Category: Case-Study

History Files: Busway success – Max Padovan & Associates (MPA Surveying)

Max Padovan & Associates (MPA Surveying) has built a strong reputation for delivering high-quality surveying services across Australia’s major infrastructure, mining, and construction projects. With decades of experience and a focus on maintaining consistent surveying standards, MPA has played a key role in the successful delivery of numerous large-scale developments. This project highlights MPA’s contribution to a busway infrastructure project, showcasing the expertise, precision, and innovative surveying practices that have made the company a trusted partner on complex civil construction projects.

Founded by Max Padovan in January 1988 and incorporated in November 1995 in response to increased demand for its services, Max Padovan & Associates (MPA) continues to expand and now has offices in Brisbane, Maleny, Mackay, and Charters Towers. The firm can best be described as being in the business of providing surveying services to increase the productivity and reliability of Project environments through the assessment, implementation and ongoing support of surveyors, survey crews and in-house surveying computer services. MPA’s key strength has been the ability to provide a surveying consultancy service with particular emphasis on the standards and practices used on each project.

From initial assessments through to final implementation, MPA has undertaken and completed several medium-tolarge Mining and Construction Projects during recent years, including Projects for several large corporate clients.

Recent Projects include the Roma Street Parklands, Queensland University Convention Centre, the Gold Coast Rail Line – Civil 7, the Roy Wallace Building at Southbank Institute of TAFE, and the Southeast Transit Authority – Package 4 – for which 12d Model was used with great success.

MPA was the survey consultant to the principal contractor Henry Walker Eltin for the South East Transit project SET4. The project consisted of 6km of busway from Brisbane’s Nathan to Eight Mile plains with the addition of transit lanes to the Pacific Motorway. Associated with the construction was approximately 8km of retaining walls, 13 bridges, and two bus stations.

12d Model was chosen as the main software package used by MPA on site, a decision which was never regretted as more features were added throughout the project and greater reliability was placed on it.

As progress claims are submitted by the contractor at the end of each month, quantities are required quickly and in such a way as to allow future auditing and justification of the claim. The use of supertins in 12d Model allowed MPA to complete their field survey using predominately GPS, then produce a surface which combined all of the previous months’ surveys. Often the requirement for detail and bulk quantities to be broken down by geographical area and type meant that 80-100 separate quantities were reported that month in their survey report.

As an aid for construction planning and mass haul calculation, the remaining quantities to end of project were also reported. This entire process could be completed within 2 days from the start of the end-ofmonth process.

“Often there is a need to relate the design concept to field supervisors and Engineers,” said MPA’s Ken Cross. “12d’s three-dimensional visualisation capabilities were useful in this regard and they made constant use of dynamic sectioning and drive throughs for this purpose. The drive through method was also useful when checking for gross error in end-of-month surveys.”

On the dynamic section through the data, MPA would typically turn on models representing the original surface, the latest end-of-month surface, design to subgrade and design finished level. The ease and speed with which this information could be displayed and updated on screen made it extremely useful for design visualisation. MPA provided the quantities and geometry for traffic switches during the different phases of construction. 12d’s simple editing of horizontal and vertical geometry made this a far simpler task, as usually the designs were altered several times to suit cost, constructability and time constraints. At each change, quantities were able to be rapidly provided and costs determined for asphalt, paving etc.

Several design changes were made to the original in order to produce cost or time savings, particularly with the retaining walls, and 12d proved quite useful here for the rapid display of construction elements in the cross sections.

During the project, many times per day, Engineers or Supervisors would require spatial information pertaining to design relative to current construction, and 12d Model has several useful tools for providing quick answers to questions such as: ‘How much material do I need to order for a retaining wall backfill?’ and ‘How far down is it to the existing stormwater pipe from our current position?’ The dynamic depth between tin surfaces, flow arrows, and dynamic display of crossfall between strings were just a few of the features MPA utilised constantly for this purpose.

Another feature MPA used frequently is the ability to use pipe linetypes in cross section and therefore check clearances to existing services during construction.“We have used 12d Model every day for 2 years,” Mr Cross said. “In south-east Queensland, for any roadworks that we’re involved in, and even for construction work, we use 12d. It’s going really well.”

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History Files: 12d ideal for Northala Fields

The Northala Fields regeneration project for the London Borough of Ealing saw consultant Peter Brett Associates and contractor Stantec (https://www.stantec.com/uk) contribute to the successful delivery of a complex earthworks and landscape transformation using 12d Model.

Northala Fields occupies some 18.5 ha in the Northolt area of the London Borough of Ealing (LBE) and is at the heart, both physically and strategically, of the larger development of the Northolt and Greenford Countryside Park (an area of over 100 ha). The site has long been recognised as the central component, connecting the surrounding areas, facilities and features for the community, and as such the LBE wished to develop the area using a very creative solution.

In order to achieve the vision for Northala Fields, it was proposed that the development generate its own funding, through the importation onto site of a substantial volume of select quality fill (approximately 500,000 cubic metres).

The new landform created by this importation would then enable a number of other development goals for the site to be achieved, including:
• a series of separate lakes of different depths for fishing and model sail boats
• an ecological area to the south of the site which will also form part of the Northolt Golf Club extension
• modifications to Northolt Golf Club
• improved sporting facilities (hard surface area for basketball, football wall etc)
• a children’s playground
• seats and picnic tables throughout the park in key locations
• car parking areas
• a footbridge across Kensington Road
• a grassed amphitheatre.

Consulting engineering firm Peter Brett Associates was approached to provide the necessary geo-technical and earthworks engineering information for the project. It was quickly decided that due to the size and complexity of the project, 12d Model software would be a definite advantage as it allows quick and accurate surface modelling, volume calculations and high quality output of both engineering drawings, as well as 3D public display images.

Given the extremely tight deadline for the project, without the support of 12d Solutions the project would not have been the success that it has become.

History Files: Bunbury Trotting Complex Upgrade – Thompson McRobert Edgeloe (TME) – now WSP

What began as a $1.36 million redevelopment became one of Australia’s most impressive harness racing facilities.

Led by Thompson McRobert Edgeloe (TME), the Bunbury Trotting Complex in Western Australia was completely reimagined—from replacing the existing 800-metre track with a new 960-metre world-class circuit to modernising the entire precinct with new stables, public viewing areas, broadcast facilities, and upgraded lighting.

Designing a track capable of delivering fast, fair racing while reducing stress on horses required extensive research and precise engineering. Every aspect of the geometry—from spiral curves to transitions—was carefully optimised to create one of the fastest harness racing tracks in Australia.

Using 12d Model, the entire project was digitally modelled, allowing the team to refine complex geometry with confidence and provide contractors with highly accurate construction data to achieve an impressive 5 mm surface tolerance. The same model was also exported into 3D visualisation software, enabling realistic renders and animations that helped communicate the final vision before construction.

The success of the Bunbury redevelopment quickly led to further opportunities, with TME commissioned to design additional harness racing facilities across Western Australia and Victoria.

Perhaps the project’s greatest endorsement came from those who raced on it. As leading Bunbury trainer Andrew DeCampo simply put it:

“It’s brilliant, mate, absolutely brilliant!”

History Files: Aussie, Aussie, Aussie

The Sydney 2000 Olympic Games (https://www.olympic.org/sydney-2000) showcased world-class sporting infrastructure and engineering excellence, delivering a landmark event that set new standards for venue design, construction, and urban development in New South Wales, Australia.

They were “the best Games ever”, and it is fitting that Australian-developed software played a key role in the construction of many of the venues and infrastructure which contributed to the success of the much-lauded Sydney 2000 Olympics.

The pressure was on to create a series of world-class venues in time for the illustrious event. Many companies were involved.

4d Model, now known as 12d Model, was used by principal consultants and contractors such as Abigroup, Connell Wagner, Walter Construction Group, Sinclair Knight Merz, SMEC (Snowy Mountains Engineering Corporation) and Daracon Engineering for the construction of the Athletics Centre, Hockey Centre, Newington Olympic Village, the Regatta Centre – Penrith, Stadium Australia, the SuperDome, the Tennis Centre, the Sydney Showground and the Velodrome – Bankstown.

The software also was used for:
– the Homebush Bay Infrastructure which included the main boulevarde and major roads;
– all of the inground services – water, power, communications, gas – associated with putting that infrastructure into place;
– the northern water feature, Fig Grove;
– the central water feature, Homebush Bay;
– the Archery Marker and Bennelong Road intersection;
– pedestrian bridges, paved areas and light towers.

For one of the major facilities, the fully covered Sydney SuperDome built by civil construction giant, Abigroup Contractors, 12d Model ensured on-site quality assurance checking of all steps in the construction of Australia’s largest indoor sports and entertainment centre. Architectural and engineering service models were fed on-site into a 12d Model to ensure construction of the arena went according to plan.

“12d Model has proved to be an excellent tool for handling extremely large project models,” said a spokesperson for Abigroup.

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History Files: Engineering the Auxiliary Spillway at Warragamba – SMEC

In collaboration with the Sydney Catchment Authority, SMEC harnessed the capabilities of 4D Model (now 12d Model) to design and deliver key components of the Warragamba Dam Auxiliary Spillway project, enhancing design accuracy, visualisation, and earthworks management for a major infrastructure upgrade.

The major source of Sydney’s water supply is Warragamba Dam. Australia’s fourth largest dam, its primary function is to provide a water supply for the Sydney Metropolitan area. When adequate quantities of water are stored to meet these needs, electricity is generated and fed into the NSW grid by the hydro-electric power station located at the base of the dam.

Warragamba Dam is in the High Incremental Flood Hazard category and to prevent overtopping of the dam in extreme flood events, an auxiliary spillway is being constructed adjacent to the dam to divert floodwaters in excess of the capacity of the existing spillway.

The auxiliary spillway is a major civil engineering project due for completion in mid-2001. The works are being undertaken on a design and construct basis for the Sydney Catchment Authority (previously known as the Sydney Water Corporation) to improve the safety of the dam. In December 1998, the contract for the design and engineering of the spillway was awarded to SMEC, the Snowy Mountains Engineering Corporation.

The project involves major excavation – some 1.8 million cubic metres of sandstone and overburden is being removed and transported to a spoil emplacement – and the concrete lining of the auxiliary chute spillway which will be approximately 650 metres long and drop 50 metres before discharging to the river.

Five fuse plugs – embankments that are designed to wash away when overtopped – are being built at the upstream end of the spillway chute to prevent the auxiliary spillway from operating in flood flows smaller than about a one in 750 chance of occurrence in any year.

Generally, the floor and wall of the spillway chute are in the form of a reinforced concrete lining against the excavated rock surface, however, one section of the spillway over an existing creek line will be constructed on compacted fill with cantilever walls on either sides. A bridge across the spillway, and a new road, are designed to provide access to the crest of the dam, the Valve House and the hydro-electric power station at the base of the dam.

Following concept design carried out by the Department of Public Works and Services, SMEC is responsible for the development of the detailed design – from concept to production of construction drawings. A vital component in SMEC’s engineering design work is 4D Model (later renamed 12d Model) software. Design draftsman on the project, Michael Kurtz, says it contains all the options necessary to produce a digital terrain model (DTM), including fast triangulation, contouring and sectioning routines, and to calculate spill volumes for accurate placement and subsequent costing of the work carried out.

Warragamba Project Manager, John Gray, said 4D Model software was primarily used for design and modelling of the auxiliary spillway and associated access structures such as roads and the bridge approach, along with calculation of spill volumes.

“Using 4D allows us to continually modify designs,” Michael said, “and, most importantly, to do it quickly. 4D allowed us to complete re-designed versions very fast for presentation to the client and to show the designs interactively in plan and sectional views. We also had to continually modify the design to fit the spoil emplacement within specified confines nominated by the client. The spoil would not fit into the area initially defined and required many modifications of the design.

“The perspectives we can provide using 4D are an easy way to convey a design to people who find engineering plans and contours difficult to interpret,” Michael said. SMEC uses the 4D alignment module to construct strings consisting of horizontal and vertical geometry. These horizontal and vertical components are created and edited interactively using the IP method on plan and section views.

SMEC is also using the 4D Drainage Module in the Warragamba project. This module supports the display of drainage networks typically required for development projects and new land subdivisions. An added bonus SMEC encountered using 4D was the ease with which the model output could be checked at any stage of the design process.

Following development of a design component, a copy of the model was produced for checking and further development by design engineer, Tim Loffler. Tim, who had no previous training in the software, said he found it “a most intuitive package” and that he could view and interrogate the model after getting a feel for the way in which the program operates.

“The program is very robust and will faithfully do what you ask it to do,” he said.

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History Files: 12d Model helps to build Queensland’s Smart Road – John Holland Construction/Barclay Mowlem Pty Ltd

Queensland Department of Transport and Main Roads’ Pacific Highway Upgrade (Logan to Stapylton section), delivered by John Holland/Barclay Mowlem JV and supported by Robert Smith’s implementation of 4D Model software, demonstrated how advanced digital modelling streamlined the construction, volume calculations, and survey management of Queensland’s largest road infrastructure project.

One of the most heavily trafficked routes in Australia is the Pacific Highway between Brisbane and the Gold Coast. Traffic using that section of the Pacific Highway has increased more rapidly than on any other highway in Australia, quadrupling since the road was built in the 1960s.

To address the problem of the increasing strain of south-east Queensland’s transport infrastructure, the Queensland State Government has developed an Integrated Regional Transport Plan for the region.

Part of this plan is to upgrade the Pacific Highway to an eight and six-lane Motorway between Logan, just south of Brisbane, and Nerang, on Queensland’s Gold Coast. A Queensland Department of Main Roads project, it is the largest road project ever undertaken in Queensland and is to be completed by September 2000.

For construction purposes, the 43km Motorway project has been divided into six sections with contracts awarded to a variety of engineering firms. The highest value contract – $120 million – was awarded as a joint venture to John Holland Construction/Barclay Mowlem Pty Ltd for eight lanes for the section Logan to Stapylton, a distance of 7.4km, due for completion in March 2000.

Integral to construction of this section of the Motorway, is the use by the John Holland/Barclay Mowlem Surveying Department of 4D Model (later renamed 12d Model) software.

Robert Smith, the surveyor primarily responsible for running the computing operations of the joint venture’s Surveying Department, has developed an application based on 4D Model which, he explained, “allows me to manipulate the huge amounts of data involved to create the individual layers which make up the road and extract various quantities out of it”.

His application involves taking the initial output, received as design files and natural surface files, from Queensland Main Roads and, using 4D, to convert this data into what he describes as “useful 4D data sets”. Robert then creates cross sections on various alignments and applies 4D Model’s boxing or template functions to create various layers which are then triangulated.

The volumes of various materials used in the different layers which comprise construction of a road – from the embankment layer through the various layers of gravel on top of that, to the paving and bitumen components – are then calculated in order to determine the quantity for payment purposes on completion of the work.

The design files are also used concurrently with traditional plans to aid the construction process. Macros are used to create files for “TP SETOUT” software, run by the field surveyors in their HP 200 palm top computers.

From data in the natural surface file and survey data collected by site surveyors, further ‘layers’, such as existing ground, existing underground services, are created in data sets to aid the construction process. This means potential clashes between the profiled string and services, such as telephone lines, electricity cables, gas lines and drainage and water pipes, are easy to detect. In a further step, an existing ground model is triangulated for future volume calculations.

Triangulation has options to calculate surface area, depth contours (isopachs) and the intersection of triangulations, and options for slope, aspect and viewshed analysis. Colour coding can be used for the slope and aspect analyses.

The advantage of using 4D Model, Robert says, is that in the manipulation of all the data the ‘layering’ steps entail, “4D lets us run unlimited data sets and points and it’s very fast at running volumes”.

He says 4D Model’s boxing, template and volume computations have “made the job a lot easier and faster, and its interactive capabilities provide immediate feedback at every stage. It is also easy to use,” he added.

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History Files: North Kiama Bypass – Roads and Maritime Services NSW

For the North Kiama Bypass project in New South Wales, Australia, RMS NSW, with Project Design Supervisor John Burns, utilised 4D Model to rapidly develop an award-winning interactive presentation that supported planning approvals, enabled real-time design evaluation, and showcased the power of digital modelling in complex transport infrastructure projects.

A presentation on the proposed North Kiama bypass, developed by the RTA (Roads and Traffic Authority) Wollongong’s Technology Branch using 4D Model civil and surveying software, has won an RTA Technology Merit Award for outstanding achievement. The presentation, using a laptop computer and overhead screen, was produced for the Commission of Inquiry into the bypass and according to John Burns, Project Design Supervisor, RTA Wollongong, it was received extremely well by all present.

“And what was even more pleasing was that the whole presentation was developed in under four weeks to meet a very tight deadline,” said Mr Burns.The North Kiama bypass project had been going on for around 10 years, due largely to the fact that it impacted on an environmentally-sensitive wetlands area. The local council had refused to approve the project, so it had to be put in front of a public hearing, or Commission of Inquiry, in order to gain State Government approval. The RTA received notification that the Commission of Inquiry would take place in six weeks time.

“We had to decide in a hurry how we would prepare our presentation,” said Mr Burns. “We had to come up with something which could be done quickly but which would be accurate and also be ’live’ so that we could answer ’what-if’ questions on the spot.

“We were long-term users of Moss for road design work,” he said. “It’s a good design tool but not one which you can use for quick and accurate concept work, which was what was needed as we had to present the Commission with options for the bypass route.”We had seen 4D Model previously, so knew it was exactly what we needed to do such a job in a hurry. To make sure it could be done, we asked Lee Gregory from 4D Solutions to come down and carry out an on-site demonstration of the capabilities of 4D Model.

“We then produced a quick business plan submission and obtained approval to purchase the software. It was installed quickly but by now we only had four weeks left to go until the Commission of Inquiry. We knew that, with such an extremely tight time-frame, we would not have time to train-up on 4D Model ourselves, but we had a competent operator elsewhere in the RTA in the form of Ray Tester from our Wagga Wagga office, who was a very experienced 4D Model user. Ray was seconded, on a part-time basis, to help us out, and things got underway,” said Mr Burns.

The initial steps for the RTA were to obtain digitised contour maps of the area, plus cadastral information and aerial photographs to locate and define vegetation limits and sensitive wetland areas. This information was used to start building up layers using Microstation to create the base model. This base model was then put into 4D Model and detailed concepts, interchange layouts, earthworks, boundary details and options were established.

“We wanted to be prepared from the first day of the Commission to be able to answer any design questions and present alternatives for the Commissioner, the members of public and the RTA personnel present, in a quick, accurate format,” said Mr Burns. “With 4D Model we were able to do this very quickly and present the updated information on screen.

“Everyone was very impressed with the speed and quality of the presentation,” he said. “4D Model also allowed us to do a walk- and drive-through video presentation, which helped clarify everyone’s perceptions of what the bypass would look like and, we believe, helped with the final decision. Ray Tester’s skills in the use of 4D were crucial in the design and presentation of this project. He obviously did a great job, as not only was the reception at the Commission excellent, but we subsequently received the RTA Merit Award.

“We are, of course, still using 4D, and we now have two licences servicing 15 workstations,” said Mr Burns. “I can’t praise 4D enough and their product support is also great.

“We used to produce our initial concepts by hand from contour plans then go into Moss,” he said. “This was satisfactory for simple jobs but created problems with complex projects. Now we start with 4D Model and produce the horizontal and vertical geometry, earthworks and cross-sections then go into Moss for the final design, and we obtain a much better result. We are currently investigating the purchase of software which will enable us to scan ortho/topo maps, build up a 3D model from this and then use 4D to produce an electronic, instead of a hand-produced, concept,” he said. “Then we’ll see an even bigger improvement”

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History Files: Sydney Olympic Arena Checks in with 12d Model

For the Millennium project at Sydney Olympic Park, contractor Graham Wirth and Abigroup (now Lendlease – https://www.lendlease.com/au/) leveraged advanced 12d Model technology to deliver precise on-site quality assurance for the construction of Australia’s largest indoor sports and entertainment arena in NSW, Australia.

On-site quality assurance checking of all steps in the construction of Australia’s largest indoor sports and entertainment centre is being carried out through 4D Model (later renamed 12d Model).

Architectural and engineering service models are being fed on-site into a 4D survey model to ensure that construction of the Multi-Use Arena at Sydney Olympic Park, Homebush, goes exactly according to plan.

The Multi-Use Arena is being designed and built by construction giant Abigroup Contractors. As well as being a key venue for the Sydney 2000 Olympic Games and Paralympic Games, it is expected to meet Sydney’s sporting and entertainment needs well into the future. Abigroup will operate the facility for 30 years through its control of Millennium, the management company for the Arena.

The fully roofed Arena has a 48 x 75 metre event floor which is surrounded by five levels of seating which can accommodate up to 20,000 spectators. The performance space is free of columns, which provides an uninterrupted view from all seats. There is also a large rehearsal hall with retractable seating for 900. The Arena is adjacent to a 3,500 space car park, also being built by Abigroup, which will be shared by other facilities at Homebush Bay.

Abigroup’s Chief Surveyor, Graham Wirth, said the 4D Model software was rigorously tested in an on-site trial before the company committed to long-term purchase. “The software is being used for survey file management, calculations and storage of as-constructed information,” he said. “During the trial period we found 4D Model superior to other systems in terms of speed, file handling and ability to transfer data to and from other packages. It is now coping with a huge amount of data and performing admirably.” 

Drawings and 2D files are supplied to the on-site surveyors, who put the files into 4D Model and convert them to 3D. The data in these files is compared with on-site survey information models built in 4D Model so that there are no possible clashes in the siting of engineering services, such as storm water grease lines and telecom lines, and structure positions, such as piling.

On-site survey information is collected using the TPSETOUT survey software package which links directly into 4D Model. TP-SETOUT records field data and compares the measurements to design parameters for setout and QA (quality assurance) purposes, then the data is compiled in 4D Model for quantity computations, data storage and transfer, and design modifications.

“The data is put together in 4D Model in layers, which is an excellent feature for visualisation,” said Mr Wirth. “Another good feature is the ability to use very long file names to enhance file management. “We are currently checking ground slabs in 4D model and are using around 30 layers at the moment for all our data,” he said. “We expect that by the time construction is finished in August 1999 this will at least double.

“4D Model is proving an excellent tool for handling very large project models. Our models currently contain about 60,000 to 70,000 points and this should at least double,” he said. “We’re confident that 4D Model will successfully see us through to the end of the project.”

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History Files: Waterman floods the UK – Waterman Civil & Transportation Group

In collaboration with the Environment Agency in the United Kingdom, Waterman Group utilised 12d Model to undertake a detailed flood risk assessment for a major 3,000-home development, streamlining complex data workflows, enhancing analysis precision, and supporting effective planning outcomes.

Waterman Civil & Transportation Group (WCT) was one of the original 12d Model software users in the UK and have finalised an initial study for a housing development of 3000 homes at Waterlooville on the South Coast of England.

This study involved a detailed assessment of flood risk in the area. The Environment Agency had done rough flood outlines based on a 50m grid using the Flood Studies Report, but a detailed assessment was required for planning to determine the existing flood plain and to compare this with another ‘post development’ flood study.

For cost and speed, aerial photogrammetery was ordered to cover the entire site and local surveyors were used to locate the property boundary using traditional means. The resultant photogrammetery (dgn format) and boundary (dxf format) were merged into a single 12d digital terrain model of several hundred thousand points.

To obtain finer detail of the river and to verify the model of the plain, further detailed river cross sections were then surveyed. In the office, work began on building the HEC RAS project inside 12d Model.

After ensuring concurrence on hydrological methodologies with the local Environment Agency office, WCT carried out the back water hydraulic study. Graduate Engineer and 12d user Richard Russell said, “Using 12d with HEC RAS I was able to devote more time to sensitivity tests in HEC RAS and in 12d. I had the luxury of time to try different roughness coefficients and to test if ground cover picked up with the photogrammetery had a significant impact on the results. This gave us better confidence in the final results”.

In addition to creating the HEC RAS project, 12d Model was used to present the water level results. Detailed drawings were produced for submission to the Environment Agency. Internally the visualisation abilities in 12d allowed quick checking at all stages including the final water levels.

Project Director for WCT, Stuart Aldridge, commented, “12d cut the time taken for this type of study significantly. This was the first time we had used 12d for flood modelling and we were very impressed.

“Previously, significant resources were devoted to what I now view as laborious and unnecessary data entry. We also get to use survey data at a much earlier stage, which is proving useful on such a big development. We still propose a detailed survey for a later date, but for now our client can defer the significant cost of the survey until much later.”

While WCT and their client were benefiting from using 12d Model on this project, the two other parties involved also had the opportunity to see 12d in action on a live project. Although both have different interests and uses for 12d, surveyors Julian Brotherton & Partners and the Environment Agency were both impressed with 12d’s quick manipulation of data and 3d abilities. Within a few months both parties became 12d users themselves.

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History Files: Main Roads working smarter, designing faster

ROADTEK Consulting Services (https://www.tmr.qld.gov.au/), led by contractor Wayne Hansen, successfully leveraged 12d Model to streamline the complete survey, design, and construction setout process for the Marburg Rosewood Road upgrade project in Queensland, Australia.

When surveyors from Queensland’s Department of Main Roads ROADTEK Consulting Services were requested to survey a road corridor on Queensland’s Marburg Rosewood Road, some 60km west of the Brisbane CBD, they elected to use 12d Model and Fieldbook 2000, which has set a new benchmark in the presentation of survey information.

Prior to using 12d Model, survey information was processed using CivilCAD or Geocomp and the project was designed using MOSS and AutoCAD. Setout for construction was always manual input from construction plans.

For this project, features and terrain details were captured using a Geodimeter 610 Total Station. The raw survey data was processed using 12d Model to produce the Fieldbook 2000 verification plots and the 12d ascii files for the design team.

The existing and relocated services were also provided in a 12d ascii format using ‘super string’ attributes. “On the Marburg Road construction project, Main Roads surveyors used 12d in the field for the actual setout of the control lines, drainage structures and roadside furniture,” explained Wayne Hansen, Supervising Engineering Surveyor, Queensland Main Roads.

“All this information was accessed via their laptop computers. Using macros, relevant information was converted into suitable formats for direct uploading into the survey instruments. This eliminates the chance of introducing transposing errors which could have occurred previously as all the data was input into the instruments manually,” he said.

“I believe this is the first time that the whole process has been completed using only one software package.” A part of the project in which 12d was instrumental involved replacement of an existing timber bridge over Black Snake Creek with a skewed 3/3600×2100 RCBC on a realigned section of road reconstruction. The reconstruction works involved removal of existing seal, scarifying existing pavement and spreading it to a new width and crossfall profile, and incorporating additional pavement material to provide a finished full-width seal 100mm higher than the existing one. The design also required realignment of two intersections.

Drainage was also updated using 12d Model to determine excavation quantities and 12d stream x-sections were used to calculate stream tail water depths. The software was used to measure power pole distances to the new edge line which was used in the process to determine relocation works of power poles from the clear zone. 12d Model provided all required outputs to enable service conflict locations to be priced and relocated prior to construction.

Service Super Strings enabled any long section or crosssection to be developed showing comparison between design/subgrade ‘boxing’ surfaces with services. Earth works and pavement quantities were calculated using both the x-sectional area method and tin-to-tin method. The perspective view was used with the drive-through option to view the x-sectional strings and final design which included ground surface and design surface combined as a super tin. This enabled a check of input and the software enabled sight distance to be monitored. The Digital Design Model created with 12d Model also allowed designers access to information as required.

“The actual setout is streamlined, volume calculations can be determined quickly and accurately and underground services can be viewed on screen, allowing clearances from proposed excavations to be checked before the machines cause damage,” a spokesperson explained.

“With the perspective view in 12d Model, job personnel can actually be driven through the completed project before work starts. This is a great benefit, as they can visualise the finished job. “The digital model eliminates transcription errors by the designers and the transposing errors of the surveyors.

According to Wayne, “12d Model is stable, reliable and easy to use and, in Main Roads instance, the incorporation of macros and user menus written by our staff have further streamlined work practices.”

“12d Model helps us work smarter, design faster,” he said. “Whereas other companies seem to be reluctant to improve their software, 4D Solutions is continually improving its offering, particularly in the area of ‘super strings’.”

Queensland Department of Main Roads has an installed base of 130 licences of 12d Model to date.

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