There’s a problem with your trial and error loading process, and that problem is error. When you’re working with items weighing two thousand pounds and more, error is not only costly and time-consuming, but dangerous as well. And yet that’s the way it’s always been done—guess and check, trial and error, loading lists and mental maps, or maybe some ad hoc visualization tools.
What if we told you there was a better way? SDS2's loading and delivery tools are designed to solve precisely these problems and dramatically reduce material handling in the shop and the field.
The load planning tool, which is available with an SDS2 Modeling or Ultimate subscription, allows you to transform any IFC 2x3 file from your preferred modeling software—including SDS2, Tekla, Cadwork, and more—into 3D loading plans.
It’s a disruptive technology in the best way possible, new to shop floors but packed with time, money, and even life saving potential.
Below, we lay out the three biggest reasons to adopt virtual load planning tools and ditch the trial-and-error process.
1. You'll gain a competitive advantage with proven technology
While many shops still rely on spreadsheets, mental calculations, and guesswork, SDS2's virtual loading and delivery tools put you ahead of the curve. The software includes comprehensive capabilities like bundling for efficient grouping, customizable load maps that match your workflow, user-definable properties for shop-specific needs, and integration options that connect planning directly to your existing systems.
The barrier to entry is low—these tools are included with an SDS2 subscription—but the potential impact is significant. You'll optimize geometry and balance automatically, prevent shipping errors before they happen, and deliver a level of precision that sets you apart from fabricators still manually planning loads.
2. You'll transform your shop with faster, smarter, and safer material handling.
Right out of the gate, SDS2's virtual loading tools have brought huge savings and transformative workflows to our customers. While your typical bill of material may indicate by weight what will fit on a given load, our virtual load planning software additionally takes geometry and balance into consideration, providing an automatic center of gravity marker as pieces are virtually added, moved, or modified.
“There is no trial and error on my production floor,” said David Graves of Garrison Steel, one of the tool's early users. “I hand them a load map, and they put the pieces in place.”
With better and smarter planning, customers have seen dramatic reductions in material handling, optimized loads with fewer trips, clear communication between loaders and shop foreman, and increased safety on the floor and in the field. Some have also found that it can serve as a secondary check on materials before shipping when, for example, you lose track of a revision during fabrication. Plus it can help decentralize your loading expertise, so your shipping gurus can take a vacation now and then without creating major backlogs in your shop.
3. You'll shorten timelines and impress your customers.
In addition to giving an immediate boost to your loading process, virtual load planning tools also have the potential for more long-range and long-term perks for your business.
Imagine the possibilities, for example, of sequencing your structural steel fabrication with a loading plan already in place. You could move your steel straight from fabrication to the trailer with less congestion, keeping your process clean, organized, and streamlined.
Better yet, in keeping with lean construction methods, you could think further down the line to offloading and erection. If you could deliver loads exactly as the pieces are going to be put up in the field, you’d accelerate the timeline for the entire project, making your customers and other project stakeholders happy, saving everyone money, and building your reputation for long term success.
“For our customers, how the product shows up is a really important deal,” said Bryan Boggs of CoBuilt, LLC. “It's creating a separation for us so that people see a noticeable difference between CoBuilt steel and someone else's steel. In some ways I don't want people to know about [SDS2's load planning capabilities] because I want to keep it as a little thing that only we know about.”
With technology, automation, and optimization solutions at every other stage in a project, it’s amazing that loading and shipping has been overlooked for so long. But with customers worldwide gaining interest, it’s clear that virtual load planning is on its way to becoming an industry standard. Now’s your chance to get ahead and distinguish yourself from the competition.
Interested in adopting load planning for your fab shop?