Desktop software · Windows · Telecom tower inspection

BCKĐ: inspection reports for antenna towers

BCKĐ was developed by the Institute of Information Technology in Civil Engineering (IIC), Hanoi University of Civil Engineering, together with Viettel Consulting and Services JSC (VTK). It reads the survey data sent in by field teams, rates each inspection item, prepares the input for MSTower to check the tower's structural capacity, and then exports the inspection report in the VTK template.

5 Inspection item groups
3 Load cases
MSTower Link for tower structural analysis
1.2.3 Accepted version
See the reporting workflow About the software
What BCKĐ does

From the field data folder to a complete set of inspection reports

On site, the survey team takes photos and enters measurements in the Viettel Camera phone app, then syncs each site's data to Google Drive. In the office, an engineer downloads the site folder, opens it in BCKĐ, checks each table and clicks export. Most pass/fail ratings are calculated as soon as a measurement is entered or changed.

  • Read the data folder that the field app creates for each site; manage the list of sites in a project
  • Interpolate foundation concrete strength for the type of test instrument; rate earthing resistance and the guy-wire cable clamp ratio
  • Recalculate guy-wire pretension for the tower type; manage the antennas and equipment mounted on the tower
  • Prepare the design file and load file for MSTower; read back the stress results and the tower-top displacement
  • Three load cases: existing loads, after strengthening, and strengthening plus 3 added 5G antennas
  • Export the inspection report, photo report, survey report and acceptance record to Word
The MSTower tab: tower body, guy levels, foundation coordinates and antenna coordinates, all filled in from the survey data.
Scope of inspection

Five groups of items, in the order of the inspection report

The item tree on the left follows the sections of the report, so as you work through it you can see what the report still lacks.

  • 1. General information

    Site code, location, structure details and wind zone. The wind zone is looked up from the site's place name.

  • 2. Tower foundations

    Foundation condition and concrete strength. Choose the test instrument and the software interpolates the strength from the readings.

  • 3. Earthing system

    Enter the measured resistance and the software rates it pass or fail against the threshold in the library.

  • 4. Tower body and accessories

    Tower structure measurements, bolt gaps and tightness, accessories, guy-wire tension, cable clamps, verticality and mounted equipment.

  • 5. Stress and displacement

    Paste the internal force and displacement results from MSTower; the software filters out overstressed members and checks the tower-top displacement.

  • Shared libraries

    Test instruments, cable types, cable clamps, tension by tower type, antennas. You can add, edit and delete entries to match the actual equipment.

Choose the strength test instrument; the result is interpolated again whenever a reading changes.
The cable clamp ratio and rating change with the clamp diameter you enter.
Structural check

Three load cases and the link to MSTower

BCKĐ does not replace MSTower; it prepares the input for it. From the survey data it builds a design file with the tower body, guy levels and guy anchor coordinates, and a file with the equipment loads. You paste these two files into MSTower, run the analysis, and paste the internal force and displacement results back into BCKĐ.

Case What is analysed
LC1 Loads from the equipment currently on the tower
LC2 Loads after strengthening is added, for example an anti-twist bracket or an extra guy level
LC3 As LC2, with 3 added 5G antennas

The software uses the MSTower loading standards TIA/EIA-222-F and TIA/EIA-222-G and supports guyed masts, self-supporting towers, three-legged towers and monopoles. Conclusions and recommendations are suggested from the results: if the existing tower fails, a strengthening scheme is proposed; if it still fails after strengthening, replacing the tower or building an enclosing tower is proposed.

Adding an anti-twist bracket for LC2: once pasted back into MSTower, extra guy wires are created and connected to the bracket.
The whole workflow: the phone survey app supplies the data, BCKĐ processes it and outputs Word reports, an MSTower model and AutoCAD drawings.
Workflow

Producing the inspection report for one site in BCKĐ, step by step

1. Create a project folder

Click New project on the toolbar and enter the folder name and the path where reports will be saved. Each project holds a list of sites; double-click a site to view its data.

Create a project folder to store the reports for each site.

2. Open the field data

  • Download the site's data folder from Google Drive.
  • Click Open data and select the data folder. The folder must keep the structure created by the field app.
  • Choose the output: Inspection report or Photo appendix.
Select the site data folder and the type of report to export.
The field app creates this data folder: enter values item by item, take photos and upload to Google Drive.

3. Check and correct each table

Use the two arrow buttons below the item tree to move through the tables in turn. When you change a measurement, that table's results and ratings are recalculated at once:

  • Foundation concrete strength: choose the test instrument for the interpolation.
  • Earthing: enter the resistance and the software rates it. Cable types can be added, edited and deleted.
  • Cable clamps: change the clamp diameter and the percentage and rating update.
  • Guy-wire tension: choose the tower type to change the pretension, then click Calculate.
  • Equipment on the tower: click Add antenna and pick the antenna type from the library.
Pretension is taken from the tower type in the library; click Calculate after each change of tower type.

4. Prepare the MSTower input

Click MSTower to open the design section. Check the tower body table, the guy levels, the coordinates for drawing the foundations and those for drawing the antennas. Click the level check button to make sure each guy level sits on the correct node, then click Create run file.

Compare the old and new diagrams to check the guy levels before creating the run file.

5. Run MSTower

  • Copy the whole design file, open MSTower and paste it into the design section.
  • Copy the whole load file and paste it into the MSTower load section.
  • For LC2, add the anti-twist bracket and its dimensions in BCKĐ, then copy the result into MSTower again.
  • Run the internal force analysis in MSTower.

6. Filter stresses and check displacement

  • Copy all the internal force results in MSTower.
  • Open the Member stress table, select guyed mast, paste the results and click Calculate to filter out overstressed members.
  • Go to Displacement, paste all the displacement results and click Calculate displacement.
Paste the internal force results from MSTower and BCKĐ picks out the overstressed members.

7. Export the report

Click Export report and the progress bar at the bottom starts to run. The report is generated in Word in the VTK template, with a cover, a narrative, the inspection result tables and a photo appendix; photos of defects are grouped separately in the appendix. The Reports menu also offers the survey report, the photo report and the acceptance record.

Exporting the inspection report to Word.

The tower plan and elevation drawings in the report are produced with the AutoCAD tool for tower inspection, which is included in the BCKĐ installer.

About the software

Developers and ownership

Name
BCKĐ – antenna tower inspection reporting software (KiemDinhCotAnten)
Version
1.2.3 (the version used at acceptance), with updates continuing to 2026
Developed by
Institute of Information Technology in Civil Engineering, Hanoi University of Civil Engineering, with Viettel Consulting and Services JSC (VTK)
Users
VTK and partner consultants carrying out antenna tower inspections for Viettel
Ownership
Under the contract between the Institute and VTK
System
Windows; requires Microsoft Word and MSTower
Data exchange
Site data folders from the Viettel Camera app (text, photos); MSTower run files; Word and Excel reports
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