2019Case20Jacobs

76 L EAN C ONSTRUCTION I RELAND A NNUAL B OOK OF C ASES 2019 became a focal point, and the DSG set about establishing a Single Source of Truth (SSOT) to mitigate these potential concerns. An SSOT, as the name suggests, is where all supporting data in a design is referencing a master document or database for information. Inputting design data is done once, at source, and duplication is removed. This is relatively straightforward for an individual discipline to manage, however in a multi-discipline sphere, changes made by one di scipl ine can have a compounding impact on others. The SSOT focus, therefore, had to be based on leading factors such as the equipment lists for process and mechanical, and that data being referenced by other disciplines. In its ideal state, the SSOT system has a multitude of layers of truth which need to co-ordinate across the layers. This means that the data entry inputted can be manipulated by the other layers or discipline data. For example, changes to room size have an impact on air conditioning, which impacts electrical, which impacts plant rooms sizes. Once an SSOT had been developed, the DSG looked to areas where digitisation could improve design efficiencies. Figure 1. Single Source of Truth Digitised Design Without an SSOT, it would not be possible to automate elements of design as multiple sources, and potentially conf l ict ing data, could exi st . Once in place, and in conjunction with Revit and associated add-ons, the DSG were able to write programming code and scripts to automate design functions such as locating electrical services within the model with the click of a button. Elements of design that would have previously taken weeks to des ign are now being produced wi thin much shor ter timeframes. Documents that would have previously been developed manually with limited functionality, have now in- built scripts to mine data from the model to extract reports, such as Material Take-Offs. The data inputted and extracted from the model is being managed in a much more efficient manner. Separate to Revi t , smar t funct ional i ty has been programmed into a multitude of other deliverables, all referencing back to the model and the SSOT. This means that when changes are made to the SSOT a full suite of updates takes place across the design, which leads to programmed updates taking place. For the example used previous ly, when a room changes in s ize and the air conditioning changes – which leads to an automated update to the air flow diagrams – then the equipment lists would automatically be updated. This in turn automatically updates the electrical load list, which updates the single line diagrams and cable sizes. Figure 2. Digitised Design LEAN INITIATIVE IMPROVEMENTS & IMPACT Quality Assurance The introduction of the SSOT and Revit has afforded Jacobs the ability to programme in quality assurance measures such as error checking and des ign funct ions that are in compliance with regulatory standards. The programming of all the scripts and code has the engineering element built in to automate the design in compliance with the regulatory standards and specifications that we operate to. A pertinent example of this would be our automation of the fire alarm design for the building: code has been written to locate fire alarm devices in compliance with IS3218 and EN54, with variable elements inbuilt. This means that if a heat detector is used as opposed to a smoke detector, the design accommodates to suit inputting said detectors in an unlimited amount of rooms at the click of a button. This is but one example of how digitised engineering can provide quality assurance while also reducing the time to check a design. Traditionally, quality procedures require all drawings to be checked and updated, but our robust programming functions are providing the opportunity for Jacobs to check the code written and trust in the quality of deliverable. With the removal of multiple entries, the engineering teams have been afforded more time to focus on the engineering side of the project. Figure 3. Quality Assurance