WSP in Victoria, Australia (https://www.wsp.com/en-AU) has been involved in a number of infrastructure projects, working alongside various clients and contractors, including David Rotton, to deliver coordinated engineering solutions.
Parsons Brinckerhoff has been involved in a number of large-scale, high-profile projects covering the design of roads, drainage, sewer, water, and other associated infrastructure, as well as bulk earthwork modelling. Their project teams used 12d Model software to address a range of complex and non-standard challenges, often requiring innovative and customised solutions. Given the scale and nature of these projects, they also needed to collaborate closely with multiple consulting engineering companies, which meant their chosen software had to interact seamlessly with different design platforms used across project teams.
A key requirement was the ability to check clearance and identify potential clashes between services designed in 12d Model and those produced in other software packages. However, limitations in compatibility between import and export formats across platforms meant that alternative methods had to be developed to enable reliable data exchange between systems. This was particularly important for transferring three-dimensional pipeline data elements across drainage, sewer, water, and related services. In addition, the team explored new applications of 12d Model by successfully modelling complex electrical and chemical box culvert systems, which had not previously been attempted.
To address these challenges, detailed working procedures were developed, including step-by-step guides to support consistent data transfer across project teams. These processes enabled 12d Model to export data in .csv format in a structure that could be read by other software, as well as import .csv data generated externally back into the model environment. A custom macro was created to extract three-dimensional pipe data from 12d Model and export it into .csv files for use in other platforms. Electrical and chemical box culverts were modelled using an adapted approach based on drainage strings, with the Drainage Network Editor used to define culvert height and width. The Drainage Plan Plot function, supported by a modified plot parameter file, was then used to represent the culverts with accurate internal geometry, enabling effective service clash detection directly within 12d Model.
Through the use of 12d Model software and these tailored workflows, the team was able to overcome a range of complex and non-standard design challenges across very large projects. This approach also supported effective collaboration with multiple consulting engineering companies, ensuring smooth interaction between 12d Model and the various design software platforms used across project stakeholders.
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