Honka invests in BIM to refine its log-building production line

Honka has been the leading company innovating in the log-building industry for over 60 years. As one of the most trusted and recognizable brands in log building, Honka is credited with introducing non-settling log technology back in 2003. The non-settling “CLT- Cross Laminated Log” utilizes CLT principles with additional benefits and has revolutionized the log building industry by enabling modern design and large-scale public log buildings. This technology was patented by Honka in 2016.

Honka Naava © Honka 

To support safer and more sustainable ways of building, you need the right sort of technological environment. Better construction practices are anchored in the ability to maximize software, something in which Honka is an expert.

Here we look at how Honka is using Archicad, ArchiFrame, and ArchiLogs to standardize and systematize its processes, how small incremental changes led to big improvements, and how a new production line in 2020 has boosted Honka’s BIM efforts.

HONKA'S HERITAGE MEETS MODERN TIMBER BIM

60 years, 90,000 houses: numbers that tell the Honka story. Honka’s repertoire includes Pro log houses (large-scale log buildings) alongside the residential log homes that made Honka famous. Honka timber houses are a mark of quality and heritage, yet Honka is also known for being an early adopter of BIM and digitization.

Long-term Archicad users, Honka is at the forefront of log technology development. ArchiLogs has played a big part in that, providing Honka with stability and continuity to grow around a single software.

BIM EARLY ADOPTERS 

Honka has used Archicad since the late 1990s, ArchiLogs since 2009, and ArchiFrame since 2011. Before ArchiLogs, Honka used another CAD software for generating 2D-log wall drawings, which led to inconsistencies. Moving everything into Archicad and finding ArchiLogs gave Honka a lot more cohesion.

Honka has almost a 100 licences around the world, from which 50 users use ArchiLogs too. BIM coordination is an important element of the work done at Honka: ensuring that sales and design teams can efficiently specify the required model. Standardizing the use of Archicad models is an ongoing project at Honka, driving efficiency.

Honka has included lots of its own settings and customizations to ArchiLogs right from the beginning and technical advances mean a constant software review is necessary.

THE POWER OF SMALL CHANGES

It has taken Honka years to create a balanced system and it's largely a product of small, incremental changes.

In an industry where repetitive tasks are done at scale, even small tweaks to software can have a big impact. Saving time on a modeling job can lead to a lot of saved time overall. As Honka products have changed and evolved, the software’s built-in product catalog has also changed. On-site confusion has been avoided through software alignment.

© Elina Simonen

The software allows for multiple designers and engineers to collaborate on the same model. With an all-encompassing model, collaboration is smooth and Honka can freely experiment with its own workflows and test different ways of working.

THE POWER OF THE ARCHICAD + ARCHIFRAME + ARCHILOGS COMBINATION

For Honka, visualization is one of the most important features of ArchiLogs. Being able to select an element and immediately check its machinings and drillings is a lot faster in 3D than in a PDF. Using 3D visualization means that you can see what the building will look like in-situ.

ArchiFrame and ArchiLogs are a great pair, and as they are both in sync inside Archicad, there is no risk of designs negatively interacting with each other. Modeling complex roof structures alongside log notches is made easy. Even when produced in separate production lines, logs, beams, and trusses are all coordinated within a synchronized system. Archicad’s built-in collision checking makes the job of engineers a lot easier.

Working in an international context with different log types is easy when using software with Archicad’s flexibility. It does not matter what country you are in: if you are inside Archicad, you can operate in the same ecosystem. Archicad also works with other software and internal classification systems.

CONTINUITY AND CHANGE IN LOG TECHNOLOGY 

When Honka brought out non-settling log technology 20 years ago, a big change in timber engineering came about. The non-settling log changed the way we build, allowing for a more diverse pairing of building materials, mixing logs with glass and timber frames.

Building with logs requires increasingly complex machinings and drillings to reflect the evolution of the surrounding materials. Honka has been a driving force in this innovation thanks to adaptable software that copes with new building materials and in a hybrid environment.

Honka Havu © Honka

For an idea of scale, some of the largest ArchiLogs-Honka projects include deliveries of up to 18 full-size truckloads filled with a total of over 20 kilometers of profiled, machined logs, for a single building. Every single log on that delivery would have been designed down to the smallest detail and CNC milled with ArchiLogs.

FLEXIBLE SYSTEMS MEAN MORE RESILIENT BUSINESS

Anyone who can use Archicad will be able to adopt ArchiLogs and ArchiFrame. ArchiLogs is an integral part of Honka’s entire workflow: it contributes to a system where the architectural model is integral to production. The software itself does not create silos or boundaries, so a flexible workflow is achieved.

© Elina Simonen

Having flexible software improves your ability to react to the changing market. During COVID-19 there were a lot of material supply issues and Honka had to innovate and develop new products to reflect the new reality. ArchiLogs allowed Honka to embrace iterative product development.

Having access to accurate data serves as input for further material calculations on sustainability, helping with compliance and paperwork. Currently, with mandatory BIM requirements coming to the construction act in Finland, Honka will be prepared thanks to its ability to use IFC files and enrich data.

LOG BUILDING IN THE 21ST CENTURY AND BEYOND

Honka’s new production line launched in 2020: a more automated and sophisticated production precipitated software changes. The production line has been developed in an iterative way, together with ArchiLogs development.

It’s important to be commercially savvy in an industry like this, especially during lean times. You learn how to be efficient and maximize potential. Investing in internal processes means investing in the future. Efficiency, centralization, and modernization are keywords.

In terms of future development, documentation, quantity takeoffs, and being able to get accurate data on materials are going to be very important.