With 5000 Employees, 5 x Precast Factories, and more than 43 years of professional experience in the Saudi Arabian market, ARA excels itself at being one of the heaviest hitters, and most trusted precast concrete manufacturers in the Kingdom. In 2020 ARA decided to search for a new precast production management software. With the responsibility coming along with running a behemoth precast company such as ARA, only the best software and IT systems would be good enough.
In the middle of the bustling city of Riyadh, Saudi Arabia you can find Al-Rashid Tower. The beautifully polished, tan coloured, concrete and glass surface serves as a beacon for the area, and not the least the main office of Al Rashid Abetong Co. (ARA). The quality and tone of the building symbolises the quality and craftmanship one has come to expect from an ARA project over the last four decades.
Huge Logistical Challenge
Having an erection crew of almost 1000 people and on some days delivering more than 300 vehicles, traditional planning, such as non-visual spreadsheets, can have a risk of moving the effort away from coordinating the elements to coordinating the planning sheets themselves.
A key requirement for ARA in the selection criteria for the new system was a clear visualisation, along with automatic status tracking of every single precast element going through the various stages of design, manufacture, transport and assembly. The idea to shift the focus onto knowing the exact precast element status in real-time, instead of the huge manual effort in managing and maintaining spreadsheets.
Having already utilised StruSoft’s 3D modelling software IMPACT Design over the past two decades and recognising the potential integration into both the production and project management ARA decided on the next stage to implement the entire IMPACT system including: –
- 3D Project Management;
- 3D Cast Planning of all element types;
- 3D Visual Stack and 3D Transport Planning;
- Element Status & Element Controls using the IMPACT Go mobile app;
- Disorder and Rejection Tracking using the IMPACT Go mobile app;
- Produced Casts, Storage and Deliveries using QR Codes and the IMPACT Go mobile app;
- Automatic sharable Bills of Materials (BOM) for entire and multiple projects
Realtime Status Updates
With IMPACT Production, fully digitised Element Controls (QA) have been realised through using the built in Planning Modules with the IMPACT Go mobile application to scan and fill out the controls on both Android and IOS mobile phones.
ARA has setup more than 40 individual element controls in the software. The purpose of this is to eliminate traditional paper controls and replace them with fully digital controls. Everything is automatically saved into the IMPACT database in real-time.
“IMPACT Production lets us track every single element from design to site. This element tracking is very important to us as we can make sure to coordinate the elements in the best way possible and keep track of hundreds of deliveries every day. When we plan the elements in IMPACT, or change the status in the Mobile app, the colours change automatically, making it easy to track the process of the project.”
Says Ingemar Heikenberg, Projects Planning Manager & Asst. Production Manager.
Planning Today and in the Future
Today, in 2021 ARA is using the IMPACT system for detailing elements and planning tools including cast planning, storage, element control and more.
In the future, the plan is to implement IMPACT across all detailing disciplines with all precast elements, as well as implement the planning software fully in the field at all factory locations.
StruSoft has provided User training and both on site and with remote support, coordinating the implementation of the new software tools in the entire company.
“We are very happy with the system so far and our continuous work together with StruSoft” says Ingemar Heikenberg.
About Al Rashid Abetong Co.
Al Rashid-Abetong Company was established in 1977 and has grown to become the largest and most trusted precast company in Saudi Arabia. The company has a full range of precast elements for construction works including Columns, Beams, Solid Slabs, Hollow Core Slabs, Double Tee Slabs, Wall panels (insulated and solid), Stairs, Boundary wall, etc.
Al Rashid-Abetong Co. has the capability to design, manufacture and construct the most complex and challenging projects and is well know for its superior quality and reliable professional service.
With a leading position in the Precast Construction Industry, Alrashid-Abetong Co., is committed to supply premium quality products and outstanding services in the field of Design, Production and Construction of Precast Concrete.
If you would like to learn more about Alrashid-Abetong Co. please visit their website by clicking the following link: http://www.alrashidabetong.com/
About StruSoft & IMPACT
StruSoft has been making life easier for Precast and Engineering Companies for nearly four decades originally starting in 1982, within Skanska Construction. In 2002 Structural Design Software in Europe AB was founded as an independent private company. And as per 2021, StruSoft is now the official name, with industrial investment company Vind as the majority stakeholder.
IMPACT development first started back in 1991 with the initial v1 and as per the time of writing of this article is running on v16. IMPACT Handles both 3D modelling, automatic shop drawings, as well as planning of cast, transport, QA, and much much more.
If you would like to find out more about IMPACT, please click here.
