Dowco reaches for the future with digital speed steel detailing International business builds on North American knowledge, experience Canadian Design and Construction Report staff writer The steel construction detailing business is experiencing a global revolution, and the changes have both increased the service delivery speed and integration potential for own- ers, designers, contractors and fabricators, says Brian Pyper, executive vice president of Dowco Consultants Ltd. “Clients know we’ve been in the business for decades,” he said from the company’s head office in suburban Van- couver, B.C. “There’s a good reason for Dowco’s longevity. We have highly skilled people utilizing the latest technolo- I Industr gies and processes to increase the ability to communicate and collaborate effectively and efficiently with clients.” Pyper remembers the days just a quarter century ago when detailers worked with drafting tables, paper and slide rules. No one then could have predicted the industry today – a globalized business with hundreds of employees onshore and offshore working simultaneously in a globally inte- grated virtual environment, leading to comprehensive and extremely responsive details and instructions that support both Building Information Modeling (BIM) and efficient steel fabrication. Today, we take what would have been the two-dimen- sional model on paper, and convert it into a virtual model in the three-dimensional environment. And there’s lots of talk about the multiple dimensions of cost, and schedule that incorporates the 3D structural model into the entire project cycle from earliest design to the actual building opera- tions.” Structural detailers have always been important for the steel industry. The process of turning high level conceptual designs from architects and engineered design drawings and specifications into workable shop and construction drawings to generate the actual structural components re- quires specialized talents and skills, such skills that can only be acquired through time and experience. The importance of effective detailing cannot be under- stated, Pyper says. High quality detailing ensures efficient fabrication practices and constructability minimizes poten- tial design and construction conflicts. This of course saves significant time and money during the higher labour inten- sive areas such as fabrication and construction. “A detailer must understand every phase each compo- nent takes through the life cycle of a project, from the early design drawings through the late stages of project comple- The Canadian Design and Construction Report — March 2016 – 29