features. “They are very professional and solution-oriented,” Salman Pey says.
Some enhancements have related to inserting holes in structural models to match doors and windows in a linked architectural model: Cut Opening can now do so even if an air gap exists; two openings near each other can now be joined; and an opening can now be extended to the bottom plate of the wall. Another makes it possible to insert real openings in place of voids from an IFC file, in order to avoid clashes and reflect the true structural geometry.
This client relationship is a great example of AGACAD’s focus on “Building BIM Together” and securing all the benefits of BIM for the AEC industry.
AGACAD is the developer of the world’s widest range of true BIM software for Revit® professionals, with 11,000+ users in 130 countries. Its solutions incorporate top BIM practitioners’ insights and automate best practices.
For more information, contact us at info@agacad.com or +370 618 55 671.
