Operations Corner
by Hugh Dobbie Sr.

During the past few months, I have returned to steer the company's Operations.   I had been enjoying semi-retirement for some time, but circumstances have caused me temporarily to return full time to the job I did for over thirty years.   Not entirely unhappily…I must admit I have always enjoyed being challenged.

Dowco has changed a great deal over the years.  We now offer much more to our clients than just structural steel detail drawings.  We have become experts in the use and training of Tekla Structures 3D software.

Dowco is one of the foremost users of the Building Information Model (BIM) and are acknowledged experts in the process.  We have worked on numerous projects where we have been hired by the Owner, Contractor or the Engineer of Record, to do BIM.   We have successfully imported other softwares into Tekla Structures.   More recently, we have imported Revit models from Architects and Engineers.  Revit is a 3D modeling software sold by Auto Disk and is very popular in the A & E community.

Dowco is fortunate to have skilled technicians and technologists who can work the necessary links between dissimilar systems, and we have successfully linked a number of software systems together for the benefit of our clients.

Working up front with the Engineer of Record allows us to solve many of the problems usually inherent in the design drawings.  The model is therefore more complete and much of the risk has been removed for the fabricator.  If we proceed to the shop detailing stage,  as we do on many cases, then the project is expedited that much faster through the fabrication process, with control firmly in the hands of the Engineer of Record or the Contractor.

Our acquisition of FabTrol has added another dimension to the services we offer our clients.   We can now build the model, design and add the connections, produce detail drawings, prepare mill order lists, field bolts, and with FabTrol, provide the other management tools the fabricator needs to run his shop efficiently.

We look forward to an exciting 2009.