Case Study: Alexander MacDonald automates earthworks costing with 12d Model from 12d Solutions

Alexander MacDonald - Customer Case Study

Alexander MacDonald, a graduate engineer, faced the challenge of producing accurate earthworks cost estimates for road and rail projects, a process that was traditionally slow and manual. The difficulties lay in manually calculating cut/fill volumes, determining material movement paths, and estimating vehicle haul times, leading to potentially inaccurate costs. To address this, he utilized 12d Solutions' 12d Model software as part of his research and development of the Model for the Automatic Costing of Earthworks (MACE) prototype.

The solution from 12d Solutions involved using 12d Model to create a digital terrain model, establish the road alignment, and calculate cut/fill volumes. A key 12d macro then found optimal haul roads over the terrain. This data was fed into a system that simulated vehicle travel times and fuel consumption. The result was that 12d Solutions' technology enabled MACE to automate the entire costing process, producing detailed dollar and carbon cost estimates in a matter of minutes instead of the lengthy manual process, allowing for faster and more accurate project planning.