Using digital presentations, which can contain animated models of a plant, project or process, makes it possible for complex engineering issues to be communicated effectively among various parties, says industrial modelling and animation company Virtualscape Visuals (VSV) CEO Christo Smit.
These presentations can range from conceptual models to fully animated plants, based on technical engineering designs. Technical documents can also be embedded within the presentations, so that they can support support technical collaboration.
“Digital presentations must be fit for purpose to add value, not costs, and the design of such presentations must, therefore, be done with a clear goal in mind. Specifically, the person or entity the client wants to communicate the information to is foundational, as this determines the scope of the work, as well as the goal and tone, or level of detail that the presentation requires.”
This effective communication enables uniform understanding of the project objectives among the diverse and multiparty teams working on such projects. These digital presentations can be used to coordinate workflow or to create a repre- sentation of the expected progression of the project for potential investors, adds Smit.
VSV is a fully fledged three-dimensional animation studio and can use computer-aided design files to animate a plant, project or process in great detail and accuracy, but can also help engineers to visualise early-stage conceptual ideas, he notes.
VSV helps to solve problems of engineering companies and mining operations. For example, hazardous operations (hazop) studies, which are highly detailed and technical assessments to determine hazards and compliance with regulations on projects, can be done more effectively using the company’s digital tools and renditions of the project, Smit explains.
“These tools support standard hazop processes, where, if the members of the study note a possible hazard or compliance issue, they can use a digital representation of the plant to assess the problem visually, aided by animations of the plant during operations.”
Smit adds that members of the study can also make notes on the digital presentation for their engineers or designers to correct or modify the designs, and link these notes to a final checklist for verification and approval.
“We have found that many of our visualisations are used for training, mainly for safety and induction training, but occasionally also for coaching new engineers and technical staff working on the various project systems or processes,” says Smit, noting that such documents have proven particularly effective communication tools for companies using contract workers.
These documents can also be Web-based, giving users access to only the same draft or allowing for easy collaboration among the various company sites. Specific teams can also use such presentations to map out their own workflows over the progression of the project or construction of a plant.
While VSV does significant work for large engineering and mining companies, it also derives about 30% of its revenue from smaller-scale companies.
“We retain 90% of our clients and I believe it is because of the integrity and quality of our work, as well as our focus on providing value and usability for the client,” concludes Smit.