The facade construction sector is developing at a rapid pace. It is scaling up automation and digitalisation. This is necessary: designs and materials are becoming increasingly complex to meet increasingly stringent requirements. After all, the façade plays an important role in fulfilling various energy and comfort standards. And then it has to look spectacular too! According to Yuri Hanff and Willem van Kreij of ISD Group, integrating the right software is crucial to meet the many challenges and make a facade builder's life easier.
Van Kreij is convinced that optimising processes and deploying facade engineering-specific functions will ensure that making complex facades not only becomes easier, but also more efficient. "Especially with labour shortages as well as expensive materials, working more efficiently and faster is an absolute necessity." According to Van Kreij, within facade engineering, the devil is in the details. "Small mistakes can have (very) big consequences." Hanff adds: "By using smart CAD software, you reduce the number of human actions, which reduces the likelihood of errors. This in turn leads to higher quality and less inspection and repair costs."
CAD software plays a major role in optimising business processes. "HiCAD, ISD's 3D CAD solution, enables working with 2D and 3D. Converting from 2D to 3D is easy, as is converting back to other applications. Moreover, HiCAD features a product library. Many specific facade construction elements are present in the system as standard, which helps draftsmen enormously because it means they do not have to draw entire facades, but configure them based on existing elements," Hanff says and continues: "Another important difference is that our software HiCAD is able to handle larger amounts of data much better than many other software. On jobs where BIM modelling is required, this naturally offers great advantages."
"Being able to meet BIM requirements is increasingly important," says van Kreij, highlighting that the importance of BIM should not be underestimated. "The nice thing about 3D-CAD systems is that you can load the 3D model and easily count how many products need to be made through automatic parts lists. Moreover, it prevents errors and ensures that everyone in the chain and within a project is working with one model and therefore with the same data."
Another important way to make business processes more efficient and faster is to make files more easily exchangeable. Hanff explains that exchanging files between HiCAD, LogiKal and production machines does not require any additional translation. "With the touch of a button, our software is able to create workshop drawings with 2D and 3D views, spreads and cross-sections completely automatically. Of course, complete with designations and dimensions. Other production documents such as BOMs (Bill Of Materials) or bending correction tables are also automatically generated in HiCAD. This way, the bulk of the engineering work is done automatically and you can be sure that you have an error-free facade."
ISD is doing all it can to make life easier for facade builders. It succeeds, thanks to modern CAD software. At ISD, the focus is not only on implementing the application, but also on tailoring the software to customers' needs as well as possible. "Supporting the customer from installation to aftercare as well as afterwards. Not as a supplier, but as a partner, that is our strength," says van Kreij. Optimal unburdening, in other words! "Our software helps you work smarter and the process optimisation ensures that you can do what you do best: add value and make and keep customers happy", van Kreij concludes.