## Automation in the offshore sector

While a lot of automation is already taking place in the automotive and aviation sector, the offshore sector is still lagging behind. According to Maas Hoogeveen, Technology Director at Mocean Offshore and developer of Calypso, this is because the offshore industry is a highly conservative market. “Everybody works on their own projects and has their own reasons for sticking to the old principles. But we are working on applications with automated calculations that will reduce the time and money spent on a project.”

### No more manual tasks

In the jack-up industry, there are still many repetitive tasks performed by engineers. This is partially due to the complexity of the frameworks laid down in ISO 19905. However, it is not commercially viable for the experts to fully perform the extensive calculations manually; they have to use conservative shortcuts. Hoogeveen: “We use algorithms and parametric models, so that shortcuts no longer need to be used and calculations can be done faster and more specific.”

>“The best way to share knowledge is by making it available through a web application.” - Maas Hoogeveen

## Looking for the right digital tools

Maas has spoken with many market parties about making his application available online via a web interface. “It would be a costly enterprise to even create a Minimal Viable Product. Then I came into contact with VIKTOR, which was a great fit. The interface was exactly what I envisioned. It meets the wishes of various stakeholders. A sales manager, for instance, may want to use Calypso as a means of communication with which he or she can generate clear images, whereas an engineer may want to perform in-depth calculations and optimize the use of a platform. Calypso’s interface caters to many different users, which is made possible by the versatility of the powerful VIKTOR platform. Another big advantage is that the costs are much lower.”

> “The web application was developed within 40 hours. The iterations that have been done were also implemented quickly. This offers enormous opportunities because time and budget are the bottleneck.”

## What is Calypso?

### Site-specific assessment

Calypso is a tool for performing site-specific assessments on any jack-up platform. This determines whether you can install wind turbines with a light or a heavy platform. The tool can be used even before you start a tender. Maas Hoogeveen explains: “We specialize in analysis of jack-ups. The knowledge and calculation methods contained in Calypso are an implementation of the jack-up engineering standard ISO 19905-1:2016. With this application, every engineer can perform a site-specific assessment (SSA).”

Check out how you can analyze offshore wind turbine installation platforms without being expert with Calypso and VIKTOR:

<div style="padding:56.25% 0 0 0;position:relative;"><iframe src="https://player.vimeo.com/video/584895866?badge=0&amp;autopause=0&amp;player_id=0&amp;app_id=58479" frameborder="0" allow="autoplay; fullscreen; picture-in-picture" allowfullscreen style="position:absolute;top:0;left:0;width:100%;height:100%;" title="Calypso-Tutorial-Jack-up-SSA"></iframe></div><script src="https://player.vimeo.com/api/player.js"></script>

### Automated calculations

In addition, the calculations are automated, but an engineer can still look deep inside the system to check all steps and calculations. “This is what we call the glass box paradigm, as opposed to the black box”, Hoogeveen explains.

### Capitalizing knowledge and skill

The main objective of Calypso is to capitalize upon knowledge and skills regarding jack-up engineering by making these available to the offshore industry. Running it as a VIKTOR application is a great way to achieve this: “VIKTOR matched perfectly with our vision of what the interface should be. The way parameters are set and how the model is directly visualised is how we imagined it,” Hoogeveen explains. The web-based application can be used independently by clients, so they can make calculations on their own data and problems.

![Web-based VIKTOR Calypso application.png](/uploads/Web_based_VIKTOR_Calypso_application_3bdaa727dc.png)

## Fast development is not impossible!

The development of a web interface to an application doesn’t have to take months, it can be realized in just a week. Maas Hoogeveen: “We developed a headless application, containing the algorithms and parametric models. With this basis and the assistance of VIKTOR developers we build the Calypso application in only 40 hours. The extensive possibilities of the VIKTOR platform are inspiring. With their help, Calypso is as accessible and user-friendly as we imagined.”

![Calyps and VIKTOR platform.png](/uploads/Calyps_and_VIKTOR_platform_302aedac81.png)

Maritime & Offshore

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Everyone can analyse offshore wind turbine installation platforms

1. What is parametric design, and how is it evolving
2. Collaborative parametric design: working together for better results
3. How to make tools available to others
4. Active collaboration on parametric design tools
5. Parametric design in a billion-euro project
6. What collaborative parametric design means for you



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The adoption of parametric design grows exponentially thanks to friendly programming languages like Python or visual programming packages like Dynamo or Grasshopper.
 
Our perception is changing. We no longer see parametric design as a model to solve specific technical problems, but rather as a new way of working, in which stakeholders collaborate to find the best solution for a project.

Learn about the latest trends and the future of parametric design in this white paper

Collaborative parametric design models allow you to work together for better solutions

Download the white paper and get INSPIRED

Did you know parametric design models are no longer just used to solve specific technical problems, but rather as a new way of working? Read here how stakeholders use parametric design to collaborate and find the best solutions for their projects!

The Future of Parametric Design is COLLABORATION

## Why Dynamo?

People from different disciplines use all kinds of different software programs. Where structural designers make extensive use of BIM and CAD software, such as Autodesk Revit and AutoCAD, road designers use Autodesk Civil3D and Bentley MX Road. The skilled designers amongst us automate their workflows in these packages using Dynamo: By creating Dynamo scripts, manual actions can be automated in structural design software, which saves designers lots of time.

Dura Vermeer’s engineers and technical modellers are amongst these skilled engineers that are highly acquainted with those software packages and use Dynamo intensively in their design process. Their experience, expertise, and the concept of visual programming enable them to quickly develop models with Dynamo. However, some needs are yet to be covered: The exchange of data and versioning of that data remains challenging.

## Why VIKTOR?

Also, although Dynamo is a very handy tool, it has a learning curve: Often only a specialist knows how it works, making other disciplines dependent on the time and resources of these specialized individuals. That’s where VIKTOR comes into play. VIKTOR is a web application development platform for engineers and has a large variety of digital building blocks (like digital LEGO), such as integrations with structural design software. VIKTOR’s web applications provide a central database with version control on the data and offers an intuitive user interface where other disciplines can easily use encapsulated expert knowledge. This is also known as: Democratization of Knowledge.

But the question remains: How do you leverage Dura Vermeer’s existing expertise in Dynamo and VIKTOR’s distribution and data control? The answer: By building an integration between the two! VIKTOR and Dura Vermeer collaborated and developed a Dynamo-VIKTOR node package: Nodes where data can be fetched and pushed from Dynamo to VIKTOR.

## Single Source of Truth

In Dura Vermeer's current design process, the exchange of parameters between the different disciplines often takes place via mail or quick hand-drawn sketches. However, this is not foolproof and can become increasingly risky when many versions and alterations are made. By developing a VIKTOR web application that automatically integrates with different design software, Dura Vermeer no longer requires manual output exchanges. Of course, active communication between the different professionals is still needed, but less normative.

### Creating Dynamo scripts

The Dynamo-VIKTOR node package consists of several nodes (in Dynamo terms, a node is a visual representation of methods/functions with only input and output). When properly placed, the nodes can perform a task such as establishing a connection between Dynamo and VIKTOR. The following figure shows a representation that makes it possible to acquire the input parameters of an entity from VIKTOR to Dynamo. Other configurations of these nodes can create alternative tasks, such as getting results, getting files and even pushing data to VIKTOR.

![The Dynamo-VIKTOR node package](/uploads/Dynamo_VIKTOR_node_package_3359b129c6.png)

By connecting these strings of nodes to other Dynamo nodes, actions and even designs can be automated using the design software. These series of nodes is called a Dynamo script. Once the script is executed, multiple tasks that can be used in Revit will be performed. Since Dynamo is not only supported in Revit, scripts can also be developed for AutoCAD, Civil 3D, Inventor, etc.

### Using the Dynamo-VIKTOR node package

The video shows the same Dynamo-VIKTOR node package used in both Revit and Civil 3D. The video shows how the cross-section is manipulated using the parameters given in VIKTOR. No external exchange file is necessary, resulting in a live connection between all disciplines (in this case the structural engineer, road designer and structural modeller) which is basically practicing the single source of truth principle.

<div style="padding:56.25% 0 0 0;position:relative;"><iframe src="https://player.vimeo.com/video/584816499?badge=0&amp;autopause=0&amp;player_id=0&amp;app_id=58479" frameborder="0" allow="autoplay; fullscreen; picture-in-picture" allowfullscreen style="position:absolute;top:0;left:0;width:100%;height:100%;" title="DV_Dynamo-VIKTOR_nodes_ViktorUBak_v3(1)"></iframe></div><script src="https://player.vimeo.com/api/player.js"></script>

## Connecting software and knowledge

The collaboration between VIKTOR and Dura Vermeer has made a huge difference regarding the way software is deployed. Not only are software packages connected, but also the knowledge of the professionals. Both parties ended up speaking the same digital language, even though their knowledge backgrounds are so different.

In only one sprint (a two-week development period) the live connection between VIKTOR and the structural design software was explored and finally established. Further development will most likely yield many more functionalities and applications, as all kind of design software can tap into this single source of truth.

## A reusable package for future automation efforts

The Dynamo-VIKTOR node package is a very general utility to exchange data between VIKTOR and Dynamo. It can be linked to any VIKTOR app for which credentials are available and any Dynamo script. That is why this is a digital building block that Dura Vermeer can reuse in their future automation efforts as well. In the long term, VIKTOR can continue to provide digital building blocks that Dura Vermeer can use to realize their vision of becoming the best digital contractor in the Netherlands.

If you are interested or have are any questions or remarks about this development, do not hesitate to contact us at: pmadlener@viktor.ai.


Engineering & Design

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A single source of truth for Dynamo and Civil 3D

## Get the white paper

**INDEX**

1. Construction companies and digital transformation
2. Technology trends for a different approach
3. Technology trends in the construction industry
4. A new technology trend for the construction industry
5. Low code for the construction industry
6. The VIKTOR platform
7. What does it cost?
8. How to start
9. What's next?

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Autonomous cars, algorithms that are trading stocks, people having conversations with robots and digital services from the valley make our lives easier. It is already part of many different industries and drives extreme productivity. Considering these benefits of digitalization, there is huge potential in introducing this in the engineering and construction sector.

However, the engineering and construction industry spends way less on digital transformation than other sectors or automotive. So when the benefits are obvious, why have the engineering and construction industry not yet fully embraced new digital technologies? The reasons of lacking behind are understandable and have to do with the characteristics of the industry. But we have come to a time where there are increasing opportunities at hand for 
the sector to speed up digital transformation.

What are these trends in digital transformation and how will it effect the engineering and construction industry? You can read the answers to these questions and more in the white paper.



Learn about the trends on digital transformation and how to take the next step.

Download the White Paper and get INSPIRED

What are the trends in digital transformation and how will it effect the engineering and construction industry? You can read the answers to these questions and more in the white paper.

Digital Transformation Engineering and Construction Industry

## Custom truss constructions

The truss constructions at large music stages become bigger and more complex. Festivals want to have their own unique stage, with a custom truss construction. These constructions are very expensive if they have to be custom made, or you have to deal with a limited set of standard shapes with existing products. 

![Truss construction design in the analyze one](/uploads/Truss_constructions_in_the_analyze_one_3bfe986172.jpg)


### Software and building blocks

FrameFlux is offering an affordable option for creating your custom construction. Yufe Wong, cofounder of Frameflux: “We invented an adjustable, reusable building block, with which you can create any shape structure you want, with the same level of form-freedom as a snake!” Besides the physical product they also developed in-house [parametric design](https://www.viktor.ai/blog/46/parametric-design-cloud-engineering-construction) and analysis software tools to rapidly design these custom shapes and analyse them. “You can perform a structural feasibility check in seconds on an unlimited set of forms, including the conventional shapes.” This removes a barrier to the use of the truss, since it would be difficult to engineer and design some of the complex structural shapes that become feasible.

![Truss construction design](/uploads/Truss_construction_design_56c25ff136.jpg)


## Hitting the market

After demonstrating the software tools to customers and receiving a lot of enthusiasm, FrameFlux wanted to take the next step. After an elaborate vendor selection, FrameFlux partnered with VIKTOR for their experience and integration with Grasshopper and Python, along with a user-friendly interface to suit the needs. Since March 2020, the two companies have been collaborating to deliver this software product, named Antalyze One. This application allows integration with SCAD Re-Event, a popular 3D CAD program for the Dutch event industry. Now a super-fast workflow for design of standard truss beams is realized: users can create a design in SCAD Re-Event, export the data to the web-based VIKTOR platform, and then instantly run a Grasshopper-powered structural feasibility check. It is also possible to make changes in VIKTOR and re-import these back into SCAD Re-Event. VIKTOR’s fine grain data management systems, for user information and technical data, allow for such automation when coupled with Grasshopper. In future, integrations with other CAD programs will be possible.

![Data mangement systems for truss constructions](/uploads/Data_management_system_8043c8a027.png)


## A user-friendly interface

“With VIKTOR we’ve got a friendly user interface and a good integration with our existing Grasshopper model, instead of starting over again.” In the web-application an event designer can also upload their design and other relevant inputs whenever and wherever they want. As before, this information is sent to the Grasshopper model in which the analysis is done. The results of this analyses are sent back to the web-application and visualized for the event designer.

![Visualizations of truss construction designs](/uploads/Truss_construction_visualizations_deb241cb3c.jpg)


## The 'Antalyze Two'?
The decision to automate this process is an easy one according to Yufe “A designer can now create, develop and get a structural feasibility check on their preliminary designs of loaded straight beams without hours of spreadsheet work or consultation.” There are already plans for a potential ‘Antalyze Two’, which will be able to process a much greater variety of structural shapes. “Especially for custom-made constructions it could take weeks before a design was analysed by a consultant. With our software and the web-application made on the VIKTOR platform, a check could be run on squares, circles and snake-like structures… in only a matter of seconds!”

Interested in developing web-applications as well? Check out our [parametric design solutions](https://www.viktor.ai/parametric-design-software)!

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Analyse any truss construction design within seconds

[Source:](https://fd.nl/weekend/1358248/nieuwe-rekenwijze-voor-sterkere-dijken-levert-honderden-miljoenen-op)

## Strenthening the pumping stations

The HWBP is a joint investment program of Rijkswaterstaat and the water boards. Since the start of the program in 2014, € 100m has been invested in innovations, which has already yielded at least € 180m in savings. “We expect that the new knowledge will yield a multiple of that in savings in the coming years.” Are the savings heading towards € 1 billion? “I would not dare to take on a saving of 1 billion, but it would be inspiring for society if that succeeds.” Because the risk of a dike breach according to safety standards must not be greater than once every five to ten thousand years, until 2050, at least 1,300 kilometers of sea and river dikes and 500 locks, weirs and pumping stations must be strengthened. To this end, a budget of € 7.4 billion has been agreed up to 2028, which must be jointly raised by the central government and the water boards.

## Custom work for dike improvement

One of the promising innovations is custom work for dike improvement. In other words: not starting from a high water scenario with one water level with different conservative assumptions and factors, as before, but calculating many thousands of scenarios based on an extensive database and the specific characteristics of a dike section. In order to arrive at the most likely scenario of strength and failure for each individual stretch of dike. This customization can mean that in 80% of the cases the dike improvement job in the Netherlands can be reduced and in 20% of the cases must be enlarged, says Willems. “A considerable part of the dikes can be built slimmer and less high. Which means that the balance tends to make the total program cheaper. “That does not mean that the budgeted amount of € 7.4 billion can be reduced. “Even when the agreements for the HWBP were made in 2013-2014, it was clear that the financial agreements were not sufficient,” says Willems. “That was a conscious choice to ensure efficiency in the HWBP by means of innovation and knowledge development at the front. “Extra jobs are also coming up. “Rijkswaterstaat and the water boards are assessing all dikes. They do this once every twelve years, a kind of periodic MOT. They will be working on that until 2023, when dikes will emerge that need to be strengthened. 

## Parametric design and digital transformation
[Read here](https://www.viktor.ai/blog/26/parametric-design-python-dike-improvement) how our clients innovate with [parametric design](https://www.viktor.ai/blog/46/parametric-design-cloud-engineering-construction) and accelerate their digital transformation on dike projects.

![calculating dike.png](/uploads/calculating_dike_0580c2c558.png)

See how you can [implement parametric design solutions](https://www.viktor.ai/parametric-design-software) to your projects as well. 


Infrastructure & Construction

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[Source:](https://www.cobouw.nl/innovatie/nieuws/2020/09/heien-of-toch-maar-schroeven-de-geluidhinder-app-geeft-raad-101287793)

A contractor who starts a construction job somewhere in the country only needs to fill in a number of details online and the application will do the rest. Within a few minutes, an advice rolls out, with a card with “obstruction circles”. These precisely indicate the noise contours of a pile driver, rubble crusher, milling machine or asphalt saw.

![Customer_case_web_based_application_provide_noise_pollution_analysis_1](https://cms.viktor.ai/uploads/Web_application_for_noise_pollution_analysis_955133e63c.png)


*Noise pollution analysis with the VIKTOR web application*

## A tool to indicate noise pollution

“The tool tells us how much noise we produce and how far it radiates over the environment. With a few presses on a button, you can see this accurately to the address”, explains Robert van den Dijssel of Heijmans Infra. The “noise nuisance tool” was built by means of the application development platform VIKTOR. “Digitization is part of our strategy to smarten up. This fits in and gives us the opportunity to limit nuisance. ”

## Calculation automation

Noise pollution is still the number 1 complaint about construction. That is why Heijmans is investing in reducing this problem. Previously, it took quite a bit of effort to figure out how many decibels were produced on a construction site. Circles were used to calculate the radius within which the sounds spread. This involved a lot of time-consuming calculations and it was not very accurate.

Therefore, a web application was developed on the VIKTOR platform to automate the process. This application can model sounds at the construction site.

## Obstruction circles

Microphones are not used, the builder simply enters the type of construction machine that is used. The application automatically finds out the source and the sound that goes with it. A map view is automatically created on which “obstruction circles” are visually indicated. This makes it possible to see exactly what noise levels the environment has to deal with.

For example, light green can represent 80 dB (A), close to the construction site. The outer ring of the circle has a darker green colour: a noise level of 55 dB (A) is to be expected here. The houses, schools and businesses that are present can also be seen in the various rings of the circle. “If several machines are active at the same time, you add the circles together,” says Peter Madlener of VIKTOR. “Then you see whether the noise standard is being exceeded.”

## Addresses registry

By integrating the application with the Key Register of Addresses and Buildings (BAG), Heijmans knows exactly which addresses are involved and which functionalities the building has. So the people who will experience disturbing noise pollution are immediately in the picture. “The application performs the repetitive standard calculations and links them in a smart way to publicly accessible databases,” says Van den Dijssel. The tool can also automatically retrieve addresses for sending letters to local residents.

Due to its simple design, the map view which the application creates, simplifies communication with clients, enforcers and licensing authorities. At a glance you can see where the most noise can be expected and at what time. Is that too high? Then it quickly becomes clear whether it is smarter, for example, to screw piles instead of driving them. You change the data of a pile driver with a screw drill. The application then calculates the extent to which the noise contours improve as a result. That also makes it easier to get a good score in tenders. And it gives the builder an idea at an early stage of the size of the risk profile. The app does not give sound levels accurate to 0.1 dB (A) – that’s what acoustic desks are for – but it does give a good indication.

## VIKTOR application

Heijmans usually implements four to five sound-producing activities per project in order to obtain a global picture. The construction company has become quite familiar with the tool by now. On average, it is used about twice a day by projects all over the country. It is therefore not complicated. You just have to log in to the VIKTOR web application, create a project, click on source data in a database of machines and put it on the correct map coordinates. The online application will do the rest.



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## Enable customers to create their own design

Pieter Bakker, the Global Manager of Xbloc at DMC, says: “By using the VIKTOR platform we have been able to capture these tools in a  web application with which the customer can [parametrically design](https://www.viktor.ai/blog/46/parametric-design-cloud-engineering-construction) the basis of the breakwater himself. This immediately gives the customers a better insight into what is possible, and we can make an optimal design faster”.

To design the layout of the Xblocs they already had a script within DMC to get started with. “The script worked well, but the problem was that we couldn’t turn it into a dxf file,” explains Bakker. “Because of this we could only use it internally and not web-based, for the customer. “A web application has now been created from a Python script.” tells Bakker. The moment the customer requests a drawing via the application on the website, the scripts generate a design based on the parameters of the client and sends this back to the website as a pdf-file. “In this way we link our scripts to the VIKTOR platform and make it visible to the customer”.

The advantage of the application is that the customer can now test different parameters and basic designs himself, before an official request is made. Bakker, “This not only saves a lot of time for us, but also gives the customer an immediate insight into what would and would not be possible.

## Reduce errors

In addition, the [parametric design application](https://www.viktor.ai/parametric-design-software) ensures that the number of errors is reduced. Bakker, “Internally, when determining the optimal design, errors were not always visible in the calculation. But because of the added visualization, errors can be identified and subsequently removed before the design is sent to the customer”.

All in all, the web application ensures that the knowledge that was previously known only to DMC is now also available to the customer and easily accessible. The customer can now first try out a number of parameters before they come up with a specific request. Bakker, “The application gives the customer a lot of insight and made it easier for us to create the optimal design.”


Manufacturing

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Parametric tool for automatic and optimal breakwater design

Original source: [Land+Water](https://mocs698.sharepoint.com/sites/Marketing/Gedeelde%20documenten/Marketing/Land%20+%20Water_%20Artikel%20module%20damwandconstructies%20%20ism%20Viktor.pdf), nr 3 – March 2020. K. Nijs / R. Reurings.

</br>

Companies in construction and infra are experiencing a turbulent transformation to higher levels of digitalization. The reason for this being that this sector is lagging behind quite significantly compared to other industries. Just like in other sectors, digital transformation is happening on all kinds of aspects and throughout all phases of a project. This means that digital transformation is a relevant topic from tender and engineering to execution and maintenance.
 
Voorbij Funderingstechniek noticed the potential of this transformation in their industry and decided to act upon it. How? By using VIKTOR to automate and optimize part of their processes to be able to generate the best designs fast!

## Process analysis determines potential

For the first step towards building their own app, Voorbij Funderingstechniek started with a process analysis. The goal of this analysis is to gain insight into the impact of automation on business processes and what this means for the current processes. 

This sparked some opportunities. Currently, a sheet pile calculation is still an intensive and iterative process. To come up with a first design, a significant number of variables needs to be considered, such as the layout of the soil, the desired excavation depth, environmental influences, loads, and desired construction phase. This results in one or more normative sections with corresponding starting points. 

After the first design, every small change requires a new model and a new calculation. That means that all files need to be copied and everywhere one parameter, such as the type of sheet pile, the length, or the drainage, needs to be changed manually. In a typical design process, the second design also does not meet all requirements yet. The process of copying and adjusting keeps repeating itself, for every defined section, multiple times. This is exactly where digitization makes a difference; by automating repetitive tasks a lot of time can be won. 

Another complication is that for projects with multiple sheet piles often a ‘normative’ design is used for all sheet piles. Here, a sheet pile is designed as well as possible (within the stated time) and duplicated to all other sheet piles.

![Blog_smart_application_contributes_sustainable_future_construction](https://cms.viktor.ai/uploads/Voorbij_areal_a17012b79f.jpg)


## Cost reduction

By automating the design process, a lot more design iterations can be performed, resulting in cost reduction with regards to materials used and time savings for engineering. Risk of errors becomes close to zero as well because processes are automatically copied, pasted, and adjusted. Additionally, and maybe most importantly, automating processes gives engineers more time to apply their specialist knowledge on more challenging projects to create a real added value. 

With their process analysis, Voorbij identified a couple of opportunities that function as input: 

- Repeatedly copying models
- Inserting variables
- Getting results per section

With a custom application on the VIKTOR platform, these processes can be automated and linked to different steps, such as analyzing CPTs, calculating designs in calculation software, and iterating until the results are sufficient. 

## Web-based

VIKTOR is a web-based platform for the development of online applications with Python. In Voorbij’s application, Python is used to program and guarantee professional and business knowledge, specifically by integrating all relevant data sources and software programs. 

With Voorbij’s VIKTOR app, data and analysis results are centralized and made available through a dashboard to all relevant (authorized) people. This ensures that everyone always has access to all insights and the correct up-to-date information.
 
To automate and later optimize sheet piles designs, the process first needs to be standardized in the application. To achieve standardization, the right ‘recipe’ needs to be discovered that always delivers a good result. Questions asked here are: “How do we process a CPT?” “How do we build the model and how do we process the results?”. Only after everyone agrees on this, automation can follow. 

![CC_Voorbij_sheet_piles](https://cms.viktor.ai/uploads/CC_Voorbij_sheet_piles_180f2cab82.png)

*Result output of the BASEFT Sheet Pile application*

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## Automation

The online application is designed as a central entry point of all variables. It creates the models itself, performs the calculations, and generates a summary of the results. 

If we follow this route, there is no need to perform any repetitive tasks. Do all sections roughly have the same excavation depth? Does the engineer want to iterate sheet pile lengths? In that case, the input only needs to be adjusted in one spot in the application to recalculate all the sections! Fast iterations like this, combined with the results gathered from multiple sections, generate lots of information that can be used to make connections between, for example, drainage and required sheet pile length. 

Automation is of course not restricted to inserting variables and generating models. Other processes, such as drainage, determining head heights (instead of manually inserting these in D-SheetPiling), and more, are automated as well. 

![CC_Voorbij_sheet_piles2](https://cms.viktor.ai/uploads/CC_Voorbij_sheet_piles2_b90017729c.png)

*Parameter input of the BASEFT Sheet Pile application*

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## Optimization 

Now that it is possible to automatically perform multiple sheet pile calculations, optimization can start. The most important question is: What is the goal of the optimization? Is this the cheapest, lowest CO2 emission? Or the easiest executable sheet pile? By specifically defining this goal, a couple of conditions will naturally follow. Based on these conditions, the application calculates the optimal design. This can be in either tens or even thousands of iterations. 

Let’s say that the cheapest sheet pile is your goal. In that case, the application works as follows: If the previous design is more than adequate and has a certain price, the next design can be repeated but for a shorter and lighter sheet pile with a lower price. If this design is no longer adequate, you can take a step back and make the sheet pile a bit heavier, but for a lower price than with the first design. This can be repeated until the optimum is found between price and requirements. 

In essence, digitization of the construction and infra sector should create a distinctiveness because the automation of repetitive work leaves engineers more time for the real and fun thinking. 

Automate the boring. Engineer the awesome! 

## Interested?

Are you interested in this development as well? Visit [www.voorbijfunderigstechniek.nl]( https://www.voorbijfunderingstechniek.nl/technieken/grondkerende-constructies/stalen-damwand) or contact Richard Reurings at r.reurings@voorbijft.nl for more information.


large_CC_sheetpile_voorbijFT

medium_CC_sheetpile_voorbijFT

small_CC_sheetpile_voorbijFT

thumbnail_CC_sheetpile_voorbijFT

CC_sheetpile_voorbijFT

VoorbijFT uses VIKTOR to automate and optimize part of their processes to be able to generate the best designs fast!

Optimal sheet pile design within reach

Customer cases