TECHNOLOGY & EQUIPMENT
GLOBAL CONSULTING ENGINEERING firm Hatch Mott MacDonald had used a conventional CAD-based system to design rail signal systems when serving its public and private clients around the world . However , this approach had serious limitations in an industry where building information modelling ( BIM ), the processes and standards that define it , are becoming a critical success factor .
Traditional methods mean designs have no added intelligence or connections to related documents including bills of material ( BOM ). Designers have no way to model their work in 3D or collaborate on designs , which slows down projects unnecessarily and makes adherence to the required standards a challenge . As part of a wider BIM initiative , Hatch Mott MacDonald ’ s management chose to invest in a new system – powered by Bentley software – that introduced the required intelligence into the rail signal design process , significantly reducing design time and effort , improving accuracy , enabling collaboration , and driving standardisation .
Hitting the limits of traditional design processes Traditionally , signal designers at Hatch Mott MacDonald have used an in-house design workflow . While trusted and proven , procedures are manual , time consuming , and tedious , and there are no automated controls to ensure the latest versions of CAD elements are used . In addition , design checking involves significant manual
16 June 2016