A building digital twin is a persistent digital record of a physical building — containing its structural design, material specifications, engineering certifications, and operational history. For a VAST building, the digital twin is maintained by SIQ (Structural Intelligence Platform), FormSteel Holdings' proprietary engineering software. The twin is created at the moment of design and updated through construction, certification, and every subsequent modification for the life of the building.
The SIQ digital twin contains the complete structural record: every section size and specification, every connection detail and its calculated capacity, the foundation pile layout with individual pile capacities from installation torque records, the AlloyCoat™ batch certificates for every coated surface, the PS1 producer statement and CPEng certification, the building consent documentation, and the complete maintenance schedule calculated for the building's specific location and environment.
None of this information is held in paper files that can be lost or in an engineer's personal records that retire with them. It is stored permanently in SIQ and accessible at any time.
A tenant requests a 5-tonne mezzanine at Grid B4. In a conventional building, this requires engaging a structural engineer, locating the original drawings, commissioning a new structural assessment, and waiting two to four weeks for a report. Cost: NZD $3,000 to $8,000. Time: two to four weeks.
In a VAST building with SIQ, the question is answered in minutes. SIQ holds the pile capacity at Grid B4, the beam section capacity above that point, and the floor loading history. The assessment is complete from existing data. If the mezzanine is structurally feasible, a PS1 can be generated immediately.
Insurance companies and banks increasingly require detailed structural documentation for reinstatement valuations and refinancing assessments. A SIQ digital twin provides complete, current, and certified structural data on demand — eliminating the need for new investigations that delay transactions and add cost.