Plenty of structural engineers finish a Revit Structure course and then meet the same situation. They apply to a pre-engineered building firm or a steel fabrication shop. And the first question is: "Do you know Tekla?"
That question is not an accident. What is Tekla Structures, why does the steel industry use almost nothing else, and when should an engineer add it? That is what this article answers.
What is Tekla Structures?
Tekla Structures is Trimble's structural modelling software. It previously belonged to Tekla, a Finnish company. It grew out of the needs of the steel fabrication industry.
Tekla models every member in 3D with its connections fully detailed. Gussets, bolts, welds and holes are real objects in the model, not annotations. From that model the software issues fabrication drawings, erection drawings, material schedules and data for the CNC machines in the shop.
This is where Tekla is strongest. Once the scheme is settled, the remaining job is to turn it into something a shop can cut, weld and ship, and a crew can erect without a single bolt hole out of place. But saying Tekla is used only for fabrication understates it, as the next section shows.
The level of detail Tekla aims at is fabrication level, usually called LOD 400. That is well above the technical design level where most Revit models stop. Our article on LOD in BIM works through the levels.
From its steel origins, Tekla extended into reinforced and precast concrete. The philosophy did not change: model every bar and every cast-in item, then issue drawings and schedules accurate to the individual element. The Institute teaches the two material tracks as separate courses: Tekla for steel and Tekla for reinforced concrete.
Which stages Tekla actually covers
Many people take Tekla for a fabrication-drawing tool and nothing else. Its reach is wider. Trimble presents it for conceptual design, fabrication, erection and construction management alike.
Design and design documentation. Tekla can model a structure from the scheme stage onward, and issue the design documents straight from that model.
Building the analysis model. Tekla prepares an analysis model to hand to an analysis package. It does not run the analysis itself. Within the Trimble family, analysis and design belong to Tekla Structural Designer and Tekla Tedds. Those are separate products, not Tekla Structures.
Detailing and fabrication. This is Tekla's home ground, covered in detail below.
Construction management. This is the least known part. Tekla ships with a Task Manager that links individual tasks to individual objects in the model. From that it builds a 4D simulation of the programme. The vendor's own documentation describes it as a tool for contractors, sub-contractors and project managers. Programmes import from Microsoft Project or Primavera P6, so the planning team does not re-key anything. Our article on what MS Project is covers that upstream step.
Quantities by lot. The Organizer tool groups objects by any criterion and returns the quantities of each group. Contractors use it to measure by construction stage or by concrete pour.
Coordination and handover. Tekla exports IFC and connects directly to Trimble Connect.
In short: Tekla is strongest at fabrication, but it does not stop there.
Tekla or Revit Structure: eight criteria
Both are BIM tools for structures. But each is optimised for a different stage. The table below reflects how the two are actually used in firms here.
| Criterion | Tekla Structures | Revit Structure |
|---|---|---|
| 1. Stages covered | Design, fabrication and construction management; strongest at fabrication (LOD 400) | Technical design, multi-discipline coordination (LOD 300–350) |
| 2. Steelwork and connections | Very strong: parametric connection library, bolts, welds, gusset clash checking | Models steel members; connection detail is limited and usually needs add-ons |
| 3. Concrete reinforcement | Strong, bar by bar, with fabrication schedules and bending drawings | Workable, enough for design drawings; large jobs usually need extensions |
| 4. Precast concrete | Very strong: cast-in items, lifting anchors, per-element drawings, factory data | Limited |
| 5. Coordination with architecture and MEP | Through IFC; not its strength | Very strong: shares a platform with Revit Architecture and MEP |
| 6. Drawings and schedules | Fabrication and erection drawings, material schedules, CNC data, largely automatic | Design drawings and quantity schedules; no fabrication data |
| 7. Link to analysis software | Possible via an analysis model, but little used in Vietnam | Better supported, with bridges to the common analysis packages |
| 8. Job market in Vietnam | Pre-engineered buildings, fabrication shops, precast plants | Design consultants, clients, most building-sector BIM work |
Two conclusions follow.
First, in a design office the two do not replace each other. Revit is for designing and coordinating. Tekla comes in when the documents move to fabrication.
Second, the question "Tekla or Revit" is better replaced by another one: which part of the chain do you intend to work in? Answer that and the software chooses itself. Heading for design, learn Revit Structure. Heading for fabrication, learn Tekla Structures.
One small detail in that image is worth noting. Tekla belongs to Trimble, so it connects straight to Trimble Connect. That is one of the widely used common data environment platforms.
Three areas where Tekla clearly wins
Steelwork and pre-engineered buildings. This is Tekla's home ground. A pre-engineered shed has thousands of repeating members: frames, purlins, bracing, gussets, bolts. Tekla builds the frame from parametric components. Change a rafter section and every connection and bolt updates with it. Erection drawings, assembly drawings, single-part drawings and schedules of bolts, paint and weight come out almost automatically. Where the shop has CNC machines, the file exported from Tekla drives the cutting and drilling lines directly.
Precast concrete. A precast plant needs a drawing for every element, complete with reinforcement, cast-in items and lifting anchors, plus schedules by production batch. Tekla does this well enough to connect to the plant's production management system. Modular construction is expanding, so this field is short of people.
Bridges and special structures. Reinforcement in piers, abutments and bridge girders is something Tekla handles well. So is the steelwork of truss and arch bridges. The reason is that Tekla is not tied to the storey-and-grid concept the way Revit is. Steel towers and foundations for transmission lines fall in the same group. The Institute runs a dedicated Tekla course for transmission tower reinforcement for exactly that demand.
There is one case where Revit is clearly more convenient: a multi-storey cast-in-place concrete building with full architecture and services to coordinate. Tekla can still handle the reinforcement on such a job. But few firms choose that route, unless they are a main contractor who needs steel quantities bar by bar.
Who uses Tekla in Vietnam
There are no official figures. But judging by where the Institute's graduates go to work, there are four groups.
- Pre-engineered buildings and steel fabrication. Firms making sheds, factories and logistics warehouses. Almost all of them use Tekla for fabrication drawings. This is the group that hires the most.
- Precast and modular construction. Precast element plants, modular housing firms, makers of piles and precast girders.
- Main contractors and large subcontractors. Tekla in the steelwork department, or for managing reinforcement on a large job. Revit still runs alongside it for coordination.
- Outsourcing firms serving foreign markets. Steel detailing for the US, Australia and Europe. This group demands fluency in Tekla and the ability to read the destination country's detailing standards.
If you are aiming at any of those, Tekla is the main tool and Revit the secondary one. If you are aiming at a building design consultancy, it is the other way round. Our article on Revit Architecture, Structure or MEP covers choosing a direction.
What you need before learning Tekla
Tekla is not hard to operate. It is hard because it expects you to understand how a member is made and erected. Three foundations are worth having.
Structural detailing. For steel: bolted and welded connections, gussets, stiffeners, erection clearances. For concrete: anchorage, laps, bends, cover. Someone without this can still build a model that looks right. The shop will not be able to fabricate from it.
Reading structural design drawings. Tekla starts from the technical design documents. If you cannot read them, you cannot model from them. Engineers and structural draughtsmen already have this.
Thinking in terms of what can be made. In Tekla every modelling decision is a production decision. How to split a member so it can be transported. How to number pieces so the erection crew does not mix them up. What tolerances to allow. This is learned fastest by rebuilding a real project that has already been fabricated.
On the route itself, the Institute's Tekla Structures fundamentals course runs 15 sessions. The sequence follows a real fabrication package. The first half is modelling: hot-rolled frames, connections, pre-engineered buildings, purlins and roof bracing, working platforms, stairs and handrails. The second half produces the documents: GA drawings, assembly drawings, single-part drawings and quantity schedules. Those heading for concrete take Tekla for reinforced concrete, also 15 sessions.
One point about where you learn matters here. RDSIC, the Institute's training centre, is a Trimble Authorized Training Center. Trimble owns Tekla. That means the programme follows the way the vendor teaches the software, rather than passed-along habit.
Engineers already comfortable in Revit Structure usually move across faster than beginners, because they already think in objects. What has to be learned afresh is connections and fabrication documentation.
Frequently asked questions
Is Tekla a BIM tool?
Yes. Tekla is one of the oldest structural BIM tools there is. It supports IFC and exchanges models with Revit and Navisworks. What separates it from Revit is the level of detail and the stage it serves, not whether it counts as BIM.
How long does it take to learn?
For an engineer or draughtsman already sound on detailing, a 15-session course plus a few months building a real project is enough for basic fabrication drawings. Reaching the level of large sheds or export work takes further time on real jobs.
Do design engineers need Tekla?
If you design and hand over technical documents, Revit Structure is enough. If your firm both designs and fabricates, or you want to move into steel and precast, then yes.
Does Tekla analyse structures?
Tekla Structures does not. It produces an analysis model and passes it to an analysis package. Within the Trimble family, analysis and design belong to two other products: Tekla Structural Designer and Tekla Tedds. So "Tekla does not analyse" holds only for Tekla Structures.
Can I learn Tekla without knowing BIM?
You can, but understand the wider picture first. What is BIM? explains it in ten minutes. Knowing where your model sits in the chain helps you build to the right level of detail from the start.
What about installation and licensing?
The first session of the fundamentals course is devoted to it: installation, the concept of environments, Roles and Licences. Students get set up before any modelling begins.