Innovative Approaches and The Role of Reinforced Concrete

Recently the Martin/Martin, Inc.’s Construction Engineering Services (CES) team was awarded with a CRSI Honors for their detailing efforts in Revit.

The Martin/Martin CES team has innovatively addressed the issue of fragmented fabrication drawing production that design and construction teams consistently encounter with today’s increasingly tight project delivery schedules.

Schedule reduction is critical and the M/M CES team has demonstrated significant schedule savings on numerous projects since beginning to offer reinforcing steel detailing services a few years ago. Early release to start detailing, before design is complete, allows them to develop the reinforcing steel fabrication drawings at the same time that the contract documents are being developed. Working closely with the designers, the CES team can model rebar before the information is even on the construction documents. Being a part of the detailing process also allows the shop drawing reviewer to be very familiar and comfortable with the fabrication drawings, which facilitates a quick and efficient review. This process allows delivery of the first package of shop drawings (reviewed and approved!) almost concurrently with the issuance of the construction documents.

Traditional rebar detailing is done using a 2D drafting program. The CES team utilizes customized tools in Revit Structure and a BIM approach to model and detail reinforcing steel.

Rebar sizes, lengths, and bends are all done using CRSI/ACI standards making the fabrication lists created useable by any fabricator in the country.

Working in the structural designer’s Revit model and having access to the architectural model (and models from other disciplines) allows for advanced coordination which would not be possible with 2D drafting and allows the CES team to see design changes in real time.

If the changes occur after detailing is complete, our team can process these changes immediately and often release detailing revisions before the design team formally issues their changes.

The 3D rebar model also provides an opportunity for the general contractor to coordinate with other trades and can become a starting point for concrete lift drawings. Using live section cuts through accurately modeled rebar and creating 3D perspective views of complex areas provides the rebar installer greatly enhanced information for placing rebar.

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