Johma: unifying a 30,000 m² factory complex in a single digital model
Anyone who has walked the Johma site sees not one factory, but a chain of building sections that have grown together over the years. Every extension brought its own column structure and its own dimensions, and for many sections no accurate drawings existed any more. For a food producer that is constantly installing new production lines, that is a risk. Complex sites that have grown this way are exactly where CREW-B excels.
How the project came to us
The project reached CREW-B through Bouwteam P&O, responsible for maintaining the site, working together with Signature Food Group. They were looking for a partner who could survey the entire Johma production site, more than 30,000 m², and bring all the separate building sections together into one reliable model.
The challenge
The building was in effect a series of separate structures built up against one another over time. Every refurbishment or extension brought a new column structure and different dimensions, while the drawings from earlier phases were never updated or aligned with each other. The result: no overall picture of what the site actually looked like, even though exact dimensions are essential for a food producer fitting in new production equipment.
Our approach
To scan a site of this size within a single day, CREW-B deployed two VLX scanners simultaneously. It made for a long day on site, but by the end of it the entire factory was captured in point clouds, including the roofs, which were scanned as well. Using GPS equipment, the point cloud was also aligned to RD coordinates, so the model is geographically correct too.
The modelling work then took the most time: all existing building sections, with their varying column structures and dimensions, were merged into one continuous BIM model in a single consistent drawing style. That stage took around a month.
The result
Johma now has one up-to-date model of the entire site instead of separate, outdated drawings per building section. Johma also has access to the NavVis IndoorViewer. In a factory this size it can easily take twenty minutes to walk to a specific hall; with the IndoorViewer, staff log in at their computer and look around any hall they choose in full 360 degrees.
These tools are actively used within Johma when ordering new production components: before new equipment is purchased, the model and the IndoorViewer are checked first to confirm that the dimensions and column spacing will fit in the hall concerned. The project has since been completed and gives Johma a central, accurate single source of truth for both day-to-day management and future extensions.
