Construction goes for real in the era of IT

The contract between Odebrecht and Autodesk anticipates the trend of global use of computing in worksite construction processes

The contractor Odebrecht celebrated a global contract with Autodesk—one of the word leaders in the production of 3D software for design—to supply technologic solutions for its infrastructure works. The company will use the Autodesk Infrastructure Design Suite and the Autodesk Building Design Suite in Latin American and African countries where its projects are being carried out. For this reason, the total of Autodesk licenses globally used by Odebrecht is above two thousand unities.

The decision was taken after the use of Autodesk IT tools in the planning and construction of the hydroelectric plant of Chaglla, in Peru. With the new methodology, the company noticed a significant improvement in monthly rescheduling and goal achievements, that grew from 80 percent to more than 100 percent.

This is the first time that the local branch of Autodesk—that is working in Sao Paulo during the last 19 years—leads a global agreement. For this company, the choice was not only result of cost-benefit, but also of the consulting role played by Autodesk aside Odebrecht. The contractor is passing by a deep change in its area of engineering due to the installation of BIM (Building Information Modeling) methodology, a system that improves productivity and allows a better preview of actions in constructive processes.

According to Valter Pinto de Sousa, Odebrecht’s leader of IT for Latin America, an important factor among the facts that justified the use of Autodesk Technologies was their capacity of understand the organizational culture of Odebrecht. One of the examples is the donation of 120 licenses for an university in Angola, that will be part of the set of social legacy that the contractor uses to leave in the communities where it operates.

According to Autodesk, the partnership between both companies is not limited to the standardization of technical solutions. It reaches a new meaning when the IT department gets a new dimension in each business of the corporation. In this situation, Autodesk understood that it had to support the company’s leadership with technology turned to the global cycle of the company.

This integrated view of the business lead to the proposal that involves the 5D system that joins the three-dimension vision given by the 3D system and the dimensions related with cost and deadlines. “The tool that was developed together with Autodesk will be indispensable as a differential to increase productivity in the projects that we are leading in Peru”, says Ricardo Boleira, Superintendent Director of Odebrecht Infrastructure Peru. The pilot unit was installed in Peru, where Odebrecht is leading the construction of a hydroelectric plant between the districts of Chaglla and Chinchao.

One of the first steps was to send a team of Autodesk to the field, to map the necessities of that job. It was noticed that one of the most important opportunities of the construction process was to ensure a more efficient flow of information between the design company and the training process of local labor. Using the expertise of Autodesk in training and certification, the team formed by both companies started training programs and guided the project management in the adoption of BIM.

“Regarding to knowledge, Autodesk proposed an agenda—based on the analysis of some integrants of the group—with which we confirmed the knowledge of our team, making the best profit of the tools that we use in the areas of Costs, Planning and Engineering. In the same way, starting from the mapping of necessities developed by Autodesk, we are going through a process of transformation to implement the BIM model. We are sure that it will have a positive impact in the quality of our operating processes and in the client’s satisfaction”, says Sergio Panicali, Contract Director of Chaglla Hydroelectric Project.

After the success of the experiment, models for hydroelectric plants, roads and edifications were developed, improving the initial program in a consistent, agile and sustainable way. Besides that, the knowledge community of CAD/CAE was created, having currently more than 250 members.

According to Juan Carlos Alfonso, Technical Account Manager of Autodesk, this adherence to these technologies—that allow a better vision of the works—shows how much BIM may be the key for the competitiveness in a sector where a detail may ensure a relevant contract.

The idea is that the global contract would be extended to more countries where the contractor would carry out other projects. Recently, the company passed to take part in the program of developers from Autodesk (ADN) to ensure the integration of its softwares and their development starting from BIM solutions. Works that are already being carried out by Odebrecht are also considering their adaptation to this new model. There are also bid offers that are being developed using this innovation. Thus, the global agreement may reach more than 20 countries where the contractor operates.

Odebrecht applies 4D simulation in the design of a hydroelectric plant in Peru

With an investment of US$ 1.2 billion (100% Odebrecht Energy), the Hydroelectric Plant of Chaglla, located between the districts of Chaglla (province of Pachitea) and Chinchao (province of Huánuco)—420 kilometers away from Lima, in Peru—is the first international asset of Odebrecht Energy. The plant has an installed capacity of 456 MW, enough for the supply of four million inhabitants and will contribute to the diversification of the energy mix of Peru. The project is considered an example of maximum energetic efficiency and low social and environmental impact. It will be one of the largest power generating plants of Peru, with a water reservoir of only 4.6 square kilometers, a very small area if compared to other hydroelectric projects of the same size.

Scheduled to start its operation in the beginning of 2016, works are being carried out by Construtora Odebrecht in the EPC (Engineering, Procurement and Construction) mode. The plant is composed by a concrete-faced dam, 203 m high that will block the Huallaga River, in Peru. Then the water will go through a 14.5 km long adduction tunnel reaching the Power House that will have two generating units producing a total of 450 MW.  The plant was strategically located to allow water accumulation in a very small area in relation to its depth, ensuring a very low impact in the surrounding areas. This was an enormous challenge since the structures involved became quite near of each other, generating too much interference.

The construction of the Power House involves civil and electromechanical works that have to be carried out in challenging times to attend scheduled deadlines for power generation. To maintain a balance among the work fronts it is necessary a dynamic work of planning that would allow—if necessary—changes in the construction methodologies as the project goes by.

Normally, the operating schedule presented for the works is difficult to be understood by most professionals of production. To make this process easier, virtual-time simulations were developed, allowing workers to see how a determined structure of the project would be seen at a specific moment. This methodology allowed a better understanding of production goals, not only for the production responsible, but also for his teams and for all members of the organization. Thus, all of them may know the situation of the works and have a commitment with the aligned goals.

This solution is developed in its first stage by the planning team, being refined later with the production team, generating a commitment with the goals and developing simulations that would be similar to the future reality. Updating monthly these simulations with real data, it is possible to schedule a continuity of work flow, optimizing working hours and equipment and, above all, complying with the established goals.

Thus, time intervals between design liberations and the necessity of work development are reduced, demanding quick answers of the engineering team.  Besides that, the project has differentiated technical conditions, with areas of difficult access, short deadlines and weather restrictions such as heavy rain and river overflow that stop temporarily the works. One of the main challenges of the works is to go over these obstacles and ensure a continuous work flow, preventing delays and overcosts.