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Gaining the AVEVA
Bocad Advantage

How a progressive
deployment of AVEVA
Bocad has delivered
benefits for Dragados
Offshore S.A.

AVEVA World Magazine Article Reprint 2016 | Issue 1

Dragados Offshore S.A. is a leading EPC contractor
for the oil & gas and other energy-related industries.
The company provides comprehensive solutions from
concept to delivery. Its services include: concept design,
detail design, construction engineering, procurement,
construction, transportation, commissioning, offshore
installation, and hook-up of offshore fixed platforms,
offshore floating platforms, offshore wind power,
subsea systems, shallow water pipelines and onshore
modular fabrication.
AVEVA World Magazine Article Reprint 2016 | Issue 1
It also carries out special projects based on large steel
structures, such as structural components for bridges
and dam gates. Efficient execution of such projects
requires both expertise and powerful tools. Faced with
increasingly diverse and complex projects, Dragados
Offshore wanted to upgrade to a design system that
would not only meet its specialised needs but which
would also be flexible enough to enable engineers to
use the same software on different types of projects.
Dragados chose AVEVA Bocad™.
Mariner jacket EPC contract for Statoil – ready for load-out.
Photograph courtesy of Dragados Offshore S.A.
 Mariner jacket EPC contract for Statoil – full 3D detail design. Image courtesy of Dragados Offshore S.A.

Previously, Dragados Offshore had been using AutoCAD for
2D and AVEVA PDMS™ for 3D work. A survey of steel detailing
solutions led them to AVEVA Bocad, which stood out, not only
for its best-in-class specialised capabilities, but also for being
open and customisable. As an existing user of PDMS, Dragados
Offshore was naturally very interested in the potential for
integrating the two solutions.
The type of complex, high-risk projects in which Dragados
Offshore specialises require complete real-time association
between the 3D model and its 2D deliverables, so that accuracy
is ensured throughout the design and fabrication workflow.
AVEVA Bocad not only maintains such an association, but also
enables designers to use either the 3D or the 2D design views
when editing a design.
Below: Vega Pleyade EPC project for Total – full 3D structural detail design.
Image courtesy of Dragados Offshore S.A.
In addition, AVEVA Bocad saves time and eliminates many
sources of errors by automatically generating high-quality,
detailed deliverables that require very little subsequent editing,
if any. Importantly for Dragados, it also offers highly productive
capabilities for efficiently designing specialised structures such
as offshore platforms.
In the contracting business, tendering involves being able to
demonstrate the necessary capabilities. AVEVA Bocad’s support
for complex geometry eases the process of the first stages of
structural design, allowing Dragados Offshore to respond faster
in the market.
As a result of in-depth research and collaboration between
AVEVA and Dragados, AVEVA Bocad also incorporates valuable
features for fabrication quality assurance, such as the treatment
of welds as tagged objects instead of manual drawing
annotations, and the automatic creation of optimised weld
preparations on even the most complex joints.

Right: Jasmine project fab contract for ConocoPhillips – WHP

structural design. Image courtesy of Dragados Offshore S.A.

This is a clear example of how the ‘know-how’
and expertise of Dragados Offshore can be
combined with the potential of AVEVA Bocad to
successfully meet users’ requirements and to
incorporate new features in response to specific
demands.
But capability must be backed up by efficiency,
so AVEVA Bocad enables, not only more
standardisation, but also the reuse of previous
designs and the automation of repetitive
or commonly-used designs by developing
new macros in house. Together, the new
incorporated features and the continuous
in-house improvements provide Dragados
Offshore with a greater competitive advantage,
not only when bidding for new projects, but also
in all their processes.
Implementation
Implementing any new software solution is
always likely to create disruption. With their
heavy workload and tight project deadlines,
Dragados Offshore chose to play the long game,
implementing AVEVA Bocad progressively over
two-and-a-half years. This phased approach
proved very successful; the design team began
to use the software, enjoying the benefits
of the 3D model and design features, while
experienced users shared their skills and needs
with the AVEVA team on site, to create together
a perfect tool to cover all offshore needs with
little or no disruption to ongoing projects.
Another advantage of this approach was that
it provided the time to fully customise the
software to meet Dragados Offshore’s specific
requirements. AVEVA worked with the company
to detail the respective needs of the fabricator
and the builder, deciding together which new
features should be implemented into the
software, and how AVEVA Bocad’s deliverables
could be configured to make their work easier,
reducing errors from fabrication right through to
completion.
‘It took a while to get internal buy-in,’ said
Ramón Núñez, Engineering Director, Dragados
Offshore. ‘We had to adapt our long-established
ways of working. But it was clear to our
management that we had to make the final
switch to 3D, not only because we wanted
to increase our efficiency, but also because
our clients increasingly expect it and we want
to continue growing our business. Once our
designers saw the software and recognised
its potential, they were convinced. Within a
year, we had 70 people fully trained on AVEVA
Bocad and nowadays we have engineers able
to program further customised macros for our
needs.’
AVEVA World Magazine Article Reprint 2016 | Issue 1
Project successes
AVEVA Bocad has enabled Dragados Offshore to complete,
on time and on budget, a series of extremely complex
projects of unprecedented scale for major clients
worldwide. These projects, outlined below, comprised both
new-build and brownfield work, for hostile environments
such as the North Sea or the Southern Atlantic Ocean.
Mariner: bigger than ever
Statoil’s Mariner offshore field lies in water depths ranging between
97 and 112 metres, approximately 130 km off the British coast. Its
production platform separates gas and water from the oil before
piping it to an FSU vessel for storage and offloading to shuttle
tankers. Dragados Offshore’s scope of work included all of the EPC
work, mechanical completion, load-out and sea fastening of the
22,400 tonne Mariner jacket. Delivered in June 2015, this was the
largest jacket ever built at Dragados Offshore’s Cadiz yard, and the
largest ever commissioned by Statoil.
Vega Pleyade offshore project
Vega Pleyade is a gas field located 20 km offshore Tierra del Fuego,
Argentina. The field is developed by Total Austral with one platform
serving three dry gas wells and piping the gas to the onshore Rio
Cullen plant. Dragados performed the complete EPC project of
the normally unmanned wellhead platform, including full in-house
detail design, covering pre-commissioning and commissioning of
the wellhead platform topsides, four-legged jacket and piles.
Eldfisk 2/7S integrated platform
As part of the Greater Ekofisk Area Development, operated by
ConocoPhillips Scandinavia, Eldfisk 2/7S is an integrated platform
comprising a 154-cabin accommodation module, a wellhead
facility and a processing facility, all supported by an eight-leg
jacket structure. Dragados completed all EPC work on the project,
including onshore commissioning assistance, load-out and sea
fastening of the 13,400 tonne jacket, 4,000 tonne bridge support
jacket and piles.
Jasmine: old and new
The Jasmine field, operated by ConocoPhillips UK, is located
in blocks 30/6 and 30/7 in the British part of the North Sea.
The project will harness the existing processing capacity of the
nearby Judy platform, 240 km east of Aberdeen. The Jasmine
development consists of a wellhead platform with 24 well slots, a
bridge-linked accommodation platform, a multi-phase pipeline that
links Jasmine and Judy, and a brand-new reception and separation
platform at the Judy development, as well as modifications to
Judy to process the additional fluids once Jasmine comes on line.
Dragados undertook the construction and shop engineering of the
project, partial procurement, fabrication, mechanical completion,
pre-commissioning, commissioning, load-out and sea fastening
of the Jasmine wellhead platform topsides (7,425 tonnes), Judy
platform topsides (9,320 tonnes), Jasmine wellhead platform bridge
(590 tonnes) and the Judy platform bridge (895 tonnes).
Results
This cooperation between AVEVA Bocad and Dragados Offshore
in increasing the program’s features soon showed its worth.
The ability to exchange model data with structural analysis
programs, and to create detailed, multi-discipline models and
accurate layout drawings means better ownership of data, fewer
clashes, less rework in construction and shorter schedules.
Overall, faster and more efficient steel detailing and creation of
fabrication deliverables save Dragados Offshore a considerable
percentage of project time; project quality has also been
improved. On-demand generation of shop-ready fabrication
deliverables makes it possible to delay creation of drawings
and CNC data until the last possible moment before fabrication
must start. The maximum number of design optimisations
can therefore be incorporated to achieve better quality in the
fabricated parts and less rework in construction.
AVEVA Bocad’s interoperability, both with AVEVA’s 3D design
solutions and with third-party software, adds great value to
Dragados Offshore’s projects. ‘It adds value because it allows
design integration in the first phases of a project and makes
it easier to work on difficult details. In addition, our clients
normally work with PDMS and that creates synergies,’ continued
Ramón Núñez.
Companies using other systems can spend huge amounts
of time manually editing 2D deliverables. But AVEVA Bocad’s
fabrication drawings and CNC data are automatically generated
and substantially shop-ready. ‘AVEVA Bocad’s CNC files have
been optimised for all our CNC machines, and new output
types were created to communicate with our automated beam,
plate and pipe/tube cutting robots,’ Ramón Núñez explained.
‘This investment has greatly enhanced our performance by
eliminating errors and enabling us to reliably deliver on time.’
Conclusion
Dragados Offshore S.A. is a results-oriented company,
committed to offering a best-in-class approach to integrated
project execution, safety, quality and schedule compliance,
Above: The mariner jacket EPC contract for Statoil. The top view of the modelled pile cluster is shown alongside the fabricated pile cluster. Images courtesy of
Dragados Offshore S.A.
while maintaining the flexibility to work to each client’s specific
needs. It therefore needed a software solution that would
continue to support it as its projects become ever larger,
more complex and more diverse. AVEVA Bocad has proved its
ability to do so and enables Dragados Offshore S.A. to deliver
successfully impressive projects the world over.
It is relevant to state that AVEVA’s integrated design and
structural detailing solution (PDMS and Bocad) and the acquired
experience of Dragados Offshore S.A together have provided
maximum benefits from this powerful approach.
About Dragados
Founded in 1972, Dragados Offshore S.A. is a leading
engineering, procurement and construction (EPC) contractor
for the oil & gas and other energy-related industries. Their four
decades of experience in both offshore and onshore projects
give them a solid track record, ensuring their clients that their
most complex and challenging projects will be successfully
planned, executed and delivered.
They are a solutions-based company with a lean and effective
corporate structure that allows them the flexibility to tailor their
work to each client’s specific needs, while providing a best-in-
class approach to integrated project execution, safety, quality
and schedule compliance. They are committed to excellence in
everything they do.
For more information, visit: www.dragadosoffshore.com.
ACS Group (Actividades de Construcción y Servicios)
Dragados Offshore is part of the ACS Group. Headquartered
in Madrid, Spain, the ACS Group is a global leader in the
development, construction and management of infrastructure
and related services, with operations and offices worldwide and
more than 162,000 employees.
To find out more about ACS and its subsidiaries, please visit the
company website at www.grupoacs.com.
AVEVA Group plc Headquartered in Cambridge, England, AVEVA Group plc and its operating
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