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Architects and structural engineers are invited to join the project in one of a number of roles; editor, owner or viewer. An email is sent to notify users that the project is being shared and a copy of the model is created and sent to each participating engineer, with subsequent communication via standard emails. The file sharing process then operates on the basis of users reading in model changes and returning their own amendments to the originating model for distribution to all connected parties. The process has to be carefully managed to prevent two contributors modifying the same elements at the same time and thereby invalidating one another’s changes.

Tekla has addressed this by creating lists of the modifications within a model throughout the editing processes, showing which model files have been opened and what objects have been added, thereby creating a complete audit trail in real time of the changes being made to the model.

To support the process, and to ensure that any clashes can be recovered from, a baseline copy of the model is retained, taken prior to an editing session, which users can revert back to. Users logging on to an editing session are provided with a list of available updates and possible contentions in the changes.

Although the process is far more visible to all contributors, there may be elements that particular editors may not want to share with other members of the team - where the model owner or other users may not wish to reveal the company knowledge behind their edits. Calculations and reference points made with individual edits can be placed into a specific model folder, to which other contributors will not have access.

This is a much more contemporary way of working, given that many engineers now work remotely from the office, or even at home. It gives them complete freedom over how and when they do their work, instead of having to work to defined schedules, closing down models so that the next engineer half way round the world can work on it.

The facility is available to all invited to join the sharing service, and the costs of doing so are charged to the model owner, who is already paying for it to be hosted on the cloud. The owner has access to all model changes and what they incorporate, and has the ability to validate them. As a useful by-product, they can also keep tabs on the workload and productivity of their staff and other collaborators.

To begin with the complete model is downloaded, with subsequent uploads and downloads available as subsections of the model, and in mobile formats for use in the field, where users can deploy their own features to supplement their on-site work - taking photos to attach as comments, and reading barcodes and other glyphs to add information from web-based sources, for example.

Using the model as a reference point on-site users can potentially extract everything there is to be had from a model - including IFC files (although given the capabilities of the software they may become somewhat unnecessary).

BIM COLLABORATION
This is, of course, all about improving BIM collaboration, a focus of Tekla Structures 21, which also comes with significant improvements to workflow management tools such as Organiser, Task Manager and Clash Check Manager. Automating much of the processes in Organiser with improved model information management provides a more efficient and intuitive interface, and includes a modification to the way reference files are handled.

Separate groupings can be created for different aspects and phases of construction - architectural, MEP, etc. - allowing reference files to be held in a more convenient manner for easier access. It also gives users access to some of the many reference files a model may have without requring duplication, the separate lists capable of being toggled on or off as required.

MODELLING ENHANCEMENTS
A number of new features have been included in the release for specific modules of Tekla Structures. With reference to one of these, poured concrete detailing, there is a new way for handling complex random slab objects and to calculate separate pours for them with the new pour tool. Pour-break polylines allow them to be configured for any shape, providing volume calculations and taking undersides and edges into account. In addition, a new form face creator enables the heights of form faces to be inserted.

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