Technology

Eve’s temporary works in BIM tempts water project to Mabey Hire

Screen grab from Eve - Mabey Hire's temporary works BIM software
A screengrab from Mabey Hire’s temporary works in BIM tool, Eve, of the Caledonia Water Alliance project

Mabey Hire’s immersive platform that integrates temporary works with BIM workflows has been used on a Scottish Water contract.

As part of Scottish Water’s ongoing works to increase water resilience for Glasgow, Caledonia Water Alliance (CWA) was tasked with delivering a new 12km section of pipeline to further improve and strengthen the water supply. CWA turned to Mabey Hire for the temporary works.

Forming part of the Ayrshire Resilience Project, Scottish Water is working to connect the Glasgow trunk main network with supplies in Ayrshire. Once complete, this upgrade will further strengthen the existing water infrastructure, increase capacity to ensure the network will be able to meet future demands in the area, and provide a two-way water supply between two of the main water treatment works. This means that, in the event of an emergency, water can continue to be supplied to approximately a million homes and businesses in the Glasgow, Ayrshire and East Renfrewshire regions.

The third phase of this work, named the C1a Project, features a new 12km pipeline between the main network in Glasgow and further supplies in Ayrshire, strengthening the existing water supply. Additionally, the new upgrade means the system can convey flow in both directions and combines new assets in Highlees and Amlaird. To deliver these upgrades safely and efficiently, a range of temporary works solutions were required by CWA, with Mabey Hire appointed to support this stage of the project.

Early engagement

Mabey Hire undertook the design and supply of the temporary works element on the Edmiston Drive section of the project, which involved tying the new line to the existing network. By the very nature of the works, there were a number of challenges to overcome for the contractor, the most important of which being the management of the interaction between the temporary works and the permanent works, service crossings and public interface.

Jamie McLachlan, regional sales manager from Mabey Hire, explained: “Given these challenges, it was important that we were able to engage early on with CWA on this project, using our design expertise to come up with a practical and efficient temporary works design.

“We also developed a digital model to allow the CWA team to explore the scheme in Eve, our fully immersive 3D environment. This enhanced visibility was key in enabling us to identify clashes with the new and existing structures, as well as observing service crossings to be encompassed within our design.”

Eve explained

Eve uses immersive technology to create intuitive 3D designs for construction projects and can incorporate all aspects of temporary works. By rendering a fully explorable visualisation of a project, Eve allows users to explore and interact with their design in a real-world environment, with the ability to view accurate measurements of the site geometry.

Each product has its own embedded metadata within Eve, allowing users to develop their own project-specific Risk Assessment Method Statements, including lift plans. This can all help to streamline 3D workflows and integrate directly with BIM models in one virtual environment.

McLachlan added: “Eve has allowed clients, such as CWA, to engage better with their key stakeholders, keeping them better informed as to the progress they are making in projects such as this and the key considerations at the pre-construction stage.”

CWA project manager Graeme Dobbin, said: “After speaking to Jamie McLachlan, we were convinced of the viability of not only Mabey Hire’s temporary works equipment, but also the Eve digital software.

“Using Eve allowed our construction team to plan and implement the works on site, as well as supporting us in reviewing the correct sequence, buildability and detailing any clashes which we’d need to overcome.

“The software also gave the onsite team a great visual representation of the works to be undertaken, which was an invaluable asset when completing this project, due to working around live services. Here, Mabey Hire was a great help, keeping in constant communication and working closely with us to develop a solution for any problems that arose.”

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