Software developer bets on links and integrations

The construction industry faces a host of challenges. Demand is unprecedentedly high, while capacity lags behind and staff shortages continue to rise. In addition, the call for a sustainable construction column is becoming louder and louder. These are all aspects in which software can play an incredibly important role. This is Bart Zwager, commercial director at Technosoft, developer of structural calculation software. "We bring knowledge of the structural sector and software development together and are open to cooperation with external parties and suppliers, for example in the concrete sector."

Technosoft has traditionally been the undisputed market leader in structural calculation software. "To meet the current and future challenges in the construction industry, we pay great attention to the integration of our software with those of other vendors. In other words, we look beyond the software we market ourselves so that we can make the lives of structural engineers more pleasant. In that sense, they are following the market, which is moving more toward prefabrication, for example, as a means of faster and more efficient construction. We respond to that, without sacrificing quality, because that is always number one. For example, we are the first software supplier in the Netherlands to be KOMO-certified for calculation software in concrete and we expect to achieve that soon for steel structures." 

Partnerships

Construction-related companies typically have a wide range of software packages that are by no means always perfectly integrated with each other. "A missed opportunity," Zwager believes. "In this context, for example, there is a partnership between Technosoft and Viktor. Together, we enable full integration of structural calculation software into the construction process. Several successes have already been achieved. For example, thanks to PlateConnect (a specially developed software module), we will soon be able to integrate and automate the prefabrication process of wide slab floors from design to production, resulting in a significantly more efficient process. Previously, a good number of actions had to be carried out manually or things were done twice: now everything is done from one integrated environment." Rob Rekers, sales manager at Technosoft, gives another example: "Thanks to yet another interface, in this case with Technosoft AxisVM (3D FEM software), our customers can design and calculate wind turbine foundations based on parameters very quickly and efficiently. 

"By not working alone but seeking cooperation, our clients can achieve significant efficiency gains in the design process," Zwager summarizes. "Certain design variants can be assessed much faster, so that one arrives at the optimal execution of the final project in a more focused way. And in addition to integration with other software packages, we also offer more and more possibilities at the product level with regard to links. For example, AxisVM seamlessly interfaces with Grasshopper for parametric design. We open our "gates" to all possible forms of open-BIM integration and support all kinds of exchange formats. So we deliberately seek cooperation with other suppliers, such as recently with Construsoft (Tekla supplier) to further automate the engineering process and meet future challenges."