The Sauda Hydro Power Project is the largest hydro power project currently under construction in Norway. Reconstruction and enlargement of the existing power plant will increase the energy production from the Sauda catchment by approximately 500 GWh per year. Challenges included the geography -- the power plant is built inside a narrow rock cavern – and a short construction period. In addition, it encompasses multiple disciplines and involves late decisions that required rapid design changes.

Norconsult used Bentley BIM solutions because it needed powerful software to support collaboration among disciplines. BIM also automated the creation of more than 450 drawings, with repeated recreation of all drawings -- resulting in time savings of approximately 30 percent. Overall, the use of 3D modeling increased efficiency, quality, and safety of the project.