Building water treatment at scale: RSE’s move to Tekla Structures

When RSE’s design team outgrew their existing CAD software, they needed a detailing tool that could keep pace with the company’s rapid growth, without losing the coordination that makes its in-house, design-to-build model work. Switching to Tekla Structures transformed the way RSE details structural steelwork for Transportable Treatment Units (TTU®), tripling design output and unlocking a new level of manufacturing-ready detail.­

RSE develops market-leading products for purifying drinking water, recycling wastewater and cleaning water in industrial processes. With a focus on innovative technology, DfMA and modular solutions, plus an extensive 475,000ft2 manufacturing capacity that covers 26 Olympic-sized swimming pools throughout its 22 UK locations, its offsite build philosophy facilitates the speedy delivery of entire water treatment plants.

Offering a design-to-build approach, RSE has undergone rapid growth over recent years. Part of its work for the water and utilities sector is the design and fabrication of modular Transportable Treatment Units (TTU®s) for water authorities across the country.

Speaking about their workflows, William MacKenzie, RSE Senior Structural Designer said: “Our approach is heavily design-led – it is this that unlocks the modular and offsite capabilities. Coordination is truly essential. We have a team of structural engineers who deliver the concept design, and we then detail the structural steelwork and create the fabrication-level drawings. There are also our plant and mechanical teams, who manage the design of the various pump and pipework components that make up the inner workings of each TTU® module.

“It is this multi-discipline structure that sets us apart in the industry; we’re able to manage the whole design to build process in-house, rather than subcontracting out elements to consultants. However, this can also have its challenges.”

Construction of RSE TTU® modules on Eela site.

Previously, RSE relied on Autodesk Inventor for the whole design and detailing process, including both the steelwork and inner mechanical components. While the team continue to use Autodesk for the mechanical components, the team realised the need for a software that could deliver the level of manufacturing detail required by the fabrication shop for the structural steel.

“We tried other platforms, but it simply wasn’t the right tool for the scale that we (as a business) knew we wanted to get to,” explained William. “Our workflows were really disjointed, with teams unable to work on the same model at the same time. At one point, we were having to split up a job into smaller individual models, each assigned to a different team member. It was a messy way of working and it was easy to lose design changes or data along the way.”

It was at this point that RSE looked at Trimble solutions, settling on Tekla Structures.

“In an industry like ours, coordination is essential. These projects demand interoperability and rely on open communication between different software platforms, all without the fear of losing data or having to duplicate work. One of the biggest advantages of Trimble is their commitment to connectivity – not just within their own product portfolio but with other platforms too.

“With Tekla Structures, we can get the STEP file from Inventor and bring it into the Tekla modelling environment, and vice versa. You can import it knowing it’ll land exactly where you need it to in the plan, automatically dropping into its exact real-world position and coordinates.”

Tekla Structures multi-user capabilities eliminated disjointed workflows by allowing teams to work on the same model at the same time.

As a software, Tekla Structures excels at producing fabrication-level 3D models and documentation. Elements are intelligent, parametric building objects, containing exact manufacturing and assembly data, right down to individual bolts, welds and plates.

As part of RSE’s growth, the manufacturing and production side of the business is also expanding significantly, as William explained. “Our new design workflows have been key to feeding this growth. Scale has been unlocked, thanks to the quality manufacturing data and information we are now able to produce, transforming the fab shop into an efficient production line.”

Another benefit of Tekla Structures has been the automated and intelligent features it offers, helping to further streamline workflows and deliver valuable time savings. When teams start a new model, the system can use Artificial Intelligence (AI) to scan structures, find the best-matching library and suggest the most appropriate template to clone from.

“There’s so many smart tools available within Tekla Structures,” said William. “The drawing cloning tool has been particularly valuable. The technology is clever, able to detect and suggest similar drawings when you are creating related assemblies.

“Custom components is another area that has served us well, particularly given the standardised nature of the sector. We have our standard products, which we then build off and customise – effectively, the ‘chassis’ of each module remains the same. It was because of this that we have been able to make use of custom components within Tekla Structures, creating a blank ‘module’ template for the structural steelwork. We can then use this as a starting point on all projects; first putting a grid down for how many modules are in that job and laying down block modules – similar to how you would use LEGO® bricks – to build the complete TTU®. As they are custom components, we already have the associated drawings automatically saved in a folder. Other teams can then add in and detail the mechanical and pump components that are bespoke to each job.”

Creation of a blank ‘module’ template in Tekla Structures gives RSE a great starting point for each project, saving time.

Delivering quality, quicker

“Overall, it offers a far faster and more streamlined way of working.”

With RSE’s previous workflow, modules had to be manually and individually modelled from start to finish, with one module taking around a fortnight to complete. Now, the experienced team are able to detail around three in a week.

William continued: “As well as the slicker way of working, the quality of what we are handing over is better too. Models used to be generated in a way that you couldn’t really interrogate them. Now, we are getting information-rich models and going down the federated BIM route, where you are putting meta-data into the files. We simply couldn’t do this with our previous tools.”

Looking ahead, RSE aren’t standing still, with the design team currently exploring the value of Trimble Connect and the logistics of getting tablets into the fabrication workshop. As William commented, “this will help bring digital intelligence to the shop floor, ensuring even greater coordination and insight at all stages.

“We’re also looking at hardware and the value that scanners could bring, from the point of obtaining as-built data in the fab shop for reporting, quality management and traceability purposes. It’s all about going down the trajectory of the digital twin and comprehensive documentation.”

The RSE team is able to manage the whole design to build process in-house.

Contact our team to see how Tekla Structures speeds up structural detailing and improves manufacturing accuracy for offsite construction.