Tene adapts ArchiLogs & ArchiFrame to speed up log home production

Tene is a log home company headquartered in Estonia that has been in the timber manufacturing business for over 25 years and has about 90 members of staff. Alongside its extensive log home catalog, Tene also specializes in creating custom log homes.

Working with a wide range of clients, Tene has a reputation for being both reliable and innovative. Tene has been using ArchiLogs for over a decade and recently also started using (some) features of ArchiFrame. For Tene, ArchiLogs is at the heart of designing and manufacturing log homes.

Kaarel Raudkivi, who joined Tene two years ago, is well-versed in how Tene uses ArchiLogs. He was part of the transformation initiative and has been spearheading customizations at Tene ever since.

Find out more about Kaarel’s and Tene’s journey of implementing ArchiLogs, which included a customization project with developers from Timehouse Oy to improve efficiency and ensure ArchiLogs and ArchiFrame were adapted to Tene workflows.

ArchiLogs is the right choice for Tene due to its adaptability

As Kaarel explains, Tene operates in a hybrid way: “we mainly offer our catalog products but can quickly and accurately undertake custom projects when necessary and when we have space for such projects. Our focus is on ensuring production time effectiveness”.

As a BIM software ArchiLogs combines automation with code flexibility, giving Tene a flexible base for its workflow.

Ville Pietilä, Archicad Specialist from Nordic BIM Finland Oy, explains how “the Tene case is a great example how agile and flexible the tailoring of ArchiLogs and ArchiFrame can be, and how fast this system is on full production speed”.

Ville Pietilä also highlights the supreme adaptability of the software: “we can honestly say that these solutions support workflows of all sizes and for a variety of companies in the industrial wood processing industry, from small family businesses to some of the largest businesses in the world”.

Kaarel Raudkivi concurs: “It is great that ArchiLogs and ArchiFrame are both reliable and proven software that are also open for modifications if needed, because no two construction companies or wood factories are the same”.

How customizing ArchiLogs helps Tene work faster with less errors

In construction, saving time and improving accuracy are paramount software requirements. Being able to customize ArchiLogs to meet specific Tene requirements was key to the successfully speeding up documentation creation.

“Before ArchiLogs and ArchiFrame, we used to manually create element lists and track dimensions such as length and diameter etc. But now, since our first customization updates, this is all done automatically. Looking back, it seems unbelievable that we ever did any of it by hand!”.

ArchiLogs enables faster edits to custom house designs and the export of these designs directly to CNC, speeding up Tene’s production line.

One of the tangible ways in which ArchiLogs has helped Tene is in the software’s ability to maintain its element database:

“An average house has close to 1000 separate pieces: without a program to automatically count and label elements, assembling a house is a painstakingly manual process. With over 400 house designs, maintaining a good database of elements and designs is paramount for us, and our customized element list with ArchiLogs and ArchiFrame helps us keep track of everything.”.

Another important ArchiLogs customization project touched on labelling, ensuring that element sticker info was forwarded and printed correctly to save time at factories.

“Working with different factories means working with different machines and different labelling systems. We needed some updates made to the in-built labelling system so that it was more flexible and matched up with our other program upgrades”.

Automation saves Tene time, bringing efficiency benefits while reducing errors.

“Overall, with all these updates over the past two years, when it comes to starting a new average-sized custom house, we save 50% of the time we used to take per build. There is so much less manual work”.

Making Archicad work for Tene’s commercial needs

Getting up to speed with the latest version of Archicad was a big change for Tene. Kaarel saw a significant boost in productivity once the latest version was adopted.

“Now that we're using the newer version, the program is waiting for me, not the other way around. It's not only about saving time, but also about reducing errors and having a process that lines up with our commercial needs.”

Ville Pietilä explains how BIM methodologies help their clients across the board: “the integrated Archicad workflow proves the benefits of the BIM methodology, and with this trio, we offer support for all phases: from early sketching to CNC-output and beyond to the building site. With our solutions clients can actually 3D print wooden houses on an industrial scale and in an automated manner”.

Securing the future with the right BIM software

Software upgrades keep the business more robust and ensure it can weather changes as it grows and scales.

“For the past year we have been profiting heavily (in time and mistakes avoided) from upgrades we did two years ago. Since then, we have continued to refine our processes”.

Kaarel has some advice for people seeking support in their BIM journey: be clear on what your processes are and what you need. Don’t be scared to consider software customization and just start somewhere.

“As always, there was a lot of trial and error and testing things out when we first started with upgrades. ArchiLogs is not going to tell you exactly what to do: the best way to learn the software is through the actual process of building and using it”.

For Tene, working with Timehouse developers on ArchiLogs customizations has been a smooth process. Tene appreciates Timehouse’s expertise when it comes to coding ArchiLogs and the team’s ability to follow through on project and development promises.