NG Bailey develops innovative bracket software to improve structural design

NG Bailey has developed its own bespoke tool to address safety issues around the structural design of supports and fixings, which are often overlooked.

The NG Bailey bracket utility is a software app with a number of benefits, including enhanced productivity, reduced margins for error, a simplified offsite manufacturing process and quality assurance.

Development of the tool was progressed by Paul Marsland, Design and BIM Development Manager at NG Bailey, following a review of current bracket design practices, which revealed that despite the need to improve current methods of calculation, there were no commercially available tools on the market.

“Until now, the structural design aspect of support and fixings has often been overlooked by the industry, resulting in potentially unsafe and often costly situations. The bracket utility was designed as a direct response to this and not only addresses safety concerns, but has cost and time-saving benefits for engineers.
“The tool marks a shift-change in the approach to structural supports and we are really pleased with the positive response from our suppliers and consultants. It is now used as standard on all of our projects, ensuring consistency across our processes.”
Steve Campbell, Technical Director of NG Bailey

The tool includes full structural analysis of a bracket and accurately calculates steelwork deflection and the load share between supports in real time. Users can also add M&E services to each tier of the bracket. The bracket utility then produces one comprehensive report, which includes dimensional images and a bill of quantities. This means that once designed, a bracket can be manufactured directly from the application output.

The functionality and features of the tool have been developed through designer and engineer engagement, as well as feedback on live NG Bailey projects.