Engineering Workflow Automation for Construction, EPC, and Oil & Gas

FormCalc for TEBAU: Wall & Slab-Edge Formwork Automation

Dividing every wall into panel sections with the most reuse across pours is a combinatorial problem – done by hand, 30-90 minutes per layout, redone on every drawing change. Slab-edge formwork had no tool at all.

We built a FormCalc-based AutoCAD plugin that lays out the panels, resolves corners, tracks reuse across pours, and generates the bill of materials – plus a module for the slab edges nobody had automated.

Result: layout from 30-90 minutes to ~2 minutes, bill of materials automatic and always in sync with the model.

POSforAFS: Automating Formwork Calculations Directly Inside AutoCAD

Built on FormCalc, configured to the client’s proprietary panel system and rules.

Formwork calculation ran days to weeks per project, and any design change meant redoing much of it from scratch. Two engineers on the same structure arrived at different panel counts, so quality control was guesswork – and an experienced engineer being unavailable stalled the job.

Result: 70% lower calculation cost. 85% faster turnaround – weeks to hours. Panel reuse optimised systematically instead of by judgement, and senior engineers freed for design work.

Operator Training Simulator for an Air Separation Unit Built from Detailed Design

Traditional training took 4-6 months with safety incidents during hands-on practice. Emergency scenarios couldn’t be practiced on live equipment – too dangerous. New operators felt unprepared when emergencies actually occurred. We built a Unity-based 3D training simulator from their P&IDs and process models. Operators practice normal operations, startup/shutdown procedures, and emergency responses in a safe virtual environment – making mistakes and learning without real-world consequences.

Onboarding from 4-6 months to 2-3 months, training cost per operator down 60%, procedure retention from around 60% to over 90%, incidents during onboarding down 80%, emergency response preparedness up 70%.

Dwg2ExcelExporter: Automated Data Extraction from AutoCAD Drawings to Structured Excel Reports

Dimensions, quantities and material codes sit locked in drawing geometry. Getting them into a spreadsheet meant reading values off the screen and retyping them – hours per drawing set, with every misread digit propagating into procurement and cost estimates before anyone noticed.

We built an AutoCAD plugin that scans the drawing, extracts against configurable criteria, runs the calculations, and generates a formatted Excel report.

Result: reporting from hours to seconds. Transcription errors eliminated. Every report reflects the current drawing revision.

Integration of CAD/BIM with SAP for a Midstream Gas Processing Plant

Engineering worked in Plant 3D while procurement ran on SAP, with no automated connection between them. Every Engineering BoM – thousands of line items per package – was re-entered by hand at roughly 4 hours and a ~15% error rate. Project managers had no view of material availability during design, and asset handover to operations ran consistently 6+ weeks late.

BoM entry ~4 hours → under 15 minutes per package. Errors ~15% → under 2%. Handover 6+ weeks → 1 week. Asset registration ~10 days → same day. Roughly $120,000 in annual engineering labour savings – about 1,200 hours at a $100/hour rate.

3D Model Review Tool for Multi-Disciplinary Clash Management on a Gas Processing Facility

Four disciplines coordinating a gas processing facility, with clashes tracked in spreadsheets and model revisions circulating without version control. Resolving a single clash took three to five days, most of it spent establishing who owned it.

We built a platform with a smart clash register, named ownership, version control, and live dashboards.

Result: clash resolution from 3-5 days to under 1 day. Duplicate clashes down 90%.

Keraglass: Automating Glass Embossing Drawing Preparation Inside AutoCAD

Every embossing order meant placing circle patterns along the glass contour by hand – diameters, spacing, row counts, element by element. Hours of drafting per drawing, restarted for every new size, and a single missed fill meant rerunning the job.

We built an AutoCAD plugin that generates the full pattern from a few inputs, fills closed areas in one command, and stores the parameters inside the drawing for reuse.

Result: drawing preparation from hours to minutes. Fill errors eliminated. Consistent output regardless of who runs it.