The Empire State Building, the Brooklyn Bridge, the Sydney Harbour Bridge or indeed the Burj Khalifa…when you stand, transfixed in awe, getting goose-bumped by these magnificent creations of steel and glass, spare a thought to the engineers who ‘imagined’ them. For, at the heart of every great construction, is an engineer. The design centre of SISCOL in Bangalore is a recognition of this fact. In this centre of excellence a team of passionate engineers render their imagination into precise electronic drawings aided by advanced technology, creating masterpieces that are redrawing skylines, reshaping lives and pushing the bounds of design itself beyond barriers.

Among the landmark creations of this talented bunch of design engineers are a super specialty hospital in Rourkela for SAIL, the Terminal 1 Expansion project for L&T/GMR in Delhi, the imposing 12-storeyed Navi Mumbai SEZ campus for L&T, power plants in Bangladesh for Global Infra FZCO and for Thyssenkrupp Industries at Karanpura and several large bridges including the spectacular Kudal Sangam Bridge that spans the Malaprabha, a tributary of the Krishna river in the state of Karnataka. In terms of volume, just this small sample of SISCOL’s projects translates into more than 20,000 MT of structured steel.

In essence the Engineering Office powered by the latest in software solutions and a 30-member team offers the following two core services, that is at the heart of any construction project:

In just a few years, the dedicated team of engineers at SISCOL have established themselves as leaders when it comes to developing cost-effective design blueprints that do justice to the most challenging of construction specifications and requirements in line with established design guidelines and procedures. Its team is just as adept at analysing design issues and recommending corrective actions.

Salient features:

• Design engineering driven by STAAD or ETABS
• Loading based on Indian or international codes
• Load cases comply with international norms and standards

In construction the devil is clearly in the detail! Given that the success and viability of a project itself often hangs by the small details be it in the drawings or in planning, SISCOL offers a no-compromise, zero-tolerance service driven by a team of highly experienced detailing specialists, who have built a reputation of missing nothing. Its world-class shop, erection drawings and thorough planning result in meticulously executed projects in total conformance with designs.

Salient features:

• Detailing powered by TEKLA modelling
• Complex structure detailed, averting bolt clashes
• TEKLA enables easy resolution of site related issues and plays major part in planning and erection methodology for complex structures
• Generation of files for CNC machines

Aided by software like STAADPRO, ETABS, DESCON and RAM, the vastly experienced engineers at SISCOL evolve structures aligned to the overall design and functional spirit of a building. These structures are designed for strength, sustainability and resilience even in the face of extreme seismic and weather events. The hallmarks of the services they offer to fabricators, engineers and contractors are:

• Structural Steel Design Integrated Project Delivery Model: Results in a choice of constructability design options  and the integration of design, detailing, fabrication and erection at different project phases: conceptual, schematic, and design development. The big dividend: Error free low cost designs with tight turnaround times, which in turn yields substantial cost savings.
• Complete service package, from concept to detail engineering
• Proven design and engineering capability across domains: Airports, industrial structures, bridges, buildings and so on
• 3D Modelling and drafting: Complete 3D model of structures and connections
• 3D-model aided export of cutting plans to CNC machines ensuring zero-error fabrication and erection
• Pre-fabrication services
• Complete material, bolt and stud bolt lists extracted from model in advance for early, bulk procurement and effective site management.
• Shop drawings for fabrication
• Full drawing and drafting for fabricators
• Erection plans for structural steel construction
• Anchor bolt plans, drawings
• Connection drawings and visualization
• Complete and accurate bills of material
• Building Information Modelling (BIM) experts

With prefabrication becoming the norm, engineers at SISCOL use advanced building information modelling (BIM) and MEP techniques to model systems precisely in line with how they would be installed using virtual parts that mimic on-field materials. The virtual model enables accurate time and cost estimates in advance at the click of a button. Result: double quick fabrication and installation.

We are able to assess the technical engineering and practical construction risks posed by a project and develop construction methodologies that either reduce or eliminate risk, whilst efficiently utilising resources to ensure that construction costs and programmes remain optimised.

Permanent works designers rarely consider the effect of the erection process on their design. For structures with short spans, the erection sequence is of little relevance. However, when structures begin to span 80 metres or more, the stresses and deformations in the structural frame caused by the erection process can lead to inferior structural performance and, in extreme cases, collapse. Our design team performs sequential erection analysis and predicts the accumulation of locked-in stresses caused by a defined erection sequence. Sequential erection analysis is used to ensure stability of the partially completed structures.

Our processes are designed to pinpoint engineering and practical construction risks posed by a project and to develop construction methodologies that either reduce or eliminate those risks. Alongside, they ensure high levels of resource and cost optimization efficiency.