WET News

DECEMBER 2014 WET NEWS 13 The use of 3D technology improved the flow of information between site and the design office, providing accurate "as-built" information on the foundations and manages information throughout a project's entire life cycle. The SRE was built as a Revit model, another soware pack- age, which adds 3D technology. This building design so- ware is specifically built for BIM, empowering designers and builders to bring ideas from concept to construction with a co-ordinated model-based approach – a single application that includes features for archi- tectural design, mechanical, electrical and plumbing and structural engineering and construction. It features parametric com- ponents – intelligent building components to improve design accuracy: any change in design is automatically reflected throughout the design model, multiple users can simultane- ously work on the same intelli- gent building model and it improves insight into con- structability of building elements. Ellis says Revit enabled the designers to "move things around" while it moved the water around it. "When it goes to site, the lads can see where it's going to go and how it's going to look. If any amend- ments are needed it can be made there and then. It saves a lot of expense. You can rotate it to look at different angles. It was the first time we've use it, and it works quite well." The use of 3D technology improved the flow of informa- tion between site and the design office, providing accurate "as- built" information on the foun- dations, which was helpful because part of the SRE was built on a quarry, he explains. "Imagine on top of a hill. The quarry at some point was filled with rubbish. We had to go down to find the rock and by doing this, feed information into the model so you could see where the piles ended up, what length they were and what posi- tion they were in." Settlement issues raised challenges for the designers and builders. "We had rock, the piles in the quarry and unmade and made ground that was sloping. BIM was used to create a model of the quarry which ensure quality assurance." Engineering Challenge Ellis says the varied founda- tions of the SRE proved a signifi- cant engineering challenge. MMB worked closely with Tritech Piling & Foundations during the piling design and installation state. It was not known until the installation began whether the bedrock had server undulations that would have had an impact on the length of the piles needed. This could have poten- tially changed the number, size and location of the piles that the project needed. Some 180 continuous flight auger piles had to be con- structed as the foundations because of the backfilled quarry upon which half of the SRE was built. The project was completed in the summer and officially unveiled in a ceremony in which Leeds West MP Rachel Reeves turned on the water suppliers to almost 30,000 properties on July 24 this year. Ellis said at the time that the new tank would boost the relia- bility of Yorkshire Water's vast water supply network and ensure that customers in West Yorkshire continued to receive "some of the best drinking water in the world". He said it was "an amazing achievement" that avoided any interruption to customers' water supply. n "Precast was decided upon because it was more cost efficient, even at the larger volume... Dave Ellis ONSITE SERVICE RESERVOIRS Precast was more cost efficient, even at the larger volume, and because of the benefit in terms of safety and quality The new SRE was to be predomi- nantly grass covered and the area landscaped to look like the existing reservoir

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