MegChem is a versatile engineering firm specializing in multiple disciplines, including piping, mechanical, electrical and civil engineering, scanning, process design, control and instrumentation, and project management. The company provides a comprehensive suite of services, with a focus on plant renewals, modifications, and process improvements. Their team includes over 30 piping designers with extensive experience in 3D modeling.
“Collectively, we bring over 30 years of piping design expertise, gained through involvement in both national and international projects,” said Gerhard Koekemoer, Section Leader for Piping Engineering at MegChem.
The Challenge
In 2011, MegChem started tackling larger and more complex multi-disciplinary projects, requiring software that could scale and support this growth, optimizing their design workflows. They were also seeking greater flexibility and competitive pricing when licensing CAD software.
The Solution
Smooth Transition to a CAD Solution for Plant Design
After extensive testing, MegChem chose Hexagon’s plant design and automation solution, CADWorx® Plant Professional, as the best match for their needs.
To run CADWorx, they also evaluated CAD platform options for better cost efficiency, flexible licensing, and advanced functionality to maintain their workflows.
MegChem found BricsCAD® to be their preferred DWG-based CAD platform and started using it in 2019. Today, this combination is used for all project-related design work, including day-to-day maintenance tasks. From the suite of products, MegChem uses BricsCAD® Lite, BricsCAD® Pro, and BricsCAD® Ultimate.
“CADWorx running on BricsCAD offered significant advantages. We estimate that the ability for multiple designers to work simultaneously within the same model space and view each other’s updates in real time boosted our productivity by an estimated 60%,” explained Koekemoer.
For a smooth transition to CADWorx and BricsCAD with customizations, implementation, and training, the MegChem team worked closely with their local Bricsys Official Partner, Chempute.
“Working with Chempute has significantly eased the burden of software-related challenges. Their support is always just a phone call away. If they cannot resolve an issue directly, they consistently connect us with the right expertise to ensure the problem is quickly and effectively addressed,” noted Koekemoer.
In addition to using CADWorx, MegChem also relies on BricsCAD for editing and modifying 2D deliverables, built-in point cloud tools, and XRef functionality.
Streamlining Project Delivery
In July 2020, MegChem was approached by a large industrial company that experienced a major explosion during a plant start-up that severely damaged a critical unit. The facility had already been offline since a planned shutdown in February, adding to the urgency to restore operations as quickly as possible.
MegChem was tasked with designing and executing the rebuild under these highly compressed timelines. The project required creating a completely new plant section while preserving and integrating the surviving infrastructure from the blast.
To start, MegChem’s measurements and scanning team was deployed to the site and used high-resolution 3D laser scanning to capture the geometry of the surviving structures. These point cloud scans were imported into CADWorx running on BricsCAD, serving as an exact spatial reference for integrating new equipment, civil works and piping layouts with millimeter accuracy. From there, engineers conducted pipe stress analysis and carried out their design process, including creating isometric drawings, construction layout plans, rigging and lifting studies, scaffolding plans, and construction reviews and walkthroughs.
Thanks to the streamlined workflow and the experience of the MegChem design team, they delivered the full plant redesign in just under nine months, less than half the typical timeline of 18-24 months.
The Results
Overall, MegChem engineers saw major benefits in their projects following the integration of CADWorx and BricsCAD, which included:
- 60% increase in design productivity
- Up to 25% reduction in modeling time
- 60% reduction in time to finalize isometric drawings
“From junior drafters to lead designers, our entire design team relies on CADWorx and BricsCAD. Their user-friendly interface has helped us streamline modeling and finalize isometric drawing much faster.
When paired with a well-configured setup for isometric generation and users following best practices, time spent cleaning and finalizing isometric drawings can be reduced by as much as 60%”, said Reginald de Koker, Manager, Drawing Office (Piping Engineering) at MegChem.
To see why BricsCAD is the true CAD alternative and how it can support your company’s success, download a free trial today.
South Africa
Industrial
MegChem
- www.megchem.com
