With the Aecon team producing panels off-site and transporting them to the expressway deck for installation, measurements had to be precise – as in millimeters – on evert one of the 400 panels fabricated. Both the client and bridge replacement technique demanded extremely tight engineering parameters with limited tolerance for panels not meeting exact specifications. Enter the IDD team. We were able to utilize the IDD software (scan to BIM) application from the start to finish on this project. The Aecon Survey and IDD team scanned the steel to ensure the camber, length, and steel geometry was unique in its design location. Putting the bridge deck together was like constructing a huge jigsaw puzzle.
Once the steel girders met tolerances, then went off to formwork, concrete pouring and accelerated steam curing to meet schedule and, eventually form removal. Once this step was complete, the IDD team stepped in again to ensure Aecon was withing 5-10 mm of the design specifications, accounting for settlement once installed and under load. Anything exceeding tolerance was evaluated and a mitigation plan was developed.
IDD and survey team were also relied on for ensuring the panels were in alignment once installed on the deck. Non-conformance reports from the client were minimal and what was issued was resolved through IDD generated visualized models of the entire deck, demonstrating the required adjustments within the design tolerances and to the performance criteria. As a result, none of the panels required any rework.
