Design a project in the order it is built¶
ConstructiVision asks you to design a tilt-up job in the same order the crew builds it. Each step depends on the steps before it:
The site comes first, because the slab is the casting bed.
On a panel, the form must exist before anything is cut from it.
Everything on the down face is laid before the reinforcement.
Lifting and bracing come last, because they depend on the finished panel’s weight, centre of gravity and openings.
The toolbar runs left to right in this order, so working along it follows the sequence below.
The site, in the order it is built¶
step |
in the field |
in ConstructiVision |
|---|---|---|
Units |
Imperial or metric for the whole job |
|
Preconstruction |
Review site access for equipment, deliveries and the crane. Get the engineered tilt-up package, the approved shop drawings and the bracing manual. Plan the casting and lifting sequence, and choose a crane for the heaviest panel at its reach. |
New Project, Project Details |
Lay out the building |
The structural grid, and the wall lines the panels stand on, with each corner’s condition (butt, bypass or miter) |
Site Grid, Walls |
Foundations |
The footings under the panels, with shim points placed so the footing is not overloaded before grouting |
Footing Step, on each panel |
Slab-on-grade, except the leave-outs |
The slab is the casting bed and the working surface, so it must carry the brace loads and the crane. The closure strip is left unpoured along the panel line so the panels can be set and braced. |
Slabs: the slab outline, the closure strip and the brace line |
Panel layout on the slab |
Where each panel is cast, so the crane can lift it to its place on the wall within its reach |
Attach Panels, Construction Layout IN / OUT, Cast Layout Draw |
Form and cast the panels |
Each panel, in the order in the next section |
the panel buttons |
Before lift day |
The concrete has reached lifting strength. Inserts and braces are checked against the shop drawings, and the crane is rigged and inspected. Ramps let the crane onto the slab, and it never bears on the slab edge. |
Pick Points, Brace Points |
Lift and set |
Each panel is tilted off its casting surface in the planned sequence, set on its shims, plumbed, and braced before the crane lets go |
Tilt-Up Panels, Autosite |
Steel and roof deck |
The roof structure connects to the panels and completes the building’s lateral system |
the panels’ weld connections |
Pour the leave-outs |
The closure strip is poured after the steel and roof deck. Backfill against the panels carefully. |
the closure strip set under Slabs |
Remove the braces |
Only after every structural connection is made, as the engineer of record directs |
– |
Check and issue |
The interference check, QA findings, materials list, panel book and revisions |
Interference Check, QA Findings, Materials List, Print, Revision History |
In ConstructiVision you set up the site record first: units, project, grid, walls and slab. Then you design every panel. Then you return to the site drawing for the casting layout and the crane plan, because both need the finished panels’ sizes, weights and pick points. The job runs the same way: the panel layout is planned before casting, and it is only final once the panels are.
Warning
Crane stations belong fully outside the wall clearance or fully inside the closure strip, never across the slab edge. A crane with one track on the slab and one on unpoured ground can tip under load. Check every station in the crane plan against this before you issue it.
The panel, in the order it is built on the bed¶
1. Main dimensions and the form¶
what |
button |
|---|---|
Width, thickness, bottom and top elevations, peak or arch |
Edit Main Panel |
Edge miters, expansion gaps, gridlines and the corner condition |
Edit Main Panel |
The casting face (which face is down), and the dimension and elevation references |
Edit Main Panel |
For an insulated sandwich panel: exterior wythe, insulation and wythe connectors |
Sandwich Panel |
Top steps and footing steps, the outline of the form |
Top Step, Footing Step |
You set the sandwich layers here because they divide the panel’s thickness. In the field, the exterior wythe, insulation and connectors go down in step 4, before the structural wythe’s reinforcement.
2. Cuts through the full depth¶
what |
button |
|---|---|
Windows and other standard openings |
Standard Opening |
Man doors |
Man Door |
Dock levelers |
Dock Leveler |
Rough openings |
Rough Opening |
3. Partial-depth shaping¶
what |
button |
|---|---|
Recesses and blockouts |
Recess / Blockout |
Pilasters, lintels and thickened edges |
Pilaster / Lintel, Lintel Details |
Spandrel seats |
Spandrel Seat |
Chamfer strips on the form edges |
Chamfer |
4. The down face, laid on the bed before the reinforcement¶
what |
button |
|---|---|
Reveals, horizontal and vertical |
Reveals, Vertical Reveals |
Form liners and other face materials: thin brick, stone, exposed aggregate, sandblast |
Exterior Face |
Embeds on the down face |
Weld Connections, Edit Embeds |
5. Edges and reinforcement¶
what |
button |
|---|---|
Slab dowels through the bottom edge |
Slab Dowels |
Reinforcement |
not drawn by ConstructiVision |
6. The up face and the top edge¶
what |
button |
|---|---|
Embeds on the up face |
Weld Connections, Edit Embeds |
Ledger and top plate |
Ledger / Top Plate |
Roof line |
Roof Line |
Weld Connections appears once on the toolbar, with the down face. Use it in step 4 for the down-face rows, and again in step 6 for the up-face rows.
7. Last: lifting and bracing¶
what |
button |
|---|---|
Pick points (lifting inserts) |
Pick Points |
Brace points (bracing inserts) |
Brace Points |
The data the panel specialty engineer or insert supplier needs |
These come last because their positions depend on the panel’s weight, its centre of gravity, its openings and its embeds, and those are final only after steps 1 to 6. The lifting and embed design itself belongs to the panel specialty engineer.
8. Check and issue¶
Check the weight, centre of gravity, area and volume in the title block. Run the interference check on the site, print the shop drawing, and add a revision stamp when a released panel changes. See Print a panel book and Track revisions.
The Main Panel feature checklist¶
The Panel Features toggles in the Edit Main Panel dialog follow the same order, six to a row:
row |
toggles |
|---|---|
1, cuts and partial depth |
Standard Opening, Man Door, Dock Leveler, Recess/Blockout, Pilaster/Lintel, Chamfer |
2, face, connections, edges |
Reveal, Weld Connections, Slab Dowels, Ledger/Top Plate, Roof Line, Pick Points |
3, the last step |
Brace Points |
Where the order comes from¶
The order follows these sources. Each one names the step it supports.
Regulation. OSHA 29 CFR 1926.704(a): tilt-up wall panels “shall be adequately supported to prevent overturning and to prevent collapse until permanent connections are completed”. This is why the braces come off last. OSHA 1926.704
Industry standard. ACI 551.1R-14, Guide to Tilt-Up Concrete Construction: preconstruction planning; the floor slab as the casting bed, with slab closure strips; forming and casting in the order forming, architectural treatments, reinforcement, embed plates, lifting and bracing inserts, then concrete placement; and sandwich panels.
Industry standard. TCA, Safety Guideline for Tilt-Up Concrete Construction, version 13.1 (June 2013): the checks before construction, before lift day, during the lift and after it. TCA Safety Guideline (PDF)
Industry standard. ACI 551.2R-15, section 11.4: the lifting and embed design belongs to the panel specialty engineer.
Best practice. D. Greive and D. Buzzelli, “Speed to Market and Slab-On-Grade Performance in Tilt-Up Construction”, Tilt-Up Today, 2026: the site sequence above. Article
Best practice. J. MacKinnon, “Considerations When Designing and Building A Tilt-Up Project”, Tilt-Up Today, 2007: every project needs a panel layout diagram showing where each panel is cast on the slab. Article
Best practice. E. Sauter, “Panel Forming”, Tilt-Up Today, 2007: edge forms, then door and window blockouts, then reveals, then bond breaker, then reinforcing and embedments. Article
Best practice. D. Dixon, “Insulated Sandwich Panels”, Tilt-Up Today, 2008: the exterior wythe, insulation and connectors first; interior reinforcing, lifting and bracing hardware in the second pour. Article
ConstructiVision does not design reinforcement. Hand that, and the lifting and bracing design, to the engineer of record and the panel specialty engineer.