Fusion Building Systems, an offsite manufacturer of light gauge steel panelised superstructures has become the first company in the UK to use exclusive, interactive site management software developed by Danish company, Dalux.
Already in use on three of its developments in Durham, Leeds and Birmingham, Fusion invested in the Dalux Field app after seeing the unique way in which it enables projects to be managed and snagging issues to be raised and recorded in 3D, whilst on site.
As practicing advocates of modern methods of construction and the associated advances in technology, Fusion’s design team were originally considering using another product from Dalux – its free-to-download BIM Viewer app. However, when they explored more of the options available from the Nordic software business, they came across Dalux Field and were immediately impressed with how it enabled site managers to directly communicate issues whilst leaving an auditable trail.
Toby Bolt, Fusion Building Systems’ Technology Manager, said: “We design in Revit and have been using BIM technology for some time now for the same reason that everyone else in the construction industry is moving towards it – clarity, speed, insight, accountability, etc. But we hadn’t seen anything like Dalux Field before.”
By simply marking their position on a plan, site managers can click into a 3D BIM view of a project to provide accurate information there and then about any issues they’ve found. By working in this way, a full auditable history can be developed of communication, issue rectification and close out – and everyone on the team has an immediate visual understanding of what’s happening on site, build delays are reduced and lines of communication are kept crystal clear.
Toby continued: “It’s fine for us to sit in an office and make adjustments to project designs, but if issues are found on site, the accuracy of communicating them was always going to be compromised, because the technology wasn’t capable. Now it is, as an offsite manufacturer, we can provide our clients with even more confidence in our ability to deliver a quality product, on time.”
Dalux Field is an add-on product to the Dalux BIM Viewer app. It claims to save 30 per cent of time on quality control by enabling BIM to be taken on to site. Licensees can access the most current project information, document issues, share tasks and have full traceability for all changes made. A demonstration video can be seen here.
Michael Romero, Dalux UK Manager, said: “On our home turf in the Nordics, Dalux has a leading position and a reputation for creating innovative and user-friendly applications for the Building industry. With close to 1,000 ongoing projects in 14 countries, and more than 33 million sq.m. handled across our applications, we’ve seen a lot of interest from all over the world.
“When we were first approached by Fusion, we soon realized we were dealing with a highly innovative and BIM-savvy company. Their focus on streamlining their processes and bringing BIM onsite, to people who have never worked with BIM before, made it a great match.”
Fusion is currently using Dalux Field software for the historic renovation of Horsforth Mill in Leeds, for the sustainable Neville’s Cross student campus build at Durham University and for new apartment buildings at Alcester Road in Birmingham. The Company is also working with Dalux to develop a cloud-based document management system. The purpose of this is to provide version-controlled drawings, associated with specific 3D BIM models, to give site managers confidence they have access to the latest, approved information.
Michael added: “We recently opened a new UK office because being close to our clients is key to us. It gives us a better understanding of how they work, and we get some really valuable feedback from them. Being close-by just makes sharing ideas and inputs so much easier.”
Following the success experienced on Fusion sites to date and the positive feedback received from its clients, Fusion is now introducing Dalux Field as part of its standard working practices.
For further information visit www.fusionbuild.com and www.dalux.com
Media enquiries
Fusion: Catherine Ashworth at FelixPR on 07787 424 594 or catherine@felixpr.co.uk
About Fusion
Fusion Building Systems works with some of the UK’s largest developers on both commercial and residential projects. Adopting an integrated approach where offsite manufacturing is incorporated into the supply chain from the start, Fusion’s partnerships deliver a seamless programme which produces high quality, precision-engineered structures for numerous market sectors.