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Backdrop and Project Details
Located in Southeast Asia and made up of over 17,000 islands, Indonesia has become a popular tourist destination. However, to compete with other travel locations, the government realized that it needed to provide reliable, efficient, safe, and comfortable public transportation. Therefore, it planned to create an integrated high-speed rail between the capital of Jakarta and the shopping district of Bandung.
The $7.8 billion project stretches 143 kilometers in length and features 55 subgrade sections, 13 tunnels, 46 bridges, and four integrated central stations. When complete, it will reduce congestion and cut the journey time between the two cities from three to 10 hours by automobile, depending on traffic, to just 36 minutes by rail.
PT Wijaya Karya (WIKA) was hired as the lead contractor on this vast, complex project. In addition to the sheer scale of the rail line, the team had to deal with geological challenges. The design includes one tunnel requiring construction under a busy toll road, with many buildings around it, which significantly increased project construction risks. The team also had to ensure that there were multiple connection points so that they could later integrate it with a separate project. In addition, creating the tunnel would be difficult because of the extreme clay shale soil, which can lead to slope and tunnel heading instability.
Improving Communication to Meet Important Milestones
In addition to the geological challenges, the pandemic also impacted the project. Lockdowns and restrictions delayed material transportation, and 1,500 workers had to be quarantined. Another challenge was that in 2022, the government asked that construction be accelerated by 2 percent per month to meet the 2022 G20 Bali summit, which took place in mid-November. The project needed to be completed by the end of 2022 and fully operational by mid-2023.
In the past, WIKA used CAD and 2D aerial photographs to produce detailed engineering design plans, as well as conventional survey methods to create 2D terrain and railway plans. However, these methods caused project delays, increased costs, led to inefficient construction work, and required multiple adjustments that delayed approval. Therefore, WIKA realized that their traditional methods would not work on this project and sought an integrated BIM and digital twin solution to overcome the significant challenges faced by the team.
Developing a Data-centric Approach
Already familiar with Bentley applications, WIKA chose Bentley’s open civil design and reality modeling capabilities, as well as digital twin technology, to develop a connected digital ecosystem and a single source of truth for project information. The team began by using ContextCapture to gather drone-captured images, using 135 ground control points to maximize geometric and geospatial precision of reality data. Doing so minimized the curvature and gap of the model. For drone-restricted areas, the team used 3D laser scanners.
By using OpenRail, the team modeled 16.8 kilometers of tunnels along the route, reviewing design data and presenting alternative design options to stakeholders. These designs could be easily modified based on feedback, streamlining the decision-making process. With OpenRoads, WIKA estimated the number of country lane relocations at several crossing points. They also provided drainage analysis to minimize floods and avoid disturbing traffic and the surrounding areas. OpenBridge helped the team create bridge models along the proposed route, enabling the detection of 41 clashes and redesign of structures before construction began.
Using SYNCHRO with OpenBridge, WIKA simulated construction of a 128-meter bridge, which contained the longest span continuous girder on the project. By using SYNCHRO, the team was confident that they had chosen the optimal construction method, and that it would not interfere with the four other infrastructure projects running simultaneously. Additionally, SYNCHRO helped WIKA visualize the sequence of every construction step for every span of the box girder, creating a more efficient workflow and helping to better manage material and resources.
WIKA delivered the combined model using iTwin Design Review, which simplified coordination among multiple disciplines. Stakeholders were better able to understand design intent and the impact of design choices in the digital twin, significantly improving decision-making.
By improving design efficiency and quality, PT Wijaya Karya saved $185 million in construction costs and shortened the schedule by six months.
Bentley’s OpenRail facilitated contractor involvement and increased productivity and design quality assurance by 40 percent.
Using a connected data environment, PT Wijaya Karya expects to save 20 percent in construction time, cut labor costs by 10 percent, and reduce the frequency of meetings by 35 percent.