Page 18 - IEC Insights Nov-Dec21_WEB

FEATURE

• Automate conduit bending by:
– Providing import files directly to the
bend machinery
or
– Providing build sheets and mark
instructions for each bend

(This last point enables the shop or
field electrician to operate the benders
without pausing to calculate bends.)

Again, when you demand that your
fabrication software has this trade
know-how at the front end, you reap
the benefits of an extremely lean and
productive fabshop on the backend.
FIGURE 2: MODELING FOUR-POINT
SADDLE HAND BEND
Which problem would you
rather have?
Historically, project teams were Granted, digitizing to this level of For years now, estimating solutions have
challenged to get information and efficiency requires fabrication software done a great job of connecting pricing
materials to crews quickly enough for that captures and provides a lot of data: services to estimating software. But as
them to install racks and bend pipe transactional data, fabrication data, the BIM models replace the estimate as the
on schedule. inherent trigonometry to lay out bends source of truth once construction begins,
on a flat stick and account for shrink, BIM workflows that lack this metadata
Digitization produces a very takeup, lead length…These are the details cannot enable procurement workflows—
different challenge. that enable a crew to produce the highest and true digitization.
quality work as fast as possible, without
With digitization, the BIM process introducing human error into the process. Your BIM process should connect model
quickly generates a stack of build (See figure 2) quantities directly to a supplier’s portal.
sheets and makes procurement fast That way, the contractor and supply
and easy. As a result, your most This is not taking a geometrically house conduct digital transactions that
skilled benders are faced with a lot of accurate model and leaving it to the reflect pre-negotiated pricing discounts.
fabrication to execute in the shop. operators to perform the calculations. No more exchanges of lists and nuisance
This is a true DfMA automated workflow. pricing exercises.
It’s not hard to see here that the
second dilemma is clearly a high- You’ll be hard-pressed to think of a
class problem that most of us better way to manage inventory and
would welcome on every job. STEP 3: deliveries as you ensure you’re paying
DIGITIZE YOUR the right price for material.
SUPPLY CHAIN.
Can all fabrication software
support DfMA? Quality, safety, and EMRs
Speaking from experience, an electrical An often overlooked component of We’ve talked about the labor savings
contractor recently shared with me that digitization is the supply chain. There is that come from digitization, but what are
his advanced BIM implementation has a massive amount of redundancy and the implications for safety and quality?
moved 60 percent of his field labor hours wasted effort involved in quantifying
to the shop. But that change means materials, soliciting pricing, preparing One of the biggest reasons
much more than a change of venue. It’s submittals, executing purchase orders, prefabrication improves safety is because
a recipe for profitability, given the more matching deliveries, tracking backlogs, it’s more ergonomic to work on racks,
controlled, lower-cost manufacturing and approving invoices. fixtures, cable trays and conduits on a
made possible in the shop.

16 Insights Magazine | November/December 2021 | www.ieci.org