Path Ways to STAAD.pro for Analysis and Design on Plant Pr...

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Karim R. Tue, Nov 19 2013 8:57 PM

Path Ways to STAAD.pro for Analysis and Design on Plant Projects

If you are an avid STAAD.pro user as I am, or you have invested many hours learning to efficiently use this structural analysis and design software, then why invest additional time and painstaking effort learning and using another program that barely suits your design needs? In a few cases this may be an unavoidable reality based on project constraints and requirements of the project managers. However, I have good news for you! :)

In many cases (we will discuss some in detail) issues hindering use of STAAD.pro on specific projects can be addressed thru software interoperability and project workflow integration. Well, what do I mean by project workflow integration? For some of us Engineers and Designers, we have most often received input data and produced our deliverables in particular formats. For the Structural Engineer these file formats consist of STAAD files (.std) along with Excel spreadsheets (.xls) and .PDF calculation documents. For a Structural Designer these files may be 2D drawing files (.dgn), 11x17 submittal drawings (.PDF), and 3D BIM model (.dgn). So the question remains, what is meant by software interoperability and project workflow integration? Software interoperability is the

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2014-01-08 2:33

Path Ways to STAAD.pro for Analysis and Design on Plant Pr...

http://communities.bentley.com/other/old_site_member_blog...

ability to use data produced in one software package, in a different software package accurately without manually exchanging the data into a new format. Project workflow integration is capitalizing on software interoperability to improve project efficiency, increase accuracy, and reduce cost. Therefore not only can you use STAAD.Pro as your structural design and analysis program of choice, you have the added benefit of improved efficiency, increased accuracy, and reduced cost.

If project workflow integration makes so much more sense, why isnt everyone taking advantage of it? There are several answers to that question. However, my goal is to address a very important one, which is basic awareness of integration options. Bentley Systems has been at the forefront of integration efforts for many years. These efforts have resulted in excellent software interoperability and project workflow integration across Bentley structural, civil, and mechanical applications to name a few. For structural integration Bentleys Structural Synchronizer has become the focal point for Integrated Structural Modeling (ISM). For example, if you are using STAAD.Pro for interoperability between structural modeling, structural analysis, mechanical modeling and mechanical analysis products, bi-directional data transfer can be accomplished with great accuracy and efficiency across the various applications.

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2014-01-08 2:33

Path Ways to STAAD.pro for Analysis and Design on Plant Pr...

http://communities.bentley.com/other/old_site_member_blog...

Many companies have recognized the opportunity to integrate using Bentley software programs effectively and have leveraged these capabilities to give themselves a leading edge in their market place. What if clients, sub-contractors and stakeholders on various projects require deliverables in formats of 3rd party vendors (Non-Bentley products)? Are we consequently forced to use different structural engineering software other than STAAD.pro to accomplish software interoperability? The answer is likely No, we are not! We can use STAAD and have our integration too.

In addition to the Bi-directional interoperability using Bentley ISM format, there are two other formats widely used for data exchange on engineering projects. These formats are CIS/2 (.STP) files and IFC (.IFC) files and they can be used in instances where the ISM format is not an available option. So lets look at some real world project scenarios to see how these project workflow integrations can be implemented. We will focus on Plant Engineering and Design Projects for the examples of Path Ways to STAAD.pro for Structural Analysis and Design. Starting within the Plant Modeling software, we will discuss options for bi-directional data exchange to the Structural Modeling software and then finally into STAAD.Pro. Note: Many Plant Modeling software applications are capable of generating a CIS/2 file that can be directly imported into STAAD.Pro. Once in STAAD.pro, we then have bi-directional data exchange with our Structural modeling and documentation software. In reality there are several available alternatives for project workflow integration, therefore you can integrate in a way that best meets the needs of your project schedule and optimizes project integration.

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2014-01-08 2:33

Path Ways to STAAD.pro for Analysis and Design on Plant Pr...

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Thanks Karimu.Rashad@Bentley.com

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2014-01-08 2:33