Utilizing SEEMS to Connect Design with Reality: Cutting Time Without Cutting Corners
Did you know that eighty-five percent of scaffolding project cost is spent on labour alone? In the past, this knowledge was greeted with a shrug by scaffolders: scaffolding took time, and that was that.
Standard Scaffold is grateful to offer a solution that provides an excellent range of control over project costs, labour, and planning thanks to a comprehensive work process known as Scaffold Estimation and Execution Management Systems (SEEMS). This is a work process used by our partner, AMECO, to connect design with reality by using 3D renderings to create scaffolding plans in real time. SEEMS is an all-encompassing system that begins with conceptual design and extends to tracking of actual execution. Not only does the work process tell us what we’ll need for the project and how long it will take, but it also provides a complete cost analysis.
The system utilized within the SEEMS process analyzes a minimal input of key data to determine the optimum scaffolding design, which results in decreased installation time, increased labor efficiency, cost reductions, and enhanced safety. The output provides scaffold coordinators with 3D drawings, labor hours, a supply list, and more, literally within minutes while on site.
SEEMS is changing our business and the scaffolding industry by providing custom solutions for complex problems.
Design & Estimating Capabilities
One component of SEEMS is AMECO’s in house program named Amped. Amped allows us to develop accurate scaffold design with the click of a button. The program estimates a vast amount of scaffolds within short periods of time, giving instant responses to various project needs in real time, down to the exact number of nuts and bolts required.
Scaffold planning is rarely linear: changes arise on a daily basis. While flexibility and problem solving are part of a scaffold coordinator’s job description, most scaffolding systems cannot compute changes in real time. Once the plan hits a roadblock, the majority of the rendering must be manually recreated from the ground up. Obviously, this results in a considerable amount of downtime for other scaffolding providers.
In contrast, the tools utilized in the SEEMS work process allows us to make a change midstream without scrapping the entire plan, which translates into minimal downtime when a challenge or obstacle arises in the field.
The time savings on estimating alone are enormous. Projects that previously took hours, or even days, to quote now take only a few minutes. This has enormous benefits for us and our customers.
With automated systems, we spend less time planning, and more time building.
Real-Time Capabilities = Real Time Savings
Project Management Capabilities
The next step in the SEEMS work process is to create Installation Work Packages by exporting models into the AMECO database. The Installation Work Packages delineate the construction process piece-by-piece and are scheduled in the same order the scaffolders will build it.
This results in optimized planning for each stage of scaffolding. For example, knowing the next steps means we can plan and coordinate personnel so that labourers and builders are properly scheduled for maximum productivity. Instead of builders jumping in to help with labour, the builders are busy building, and the labourers can use their time more efficiently.
As Installation Work Package tasks are finished, information on the completed activities and packages is relayed back to the database. Reports can be produced to show utilization rates, inventory tracking, forecasts, rental data, productivity information, and various other metrics.
The end result allows us to provide our clients with useful, immediate data on their projects in order to keep a clear visual on cost and efficiencies.
Risk Management & Competency
The automated components of the SEEMS work process minimizes risk by significantly reducing the number of human touch points. Instead of relying on a single individual to manually design an entire scaffold package using traditional systems, we can compute it.
This isn’t to say there is a lack of trust for human competency. On the contrary, the complex nature of scaffolding is what raises concerns for coordinators. A scaffold coordinator must have a thorough understanding of the project, materials, components, budget, safety needs, legislation requirements, and other variables. This represents a complex and time-intensive puzzle that the SEEMS process solves quickly and accurately using safety parameters. Safeguards exist within the SEEMS system to prevent scaffold design that does not meet safety and legislation requirements.
Overall, the SEEMS work process is a system that takes the pressure off a single individual. It also prevents overbuild. The best built scaffolds have minimal pieces. Instead of simply adding more and more components to “make it work”, SEEMS allows us to plan and provide an efficient solution to our customers by connecting design with reality.
Learn More About SEEMS
Scaffold Estimation and Execution Management Systems (SEEMS) is a comprehensive work process we utilize through AMECO for scaffold planning, project management, and client communication. Standard Scaffold is highly familiar with the system, and we’re happy to share how it works for any project size.
