Information Technology in Structural Steel Industry

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Information Technology in Structural Steel
Industry
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Building structural steel a 12.5 billion dollar
industry. - 5.5B in fabrication business
(buildings only, not bridges or process plants) -
7.2 in erection and assembly business The
average value added, from material input to
billings, is an increase of about 51, (47 for
fabrication, 55 for erection). The structural
industry has a national association, called the
American Institute of Steel Construction. It has
led several IT iniatives for the industry.
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Will improvements be to just compete against
others in the same market or grow the whole
market?
The in-place concrete market is about the same
size or larger significant gains on concrete
could grow the whole market
(difficulty of determining exact amount of
concrete sales that is structural in-place
concrete)
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High Level Structural Steel Production Process
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Process in a Steel Fabrication Plant
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Curved Parts
Castellated parts
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In the 1990s, most steel fabrication shops
adopted the standard DP tools, for accounting,
scheduling, purchase ordering. They became
familiar with the technology, its operation, its
requirements for training and upgrade. Some added
IT staff.
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Steel industry has a variety of 3D design layout
applications
3D
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Steel industry has a variety of 3D design layout
applications
Structural Triforma,
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Has automation of production technologies ready
to apply, to reduce labor costs, improve quality
automated welding, drilling, cutting machinery
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Has 3D knowledge-rich shop drawing applications
SDS/2, Xsteel, Strucad
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Joint Detailing is Being Largely Automated
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CIMsteel 2

• Adopted by AISC in 1998
• Provides a product data model for integrating all
  steel shop drawing fabrication applications
• Tested and incorporated revisions in Europe
  (CIS)
• GA Tech Architecture is Technical Advisor
  (contract w/ AISC)
• First demonstration applications have taken place

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CIS/2 is the First Production Building Model in
the U.S.
Design applications Triforma-Structural 3D Framew
orks Structural Workbench
Shop Drawing Applications SDS/2 Xsteel
Structural applications GT-STRUDL SAP ETABS RAM
BOM costing Applications Fabtrol
9 firms have developed interfaces w/ CIS/2
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Half a dozen building have been built using CIS/2
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Half a dozen building have been built using CIS/2
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Steel case study
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No more design or shop drawings!