BIM Setout Using 12d Field

Subtitle: Digital Transformation in the Civil Infrastructure Industry

As data managers, Surveyors are faced with many challenges, and are responsible for ever-increasing spatial and metadata information sets. Much of this data is of a basic xyz nature, without attributes or QA information.

Presented by 12d Field Product Sales Manager Graham Wirth, this presentation is derived from the shared experiences of Surveyors, over the past 25 years. The evolution of the surveying industry has been explosive. With the advent of GNSS, Motorised Total Stations and Scanning, positioning productivity initially outstripped the digital computing ability. The past decade, however, has seen improvements in digital capture and Design BIM modelling. We’ll explore the difficulties surveyors have experienced when setting out design solid models. Initially, designs using BIM or solid modelling were restricted to building structures. This format is now becoming the norm across most structural infrastructure designs – Surveyors’ traditional use of line and point positioning technologies needed new methods to manage setout of solid design models.

This presentation demonstrates new digital tools that assist Surveyors with this process. Using the IFC BIM data exchange format, Surveyors are able to import solid models traditionally referenced at a 0,0,0 coordinate location, convert to metres, and – using 2D and 3D transformations – bring models into real-world geodetic positions, as used by Surveyors. With the IFC format ability, Surveyors can separate the structure elements critical to setout requirements, such as footings, slabs and columns. These solid elements can then be broken down to the points and lines for setout.

This is only half the story, as the use of IFC and solid modelling comes full circle to provide designers, clients and government bodies the structural BIM model of as-constructed buildings and structures, complete with attribute and meta data required to meet industry standards.