Advances in technology today are enabling new companies to participant in areas that were previously only reserved for large companies. Labour shortages are also compounding issues, particularly for civil engineering companies, who are facing growing problems in maintaining skilled staff, particularly those who know how to operate and apply the latest software tools. The result is an entrepreneurial dream – lots of work and effective tools to participate and grow.
Duffy Chartered Engineers provide civil, structural and traffic related engineering services. Established in Louth, Ireland in 1992, the company has ground to employ 20 people today. The numbers and types of projects the company has been involved in has also grown. A key element of this growth is the varied nature and types of projects the company is being awarded and participating in. These range from engineering for a small stadium to road profile work as well as housing developments, park development, land assessments, flood planning and both vertical and horizontal control projects. {sidebar id=13}
The tool of choice for Duffy Chartered Engineers is AutoCAD Civil 3D. The company says several advantages are being realised using this software including,
Rapid incorporation of changes
Provision of more accurate information to client
Increase in productivity, saving time and money
As Gary Barron, civil and traffic engineer for the company says, “we are able to connect the changes in our models dynamically. This provides us with a great deal of flexibility when changing any part of the data or design.” Indeed, images move with alignments and the corridor models are dynamic. As Barron notes, “we rely heavily on software tools to do our work.”
EUROPARK
Location: Dundalk Co. Ireland
Size: 42 ha
Project:
— Development of commercial / industrial warehousing
— Required 3D model of Finished Ground.
— Assessment of required cut/fill quantities.
— Road design.
Take Home Point: Reduced estimated fill from 100,000 to 25,000 cubic meters
INNISKEEN HOUSING DEVELOPMENT
Location: Inniskeen, Co. Monaghan.
Size: 2.46 ha
Project:
— Housing development
— Created finished ground model
— Cut/fill quantities
— Road design
Take Home Point: Client could understand site levels better as generated to architect
SHERCOCK RISK ASSESSMENT
Location: Shercock, Co. Cavan.
Size: 1.25 ha
Project:
— Proposed Housing Development
— Required 3D model of Existing Ground (from LIDAR data) and Finished Ground
— Model flood levels post-development
— Assessment of required cut/fill quantities
Take Home Point: Modeled flood levels using lidar data post-development
CARRICKMACROSS TOWN CENTRE MIXED DEVELOPMENT
Location: Carrickmacross, Co. Monaghan
Size: 36.67 ha
— Civic centre, regional offices and hotel PPP project
— Required 3D model of Finished Ground
— Cut/fill quantities, area of ground to be improved
— Road design
Take Home Point: Provided 3D model to client with stabilisation recommendation
DUNDALK WESTERN INFRASTRUCTURE ROUTE
Location: Dundalk, Co. Louth
Size: 1.8km
–Inner relief road
–Setting-Out details
Take Home Point: All vertical and horizontal calculations dynamically generated
Summary: New tools are enabling small companies to gain traction within the marketplace quickly. Projects begin small then increase in size as an understanding of the tools and their functionality becomes better known. These efficiencies translate into savings both time-wise when designing, but also cost wise in terms of the varied services that a small company can offer.
In this case, Duffy Chartered Engineers cite AutoCAD Civil 3D as a time and cost saver for their work. These results are allowing the company to search for larger contracts as well as expanding the level of services they offer.
