Arup is providing engineering design and technical advisory services supporting procurement, coordination, and construction of the Eglinton Crosstown West Extension (ECWE), a $4.7bn extension of the Eglinton Crosstown LRT in Toronto. The Eglinton Crosstown West Extension will take the Crosstown LRT another 9.2 km farther west, and includes seven stations (four underground, two elevated, one partially below-grade), a new bridge over the Humber River, and a 6.5-km tunnel. Supporting a complex multi-disciplinary design required the use of digital tools to facilitate project management and collaboration. Arup developed automated processes using FME (Feature Manipulation Engine) and FME Server to convert and publish CAD files to the project webviewer on a daily schedule as they were updated. Using these processes, up-to-date design information is always available to view, analyze, and monitor the progress of the project in a single web mapping application for the project team, client, and stakeholders. The FME automation simplified an update process that required several software and manual intervention, ensuring fast, efficient, and reliable data downloads and conversions were handled autonomously. Additionally, FME provided the ability to validate information and flag any CAD files that did not follow data standards outlined in the project, triggering an automatic email that stopped the conversion process and notified the developer. This helped uncover and resolve issues with design files before shared with the broader team. Overall, FME has automated an otherwise manually exhausting ETL (extract, transform, load) process to accurately maintain and upkeep data, ultimately saving a significant amount of time and improving communication across multiple software platforms and within a multi-disciplinary design team

1. Eglinton Crosstown West Extension:
Leveraging FME to Automate Data
Conversions

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Raj Ubhi
GIS Analyst
Advanced Digital Engineering

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Who is Arup
• We are a global, integrated, and
multidisciplinary firm
• 17,000 engineers, designers, planners,
management consultants,
economists, spatial experts,
programmers, statisticians …
• 89 offices across 33 countries
• Dedicated to delivering value through
expertise, global resources, and local
delivery

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Agenda
1. Project Overview
2. The Problem
3. The Solution
4. Next Steps

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Eglinton Crosstown West Extension (ECWE)
• A 9.2 kilometre extension of the Eglinton
Crosstown Light Rail Transit (LRT) in Toronto,
Ontario, Canada
• 7 stations, a 6.5 kilometre tunnel, and
possible extension to Pearson International
Airport
• Arup is the Technical Advisor (TA) to
Metrolinx (client)
• Arup provides engineering design and
technical advisory services to support
procurement, coordination, and construction

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Supporting a complex multidisciplinary
design requires the use of digital tools to
facilitate project management
and collaboration

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Arup Fuse
• Fuse is a secured platform under a single URL,
where users can access, manipulate or submit
information
• It can be incorporated with and integrate
project data from multiple softwares
• Fuse has been used on projects across the
globe in a range of different business sectors
• For ECWE, Arup Fuse is the ‘single source of
information’ for most information

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Option 1: The Output
We solved the problem. Add your image.

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The Problem with Manual Uploads
• Manually downloading, converting, and
publishing data to Arup Fuse takes up
time and resources
• Design changes are frequent, making it
difficult to keep data inputs on Arup
Fuse up-to-date
• Managing multiple types of data on a
multidisciplinary project can become
overwhelming
• There is no way to check if CAD files
meet project standards

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Objectives through Automation
Step 3
Flag CAD files that do
not follow project data
standards
Step 1
Check if CAD files have
been recently updated
on ProjectWise
Step 2
Convert CAD files to GIS
feature classes and upload
onto Arup Fuse
Develop an
automation that
can

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The Solution: A 2-Step
Approach
Arup developed an automated
process using schedules, email
triggers, and automations in FME
Desktop and Server
Schedule
Automation
ProjectWise
Atlas
Trigger
1
2

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Step 1: Download Data from ProjectWise

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Step 1: Download Data from ProjectWise

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The Solution: A 2-Step
Approach
Arup developed an automated
process using schedules, email
triggers, and automations in FME
Desktop and Server
Schedule
Automation
ProjectWise
Atlas
Trigger
1
2

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Step 2: Convert CAD to GIS

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Step 2: Convert CAD to GIS

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Putting it All Together on FME Server

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FME automation
accomplished all
objectives
Check if CAD files have been recently updated in
ProjectWise using schedules
Convert CAD files to GIS feature classes using
automations
Notify if CAD files are not following project
standards using email triggers

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Automation Statistics
CAD Dollars Saved
Money saved after
implementing FME
automation workflow
* Based on saving 4 hours per day
60k Number of CAD
Files Downloaded
Number of CAD files that are
automatically downloaded
through FME automation
workflow
101 Average Speed of
Downloads in
Minutes
How long is takes to
download CAD files from
ProjectWise
* Based on downloading all files
8 Average Time to
Completion in
Hours
How long it takes to convert
contents of CAD file to GIS
feature classes
* Based on largest workbench
1
Full-Time Equivalent
Employee
Resourcing saved after
implementing FME
automation workflow
* Based on dollars saved
1

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Results
Simplified an update process that
required multiple software and
manual intervention
03
● Increases productivity
● Saves time and resourcing
● Increases opportunities to work on other tasks
The project team, client, and
stakeholders can be confident that the
information on Arup Fuse is accurate
and reliable
02
● Used to review and QA/QC information
● Increases collaboration across all members of the project
● Utilized in project meetings to convey information and notify of
design updates
Up-to-date design information is
always available to view, analyze, and
monitor the progress of the project
01
● Eliminates human data errors
● Improves data management and information tracking
● Improves quality by helping check and enforce data standards

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Tips & Lessons Learned
• Specifying which files and levels need
to be converted from CAD to GIS
requires input from designers
• Changes to file and/or level names
must be communicated to the GIS
analyst
• Create data standards for each file
that needs to be converted before
implementing automation workflow
Place your screen
capture here
Communication with
CAD Designers

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1. Automated an ETL (extract, transform,
and load) process to accurately
maintain and upkeep data
2. Saved a significant amount of time and
resourcing
3. Improved the communication and
project management of information
across multiple disciplines
4. Increased collaboration within a
multidisciplinary design team

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Future Plans
Update FME and FME Server
to 2021 with cloud based
environment
3
Apply FME automation
workflow on future projects
4
Endless opportunities with
FME and FME Server
integration
2
Extract additional metadata
from CAD files for tracking
design information
1

25. Thank You!
raj.ubhi@arup.com

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