BASF began planning a new vitamin A production plant in Ludwigshafen back in 2016. The plant was designed to increase annual production capacity by 1,500 tonnes. By the time it went into operation at the end of 2020, around 600 machines and devices, 4,000 pipes and 5,000 measuring points had been integrated into the process control system.

Since May 2019, promaintain has been the sole contractor for scaffolding in this project with more than 12 employees - scaffolders non included. As in the ACETYLEN project in Ludwigshafen, which was successfully completed in 2019, the scaffolding for the GEMINI project was also based on a worldwide unique method of planning and execution. Here, a digital 3D scaffolding twin was modelled using BIM and special scaffolding software.

Our role as a partner

During the 18-month project period, the on-site project team used Autodesk's BIM 360 Field construction management software to record and manage over 4,000 scaffolding units. The processes were precisely planned and documented in terms of both time and space.

By combining 3D scaffolding planning with data management via the BIM platform, later users of the scaffolding can check the planned scaffolding structures for usability, variability, and flexibility before they're built and have them optimized if needed. Our solution helps to minimize conversion times, optimize scaffolding costs, and proactively integrate high safety standards as early as the planning phase. In the interests of the customer, promaintain contributes to positively influencing efficiency and effectiveness in the project with this innovative scaffolding management. promaintain was honored by BASF in mid-2019 for its “outstanding safety work” associated with this approach.

PERI material in use

Of the total of around 2,000 tons of scaffolding material, the majority was planned using CAD and provided as a 3D model. The PERI UP and VARIOKIT systems proved their worth thanks to their versatility and were used in a wide variety of applications – from standing, protective, and suspended scaffolding to supporting structures and stair accesses to material platforms and mobile working scaffolds.

Thanks to the metric grid of both systems, the scaffolding solution could be flexibly adapted with system components. A particular challenge was the integration of 30 m high heavy-duty platforms and a bridging structure on the northern side of the building.