Customer Story: How Reynolds & Litchfield Redefine Steel Design and Implementation
A New Process of Digital Transformation Backed by BuildingPoint Uk & Ireland and Korec
Reynolds & Litchfield Ltd are specialists in the design, fabrication and erection of structural steel work.
Andrew Vokes
Design Manager, Reynolds & Litchfield
A Whole New Digital Transformation
“We have completely changed the way we do things,” says Andrew Vokes, Design Manager at Reynolds and Litchfield Ltd., a UK-based steel fabrication company that specializes in the design, fabrication and erection of structural steel work.
Reynolds & Litchfield’s approach to design and implementation has benefited from a manual to digital workflow transformation, increasing the efficiency of their client projects. Before, Andrew’s team was using tape measures to survey by hand, which was not only a longer process altogether, but also difficult to get accurate data from. “We wanted to avoid having to go back to the site over and over again and be able to actually trust measurements that were accurate. Steel is a huge job to fit right in the first place, so if you get it wrong, you’re in trouble,” Andrew says.
Reynolds & Litchfield operates in highly complex environments that often involve many different stakeholders. When fabricating, designing and installing steel for structural use, the team at Reynolds & Litchfield makes accuracy the highest priority. Since most of their work is done in-house, it ensures an end-to-end process for clients in a range of industries including retail, commercial, education, health, industrial, leisure, residential & hotels, and warehouses. Reynolds & Litchfield can operate in any industry, and the end-to-end process gives clients the benefit of their experience and detailed knowledge of structural steel and safety requirements. “We want to get everyone on board and on the same page while delivering the best service to the customer,” says Andrew.
The team at Reynolds & Litchfield is able to digitally design steel structures and share access with their collaborators.
The old process of manual measurements wasn’t cutting it. Oftentimes, it was hard to share this information with those involved in the project, which is why Reynolds & Litchfield started looking for a solution that would help them communicate data back to clients. They turned to BuildingPoint UK & Ireland, part of the KOREC Group who specialize in providing measurement solutions, surveying equipment & mapping systems for the geospatial, engineering & construction sectors in the UK and Ireland, to help guide their digital transformation. “We struggled to position laser scanning as a worthwhile solution to our business at first,” Andrew says.
3D scan data can be navigated in a digital environment, giving a holistic view of a project site overall.
The Digital Transformation Solution
BuildingPoint was able to recognize the need for Andrew’s team to transition their manual workflows to digital, after learning the complicated environments that Reynolds & Litchfield operates in. First, BuildingPoint recommended adopting the Trimble XR10 , a mixed reality headset to enable collaboration between their fabrication shop and their on-site teams. This solution provided Reynolds & Litchfield with the ability to take their Trimble Tekla model out of the computer screen, and into reality.
Shortly after the implementation of the Trimble XR10 into their business, Andrew shared some of the challenges they were experiencing within the Design Department. With BuildingPoint’s experience, they saw this as a perfect opportunity to introduce Andrew to intuitive laser scanners, like the Trimble X-Series.
“Using laser scanning, Andrew and the team now capture a full 3D representation of their projects, including the ability to never miss a critical measurement, avoiding revisits to site,” says Sam Hough, Business Manager for BuildingPoint UK and Ireland. “A common challenge with laser scanning though is the sheer size of the data, and that’s where Cintoo came in.”
BuildingPoint recognized this was not the only challenge Cintoo could solve for the Reynolds & Litchfield team. Cintoo would also allow them to share model information quickly with others, navigate scan data on a web browser, and detect clashes more efficiently, all within in a central repository.
Cintoo digests large point cloud files, making the digital view easy to navigate.
A More Efficient Way Forward for Steel Design and Implementation
“We know the process now,” says Andrew, “The point cloud from the scanner shows us what we wouldn't have seen and Cintoo is that central hub for all the information.” Cintoo is used on an as-needed basis for Reynolds & Litchfield, but really the team is implementing a whole digital workflow that aids their on-site delivery.
“The data is big from our sites, and we needed to be able to upload it to the cloud so that everyone could access that data, download it, measure and manipulate with it,” says Andrew. Having the data on Cintoo has allowed Andrew’s team to detect even more clashes while obtaining data from the viewing platform that wouldn’t be obtained otherwise.
On one project, Andrew’s team was tasked with restructuring based on the existing steelwork of a large office building for an international company. The customer wanted the additional structure stripped and fitted in a way that made it look like the original structure. “We needed to add new steel onto the old structure that also looks the same [as the original structure], and that means we needed to draw from the existing frame. It was difficult because there was a lot of existing steelwork we were clashing with,” Andrew says. “With Cintoo, I could find the clash, screenshot it, and send that to the client. We can then talk about the model without going to the site.”
Andrew’s team is able to get up close to examine models of the structural steel aren’t clashing with as-built conditions.
This saves Reynold’s & Litchfield time and money. What might be a 12-hour round trip to the site can now be solved in 15 to 30 minutes on a Teams call with the client.
It also means that the team can better coordinate with others, including their own site team. “For example, we had a massive box section which fixes to an existing column on the site. We needed to figure out how we were going to install those beams underneath the existing box structure. It’s planning and organizing in a much smarter way with the site team that matters too,” says Andrew. “We’re hitting problems way before we ever would and showing up to the site with them resolved, and that’s all just going into Cintoo, looking at the model and checking through everything.”
Implementation of steel beams layered on the existing structure is more effective and more accurate in Cintoo.
This development points to the aspect of training that Reynolds & Litchfield prioritizes, helping their team and others get up to speed with the easy-to-use technology to so that better communication can be facilitated with all parties involved in the project, no matter where they’re located.
Reynolds & Litchfield’s success in a manual to digital transformation, aided by BuildingPoint and their team of experts, redefines the service they’re offering to clients. Now, Andrew’s team can design and erect steelwork that not only meets their client’s needs but ensures a more accurate delivery overall with enhanced visibility at every stage.
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