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Prescription for Faster DesignMicroStation® SWECO FFNS and AstraZeneca Take Nexium IV to MarketWith the design process only one month ahead of the scheduled start of construction, Sweden’slargest engineering, environmental management, and architectural consulting company switchedto Bentley’s 3D architectural design technology to design a new facility for manufacturing thedrug Nexium IV, a promising successor to the successful stomach ulcer medication Losec.
Time was a critical factor in developing a design plan for a BRIEF new manufacturing facility to produce AstraZeneca’s prom- Organization
SWECO FFNS
ising new stomach ulcer medication Nexium IV, a follow-up Vertical Market
to the drug Losec. The pharmaceutical giant put the bid out for the USD $70 million facility to be built in Milano, Location
Italy, or Södertälje, Sweden, where AstraZeneca already has two large industrial estates in Gärtuna and Snäckviken. When the Södertälje loca- Project Objectives
• Meet a tight deadline to design AstraZeneca’s newest manufacturing
tion was decided, the Swedish firm SWECO FFNS accepted the challenge. plant, with only one month of lead time from design to construction. • Begin producing construction documents almost immediately upon With only one month of lead time until construction was scheduled • Transition the design team to MicroStation and Bentley Architecture, migrating to MicroStation V8 early in the project.
to begin, SWECO FFNS quickly had to develop its plans for the 13,500- Fast Facts
square-meter production facility and the 2,400-square-meter microbio- • The facility measured 13,500 square meters, and included a 2400- logical analysis laboratory. The company was required to start delivering square-meter microbiological analysis laboratory.
• Designing in 3D allowed the team to generate and deliver section drawings immediately to construction contractors. Design planning views and 2D drawings in a matter of minutes.
• Using MicroStation V8 allowed the team to easily handle and deliver began in January 2002, and construction is expected to be complete DWG and other file formats used by contractors.
in October 2003. Commercial production of Nexium IV is scheduled • Even team members with no prior experience in MicroStation were able to begin work at full speed with very little training. Bentley Products Used
• Bentley Architecture
• MicroStation V8
SWECO FFNS Changes its Technology Prescription
Adding to the challenge, SWECO FFNS’ design team decided to
switch from a CAD software application it had been using to
MicroStation® and Bentley® Architecture™ for the project, migrating
to MicroStation V8 early on as the project progressed.
While the software application the firm had been using was meetingits current needs, it was not user-friendly or flexible. In addition,future development of the product was not promising, so SWECOFFNS couldn’t foresee the application meeting the long-term chal-lenges of both the project and the firm. “We realized there were going to be challenges involved in usinga product for the first time on a project of this scale,” says Anna-BritaKrakenberger, lead architect with SWECO FFNS who manages theuse of Bentley software in the firm. “But we experienced success with Bentley Architecture on smaller projects and believed it couldhandle any problem we might face. We didn’t feel as confident thatthe application we were using up until that point would be able to meet our demands moving forward. “We saw switching to Bentley applications as an investment in ourfuture,” continues Krakenberger. “And the benefits so far have beenbetter than we expected in a lot of ways—ease of use, capabilities,time-saving features, and future potential, to name a few.” Fast Absorption Rate for Quick Results
Training the project architects on the Bentley applications proved
to be a lot easier and take less time than the project team had
initially anticipated.
“We had been prepared to spend a lot of time training our peopleon Bentley Architecture, but we were pleasantly surprised when ourpeople—who had no previous experience with the software—started to work at full speed,” remarks Krakenberger. “That was really impressive, and a relief, as we were expecting to encounter a lot of problems, too.” The team found Bentley Architecture more user-friendly than they hadimagined, particularly when it came to designing complex 3D models.
“Bentley Architecture is very intuitive, which is good for architects,”explains Krakenberger. “We found we could design complicated corners, for instance, very easily using Bentley Architecture. And we could see our efforts immediately in 3D, which makes it easier to think in 3D.” Positive Side Effects
Using MicroStation and Bentley Architecture on the project proved
to be beneficial in a number of ways. Because design was sometimes
only one week ahead of construction, SWECO FFNS had to deliver 2D “We had different types of files in the 3D model, like the facade files, and design files to construction contractors very quickly. Since SWECO FFNS we didn't need to divide everything in floors like traditional horizontal was designing in 3D, SWECO architects and engineers could generate designing,” he continues. “We could make more vertical designs very easily." section views and 2D drawings from the 3D model in an instant andpresent them to the builders in a matter of minutes. A Remedy for Interferences
Designing in 3D provided another advantage. Since the HVAC and
"We generated sections, plans and floors directly from the 3D model, electrical engineers primarily designed in 2D, SWECO FFNS redesigned which is the first time we’ve been able to do that,” explains Oskar air ducts, piping, and electrical installations on certain complex floor Svensson, a building engineer on the AstraZeneca project. “We couldn’t sections of the production facility in 3D and incorporated them into the model to visualize the interferences between the disciplines. Relieving the Pain of File Translation
Many of the electrical, structural, HVAC and construction contractors
were working in AutoCAD® and required drawings to be delivered in
DWG. Using MicroStation V8, SWECO FFNS was able to handle and
deliver DWG and other CAD format files easily with no complications.
“It is a great advantage to us that we can view and use the DWG files thevarious contractors send us without any problems, as well as export themback with no problems, with MicroStation V8,” explains Krakenberger.
“Sometimes, we would receive 30 or 40 files at a time. To import theminto the old MicroStation and translate them would have taken a lotof time—time we didn’t have on this project, as we were designing atvirtually the same time as construction was going on. We did the drawingsheets in MicroStation V8, because otherwise we would have had problemsexporting them to the other contractors. So MicroStation V8 savedus a lot of time and hassle.” Getting Nexium IV on the Shelf
As of November 2002, the laboratory structure is complete and will
be outfitted with all equipment and furniture by first quarter, 2003.
SWECO FFNS has met all project deadlines so far, with no delays. The
production facility is scheduled to be online in 2004, for AstraZeneca
to begin producing Nexium IV.
“Bentley applications allow us the opportunity to work in a completelydifferent way,” Krakenberger elaborates. “They enable us to think of abuilding not in terms of a bunch of abstract lines, sections, elevations,or drawings, but to design a structure as a whole organic entity andenvision the end product. “After our success on this project, we are looking forward to exploringthe full potential the programs have to offer. To work more closely withother people involved in the project process and to get more value outof the model, for example, the cost estimation/cost savings potential andso much more. We believe in Bentley’s vision and where Bentley productsare headed.” For more information on Bentley, please visit www.bentley.com or call 1-800-BENTLEY.
Bentley and the “B” Bentley logo and MicroStation are registered trademarks and Architecture is a trademark of Bentley Systems, Incorporated or Bentley Software, Inc. AutoCAD is a registeredtrademark of Autodesk, Inc. All other brands and product names are trademarks of their respective owners. 2003 Bentley Systems, Incorporated. Bentley Systems, Incorporated believes theinformation in this publication is accurate as of its publication date. The information is subject to change without notice. BAA013030-1/0001 8/03

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