Smart factory, smart BIM

connecting people

SEW Eurodrive, a leading international firm for drive and automation technology, wanted to extend its facilities in Graben–Neudorf to 62,000 m2. The goal was to create a smart factory. Factory buildings, storage facilities, office and recreational areas follow industry 4.0 processes and principles of artificial-intelligence human–machine interaction (HMI). From the new parking facility, staff can reach their workplace in the factory hall by crossing a covered pedestrian bridge and the so-called ‘media bridge’. In the factory hall, the materials delivered from the high-bay warehouse are converted. A truck bridge links the production areas, which are separated by a circular road.

paving the way

All the structures required for this forward-looking project – truck bridge, media bridge, factory halls, high-bay warehouse, energy centre and office buildings – were planned and implemented using the building information modelling (BIM) method. To meet the varied requirements of the end users, a modular structural system consisting of suitable materials was used.

creating construction culture

The innovative structural system is a perfect aesthetic and functional match for the architecture of the whole. The modular approach allows maximum flexibility in a work environment with ever-increasing technological changes. It seems paradoxical, but automation processes and HMI do safeguard jobs in the region.