The town of Merthyr Tydfil, Wales used software to optimise the construction of a sustainable transport hub.
Originally built in the 1960s, Merthyr Tydfil’s bus station, one of the busiest in Wales, had fallen into disrepair.
It got to the point where graffiti and other anti-social behaviour made it a place to be endured by those using it, rather than appreciated and valued.
An overhaul was long overdue, but while speed was of the essence, it couldn’t come at the expense of quality.
Key to the project’s successful design, delivery and completion was the deployment of digital software, provided by Bluebeam.
This software enabled better communications, more accurate mark-ups and swifter exports of data.
Completed in time and on budget
Merthyr Tydfil County Borough Council (MTCBC) hired the services of contractor Morgan Sindall and architect Capita to develop the new facility, and work kicked off in July 2019.
Despite complexities around the site, the town’s new sustainable bus station was completed on schedule 18 months later in January 2021 and inside its £12m budget.
The project used a local supply chain – of which 95% was within 25 miles of the project.
Thanks to the input of all those involved, Merthyr Tydfil now has a clean, modern, triple award-winning public transport hub that it can be proud of.
The hub will serve locals and visitors for many years and can boast that, in its delivery and operation, it has a minimal impact on the environment.
Digital working
Collaborating remotely
The construction team used Bluebeam’s Revu software, a move which made communications five times faster. Tasks that would usually take a week took only a day.
As well as the core delivery team, many subcontractors used it throughout the project.
Bluebeam’s design review allowed the project’s partners to mark up and collaborate on the same documents in real time or remotely.
This enabled better project data communication, with customised, in-depth annotations.
All markups appeared in an integrated, customisable list for easy tracking.
This was exceptionally helpful as the build was completed during the global lockdowns caused during the Covid pandemic.
Working faster and more efficiently
As a result, design reviews were completed in half the usual time, while quantities and estimations were 80% faster.
The team was able to save and organise custom markups in the software’s tool chest.
For example, they could save PDF markups, which add annotations like text, highlights or callouts to documents.
The hyperlinks’ function, meanwhile, takes users to other pages, specific locations in documents, web pages and even other documents.
The project’s quantity surveying team used Bluebeam to create more accurate measurements and cost estimates.
The measurement tools in Revu helped to capture a project’s true scope, tracking measurements in the markup list, and exporting data easily to Microsoft Excel.
Ensuring good quality
The planning team behind the construction programme used the same tool for sequencing and planning the project timelines.
This allowed for faster, more accurate and more thorough quality assurance (QA) and quality control (QC) reviews.
Architect Capita used Bluebeam’s calibrating and measurement tools to determine a PDF’s scale and deliver accurate measurements.
These changes were shown as markups, which meant any changes were displayed straight onto the design itself.
Making a complex design achievable
Capita said these Bluebeam features were instrumental in allowing Morgan Sindall to pay close attention to the design detail.
It credited the contractor for using such digital tools to make a complex design achievable.
According to Ross Williams, Morgan Sindall’s project’s site manager and project lead, by using Bluebeam, any changes could be communicated in an open and transparent way.
“When a [software] feature is clear and simple it’s really striking for those who use it,” he said.
“Historically with information scribbled on paper, finer details might have been lost in translation. But with Bluebeam, we could keep both MTCBC and Capita informed quickly and accurately.”
Sustainability at heart
Morgan Sindall said its team used recycled natural stone and timber soffits within the design.
The structure was also built in layers, a decision that was aimed at making it easy to maintain it in the future and dismantle once it had reached the end of its life.
The contractor achieved a 100% waste diversion from landfill rate and reduced construction carbon by 50 tonnes.
It also reported a 50% lower carbon use rate than any other Morgan Sindall construction site across the UK.
Heating and hot water powered by green renewable energy sources reduced the carbon impact of the project for the lifetime of the building.
The new facility has greatly improved access to local and regional bus networks, while also creating seamless interchange opportunities with the nearby Metro rail station.
An electric future
The new station has 14 bus stands, a new modern concourse and a two-storey steel-framed main building.
The zinc roof has been designed to reflect the local and iconic Cyfarthfa ironworks – which closed down in 1928 – in acknowledgement and celebration of the town’s heritage.
Recognising the demands of transitioning towards an electric future, Merthyr Tydfil’s bus station is the first in the country which allows for the charging of electric vehicles.
This aligns with the Welsh government’s goal of having all public transport become electrically powered by 2028.
Not only does the new station have facilities to charge fleets of electrically-powered buses, but an electric transport hub for multiple public needs, including charging taxis.
Such an environmentally-savvy and much-needed project was delivered on time, thanks to the cooperation of all those involved.
And the use of Bluebeam’s software ensured quality outcomes from start to finish.
