This project aimed to improve the understanding and design process for masonry support façade systems.  An outcome was to enable the company to increase market share and profitability.  To achieve this a much deeper understanding of the behaviour of the product was required and was investigated at QUB.  This was achieved through extensive numerical modelling and structural testing in the Heavy Structures laboratory in Civil Engineering.  The work was carried out by Emanuele Scarabino and supervised by Owen Coyle and Paul Graham in IGMSS and Daniel McPolin and Patrick McGetrick in QUB.

The project improved efficiency in the design process, calculating over one million design solutions in under 60 seconds.  This delivered solutions which used less material.  This made them more sustainable.  Reduced weight made production and handling of the product easier.  The material saving reduced cost, improved the process of installation and adjustment, saving further costs.  The optimisation of the design process resulted in time saved by design engineers and factory production, thus creating the time and space for business growth and expansion.

The process of factory production and control was improved and the handling of data was optimised during the project, reducing the time required for changes introduced to be implemented in the factory.  This resulted in a more satisfied client and staff and reduced wastage.