PROJECT MANAGEMENT
The Reading upgrade project is further proving the use of 4D modelling as a project management tool across multiple disciplines, and showing how augmented reality might soon be used to revolutionise rail engineering and construction. RTM’s Adam Hewitt spent some time with the Engineering Data Management Team at Reading to find out more, and heard from head of the team, Fergal Malone.
4D
modelling and its applica- tions to project manage- ment have come on enor- mously since its first de- ployments in the 1990s on
the Channel Tunnel Rail Link project and latterly on the WCML upgrade.
Teams are now in place on the Reading sta- tion and track upgrade, on Crossrail, and on Thameslink, making use of the latest technology to truly change how engineers and construction workers do their jobs.
Fergal Malone, Engineering Data Manager at the Reading upgrade since May 2010, and a veteran of the CTRL and WCML implementations, told RTM that the potential uses of the tool are “mind- blowing”, but notes that for engineers and
28 | rail technology magazine Feb/Mar 12
construction teams, the “wow factor” in seeing a project come to life in stages on screen is not enough.
He said: “The wow quickly fades unless it’s got functionality that lets you see exactly how it’s going to help.”
But the team has plenty of examples of how they can help – including on site ac- cess, possession requirements, isolation requirements, highways access, protection arrangements, health and safety arrange- ments, risk management and environmen- tal considerations to name just some.
What is 4D modelling?
4D has gradually come to be used as a catch-all shorthand for all sorts of
modelling which should more accurately be described as 2D or 3D. The fourth dimension, of course, is time – meaning a project can be planned, tracked and then evaluated in detailed stages, simulated graphically day-by-day or hour-by-hour, and potential clashes can be detected early, both in terms of clashes between different designs relating to the same project, and how contractors may physically clash on- site at particular times.
Being able to actually see what will be where and when, represented as a graphi- cal simulation, is a great tool to do this.
Malone explained: “At a high level, the pur- pose of 4D is to tie graphical information into the project plan. That’s the traditional overview, but it’s only the tip of the iceberg.
Images courtesy Network Rail
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