CADsmart goes to MCMC Kansas

Well, I’ve been kicking my heels in the UK for the last month since returning from RTC ( Revit Technology Conference ) in Melbourne. It’s now time to escape the wet British summer and go on another trip, this time to Kansas, where CADsmart is sponsoring the MCMC (Mid-Continent MicroStation Community) event at Overland Park. You can find more about it here.

This is the second year CADsmart have sponsored the MCMC conference and we’re looking forward to being back in Kansas. Hopefully this trip I’ll get a bit of time to have a look at downtown Kansas, and see some of the over 200 fountains.

The MCMC conference is one of the main meeting places for MicroStation users in the USA. Lasting 2 days, the conference has multiple strands covering all the latest developments in MicroStation and workshop classes as well. If you’re attending please stop by the CADsmart booth and say hello.

Tony

Interesting times at CADsmart..

Gosh, there's been quite a bit happening at CADsmart over the past few weeks. Where to begin?!

First, huge congratulations to Ed & his wife, who recently presented a new baby girl to the family household. To add to the growing brood, my wife had twins (little girl - Erin Rose and little boy - Finnigan) . I think our new philosophy is to grow the team from within and save on hiring fees! :) All are doing well, although I think it's fair to say that Ed & I are not at our sharpest right now, given the reduction in sleep across the board!

Next, we just moved our UK HQ office to a brand new location - Paintworks - one of the premier spots for creative firms in the Southwest (http://www.paintworksbristol.co.uk/).

To add to the mix, I thought it would be a good idea to move house - we need more room to accommodate the new arrivals - so that's my next project in the coming few days! Life certainly isn't dull around these parts!

Next up, work is underway on our new service, which we discussed with our customers at the recent CAD Focus Group. In order to cater for a range of new CAD applications (in particular, in the BIM, Civil and Analysis tools space), we've been looking into additional ways to generate meaningful metrics across these platforms. Too many of the new tools are not especially API-friendly, including many of the core BIM tools, hence the introduction of 'CADsmart i-Skills for AEC' (the 'i' stands for 'interactive', in case you were wondering ;) ). So, with the inclusion of some exciting new technology, including MS Silverlight, heading your way, we feel confident that we will remain at the forefront of AEC skills assessment. It's too early to give you a sneak preview, but we'll keep you posted as we get close to an acceptable beta release.

Last, we just passed our financial year end. It's been quite a strange year, what with the recession and general malaise affecting wide areas of our industry. I've never seen anything like it; such a steep fall away in momentum, revenues and cash flow across an industry the size of the world construction market is truly a one-off event; a market correction on a scale we'll likely never see again. Looking at many of the key firms in our sector, a recurring pattern of 25-35% drop in revenues is commonplace. For us, in truth, the recession hasn't come at too horrible a time; a year later would have been better, a year earlier more damaging. On balance, I guess we are where we are, and that's OK. Our read on the market is that we have 9-12 more months of pain, before we gradually get back on an even keel. It's ironic that the banks are posting huge profits again, but keeping the bulk of the cash to shore up their own balance sheets, before helping SME's and individuals to restore their own finances. Some things will never change! Looks like bankers are the new lawyers (attorneys for our US friends)!

Our summer sale has just a few more weeks to run - it ends this month. The response so far has been tremendous. It shows that, whilst budgets are tight, firms are still looking for opportunities to increase productivity where they can. The simple fact is that, with staff numbers down, firms need to get more work from less resources (staff, licenses, hardware, etc.).

We're looking forward to our annual trip to Kansas City later this month; we're sponsoring the Bentley MCMC conference again - one of the most fun events of the AEC calendar year.

So, these certainly are interesting times at CADsmart! Hope to see you at an upcoming event very soon..

Rory

CADsmart sponsors Revit Technology Conference ‘09

I’m now back in the UK after a two week trip to Australia via Singapore. The main purpose of the trip was to attend the annual Revit Technology Conference (RTC) in Melbourne. CADsmart sponsored RTC ‘09 and was one of the exhibitors. I also took the opportunity to visit existing CADsmart customers in Singapore and Australia.

It was certainly a trip of “firsts” for me;
First time in the new A380 Super Jumbo – but in economy it was just like any other jet :-(
First time in Singapore - a modern, clean and tidy city. Very helpful and polite people - but very,very humid (note to myself– don’t walk for 15 minutes between meetings!)
First time in Melbourne – Great sporting facilities. I took in a footy game (AFL ) at the Etihad stadium and rugby league (NRL) at the old Olympic stadium ( from 1956 - and so small!)
First time in Sydney – played the tourist round the Harbour area
And…first time I’ve ever been given a business card out of someone’s bra! If that’s how architects do business in New Zealand then maybe I should get there next year!

Now back to RTC. The event was held in Melbourne from June 18th-20th in the Sebel Hotel, just opposite Albert Park where the Grand Prix takes place. It’s the Premier Revit and BIM conference in the region, attracting over 220 delegates. This is a truly user driven event, organised by Revit User Groups and with real users delivering presentations about practical Revit and BIM use. All the top movers and shakers of the ANZAC Revit community were there. Refreshingly, there were very few vendor presentations delivering their often overtly sales messages. The USA was represented by Steve Stafford of the RevitOpEd blog, who was one of the presenters.

If you’re a Revit user, or you’re thinking of migrating to Revit, then I strongly advise you to get to next years event, which will be held in May 2010. You can find out more about this years event here RTC '09

Thanks are due to Heidi, Sarah and Wesley for their hard work in getting the event organised, and for looking after me. In addition, Matt Rumbelow of AEC Systems and the Revitall blog gets a special mention for helping me out with hardware, transport and beer - and for not mentioning the result of the Lions test match.

RTC was our first venture into the ANZAC territory, although we already have some large customers “down under”. CADsmart was well received and our message about the need for CAD and BIM productivity metrics and training needs went down well. Now to follow up all those leads…

Tony

4 Engineers in a car...

There are four engineers traveling in a car; a mechanical engineer, a chemical engineer, an electrical engineer and a computer engineer. The car breaks down.

"Sounds to me as if the pistons have seized. We'll have to strip down the engine before we can get the car working again", says the mechanical engineer.

"Well", says the chemical engineer, "it sounded to me as if the fuel might be contaminated. I think we should clear out the fuel system."

"I thought it might be a grounding problem", says the electrical engineer, "or maybe a faulty plug lead."

They all turn to the computer engineer, who has contributed nothing to the debate, and ask; "Well, what do you think?"

"Ummm - how about if we all get out of the car and get back in again?"

R

AEC Technology Strategies Conference 2009 - summary

Last week, I was pleased to attend ZweigWhite's 2009 AEC Technology Strategies Conference; http://events.zweigwhite.com/technology.

After an epic journey, lasting 29 hours door-to-door due to delays and stopovers, I finally arrived at the impressive Green Valley Ranch, Las Vegas, just after midnight, the night before the conference. I must say that Atlanta airport has a surprisingly good jazz pianist! :)

After a scant 5 hours of sleep, whilst adjusting to the 8-hour time difference, I arose to set up the CADsmart booth and meet the organisers. My thanks to Russ and the team at Stagnito Media, who proved to be extremely helpful and obliging hosts.

This was the tenth annual gathering of AEC leaders and it proved to be a worthwhile event. Attendance was very good, in what is clearly a tough year for event organisers. The genial MC for this year's show was Ken Young, CIO at HOK, who kept things running to schedule and offered his own perspective on how recession has affected technical decision making strategy at his own Practice, throughout the proceedings.

Notable keynotes on day one were delivered by Michael Tardif, Director of IPD at Grunley Construction, who discussed Aligning Technology with Core Business Strategy. This was followed by Walter P Moore CIO, Jim Jacobi, who covered the Importance of Leveraging Technology in a Challenging Environment.

The conference split into concurrent working groups after the break, covering topics such as; Communicating & Delivering IT Value, Intranets Made Easy, Leadership Strategies, Adopting 3D, Managing Remote Teams, WAN Optimization, The Reality of BIM and the Changing Role of Technology in the AEC Industry.

An excellent lunch of filets mignon, sponsored by TW Telecom, was followed by further working groups and a wrap up of day one's proceedings. This was followed by an entertaining evening's networking, which included watching the LA Lakers series win against Orlando Magic, and a round of 'beerpong' in the casino. I'm pleased to report that CADsmart were on the winning team, thus jointly holding the reigning title of AEC Tech Strategies Beerpong champions! :)

Day two began with a technical presentation from Dennis Shelden from MIT and Gehry Technologies. Then further working groups covering the following subjects; Collaboration Tools and Techniques, Document Management, Future of BIM, Training For Effect - Improving Your Firm's Knowledge Base.

The final keynote of the day was a fascinating presentation on Building a High Performing Virtual IT Team, by MWH Global's CIO, Micki Nelson. This was followed by an expert panel, comprising all principal speakers, and included a host of technology-related questions from the floor.

In summary, a thoroughly enjoyable couple of days, with many new connections made and friendships renewed. My thanks go to ZweigWhite for their hospitality and to the following delegates for taking me under their wing; John 'Pickle Loving' Robison, Chris 'Sharepoint Guru' Parsons, Chris 'Hustler' Pinckney and Karl 'Rainbow Trout' Fischer.

I thought the return trip couldn't possibly be more convoluted than the journey over; how naive I was! To start, we routed to NY JFK, via Salt Lake City. Then, we were held on the tarmac at JFK for an hour due to congestion; there were literally 30+ planes lined up nose to tail! We missed the connection to London Heathrow by 5 minutes, then took another 5 hours to persuade Delta to let us on the last flight out that night. I squeeked onto the flight with the last seat, only to be held up on the tarmac for another 90 minutes due to yet more Saturday night runway congestion! Grr! So, in fact, my return journey lasted 31 hours door to door!

Still, the rewards of a successful trip far outweighed the down side of a few too many cups of airport coffee. And the Atlanta pianist really is very good! :)

R

Engineer ID Test

You walk into a room and notice that a picture is hanging crooked. Do you...

A. Straighten it?

B. Ignore it?

C. Buy a CAD system and spend the next six months designing a solar-powered, self-adjusting picture frame (while often sighing aloud your belief that the inventor of the nail was a total moron)?

The correct answer is "C" (but partial credit can be given to anybody who writes "It depends" in the margin of the test or simply blames the whole thing on "Marketing").

R

The Trouble with Software Engineers...

A Software Engineer, a Hardware Engineer and a Departmental Manager were on their way to a meeting in Switzerland. They were driving down a steep mountain road when suddenly the brakes on their car failed. The car careened almost out of control down the road, bouncing off the crash barriers, until it miraculously ground to a halt scraping along the mountainside. The car's occupants, shaken but unhurt, now had a problem: they were stuck halfway down a mountain in a car with no brakes. What were they to do?

"I know," said the Departmental Manager, "Let's have a meeting, propose a Vision, formulate a Mission Statement, define some Goals, and by a process of Continuous Improvement find a solution to the Critical Problems, and we can be on our way."

"No, no," said the Hardware Engineer, "That will take far too long, and besides, that method has never worked before. I've got my Swiss Army knife with me, and in no time at all I can strip down the car's braking system, isolate the fault, fix it, and we can be on our way."

"Well," said the Software Engineer, "before we do anything, I think we should push the car back up the road and see if it happens again."

R

AEC Technology Strategies Conference 2009

We're off to sunny Las Vegas again next week. CADsmart are sponsoring ZweigWhite's 2009 AEC Technology Strategies Conference on June 11 & 12. http://events.zweigwhite.com/technology/

This is the tenth annual gathering of AEC leaders and this year's event should be illuminating. It will be interesting to see how 100+ CIO's and technology administrators are coping in the most protracted economic downturn for a generation.

Main themes for this year's conference include:
• AEC Design and Business Systems • Corporate Strategy and the Role of AEC Technology • IT Infrastructure for the AEC Business • Leadership and the Role of the AEC IT Director• Maximizing IT Resources in a Challenging Economy

If you're attending the show, please stop by the CADsmart booth and say hello.

R

Australia here we come!

The fifth Revit Technology Conference takes place on June 18th -20th in Melbourne, and CADsmart will be both a sponsor, and an exhibitor - link. RTC '09 is the premiere event in the region and we look forward to introducing many new companies to our live skills assessment for Revit. RTC '09 has a packed and interesting BIM / Revit agenda and I'm looking forward to being there. If you're going to be at the RTC '09 please stop by at the exhibition and say hello, or feel free to search me out in the bar and get me a beer!

Many thanks to Matt Rumbelow for introducing us to the event - and to return the favour, make sure you visit his informative online newsletter for Revit and BIM users - http://www.revitall.net/

It's our first visit to Australia, and I'll be stopping off en-route to visit customers in Singapore, and also going to Sydney after RTC. Luckily I'll be in Australia before the Ashes cricket series begins so I can't get ribbed over the England performance ( of course I'm confident we'll win.....)

Tony

JTB World

I was chatting with Jimmy Bergmark recently, and it prompted me to jot a few lines about his service which is, in my opinion, an essential element for any CAD & BIM administrators toolkit.

In particular, I wanted to draw your attention to a couple of tools:

First, JTB FlexReport, which makes it easy to track network license usage, presenting detailed lists and charting. With the usage reports firms can optimize how many licenses are needed and also split costs between different profit-centres by grouping users or work stations in the reports. FlexReport helps AEC firms manage their resources and and save money by not purchasing more licenses than needed. (NB Applications that are licensed using the FLEXnet (FLEXlm), IBM LUM or 12D are supported).
http://www.jtbworld.com/jtbflexreport/index.htm

Next, SSMPropEditor (or Sheet Set Manager Properties Editor) is a big time saver for firms working with AutoCAD’s Sheet Set Manager or AutoCAD Architecture’s Project Manager. This clever tool enables administrators to select multiple sheets and edit properties without having to do it sheet by sheet. SSMPropEditor runs outside of AutoCAD making the information accessible for more users, for example those using AutoCAD LT.
http://www.jtbworld.com/SSMPropEditor.htm

Just take a look at JTB World's customer base, to see how popular these applications are across AEC firms of all shapes & sizes: http://www.jtbworld.com/customers.htm.

Jimmy also writes an informative blog: http://blog.jtbworld.com/.

R

Mid Continent MicroStation Community Conference

Here's a date for the diary this year; August 25/26, 2009.

Why? Because those are the dates for this year's Mid Continent MicroStation Community conference - arguably the most enjoyable event in the CAD calendar year!

In a year when the world has gone a bit topsy turvey, and big firm user conferences are being pulled faster than you can say, 'I've reduced my carbon footprint by going virtual', it's refreshing to see that the MCMC team are bringing out the big guns for the 2009 event.

Last year, the event was held in Kansas City's Overland Park Convention Center (www.tmcmcmc.org/meetings/2008/onsite_agenda.pdf), and it was a blast. The networking is first class; we took in a baseball game, rail museum, ate sheboygan hot dogs, ribs, steaks - in fact the red meat consumption was like Elvis heaven! :)

This year, the venue is the same - and CADsmart will be taking one of the Premier Sponsor slots.

The two day in-person conference covers a number of different knowledge tracts, including MicroStation, Civil, BIM, CAD Management, Structural Analysis, Plotting and Publishing and Collaborative working. To continue my food analogy, a veritable smorgasbord of content for users and CAD administrators to get stuck into!

And in light of the BE show being cancelled next month, I predict that the MCMC show will the the must-attend user event for the Bentley community this summer. With over 350 people attending last year, this year is shaping up to be even bigger.

For more details and to register, go to:

Website: http://www.tmcmcmc.org/

Bentley Community:
http://communities.bentley.com/UserGroups/GroupDetail.aspx?GroupID=35

Social Networking: www.twitter.com/tmcmcmc

Last one to book their seats buys the wheat beer!

R

Kalexo - kind of a cross between...

I met a very interesting man recently at the AEC IT-Leaders Roundtable meeting in New York. His name is Hannes Marais and his company is Kalexo (http://www.kalexo.com/).

During the break at the Roundtable, I took a look at the demo tools provided by Kalexo, and I have to say, I was impressed.

How can I describe their main product, Teamwork? It's kind of a cross between Sharepoint, Buzzsaw, Skype and GoToMeeting, with a dash of Projectwise, a sprinkle of Yousendit.com, a hint of Newforma and a splash of YouTube. Confused? For a detailed look, read Paul Wilkinson's recent blog post: http://www.extranetevolution.com/extranet_evolution/2009/04/a-closer-look-at-kalexo.html

Users can share files, manage tasks, hold video conferences, record screen movies, create screenshots, redline documents, send instant messages and teleconference via VoIP, all within one tool which looks pretty straightforward to use. Teamwork offers a framework for communications, creating an electronic environment through which teams collaborate as easily as if they were physically located in one room.

I think as we progress down the road to BIM, that Kalexo might well become another must-have application for smarter, more efficient project working.

R

A little bird told me...

Yes, as Ed alluded to in our e-bulletin last week, we have joined the ranks of 'tweeters' on the rapidly expanding social networking medium, Twitter. :)

I have to say, whilst we still have our training wheels on, it's great fun - and, used appropriately, I can see some big potential for expanding our network of useful contacts across the AEC space.

So, for those of you so inclined, please feel free to 'follow' our daily ramblings at: http://twitter.com/cadsmart.

Stephen Fry, Jonathan Ross, Demi Moore - watch out!

R

CADsmart CAD Focus Group, London, May 14th

We've just announced the date for our next customer CAD Focus Group. This gives us a chance to sit with our customers in an informal setting for a half day and receive direct feedback on the best (and worst!) aspects of our service. The meeting will help shape our technology roadmap over the coming 6-12 months. We're pretty much fully booked for this event, but if you'd like more information, or a copy of the minutes, drop us a line.

The date is Thursday 14th May, 9am - 1pm. Venue is RIBA HQ in London; free to attend, working lunch included, etc.

We have quite a bit to cover this year. The agenda hasn't been formalised, but will include some or all of the following:

- BIM Accreditation
- Creating custom content for skills assessments
- Autodesk BIM tools (basic & advanced Architecture, Structure & MEP)
- Bentley BIM tools (basic 3D MicroStation, basic & advanced Architecture, Structural & Mechanical)
- Geo tools (Geopak, Civil 3D)
- Vertical libraries (i.e. Rail, etc.)
- Version specific content (i.e. 2010, v8i)
- Presenting performance data, measuring improvements
- Managing large assessment rollouts
- Training & E-Learning

Rory

CADsmart present to AEC IT leadership in NYC

I've just returned from my first visit to the Big Apple and it was a fascinating experience. Unfortunately, due to a rather hectic meetings schedule, all I managed to see with my tourist hat on was a bit of Grand Central Station and the rear of about a dozen yellow cabs!

However, I did get to spend some time with my brother, who flew in from LA for a couple of days. For those of you who don't know, he's the famous one in the Vance family household!(http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0888496/).

Anyway, the main reason for my trip was to deliver a presentation to the AEC IT Leaders Round Table meeting (http://aecitleaders.org/). A gathering of IT & CAD principals from AEC firms across the US, and hosted this time around by Holly Schulz at BBG-BBGM, whom I thank for the generous NYC hospitality.

I delivered a session on BIM skills assessments, mainly covering Revit, but also touching on Bentley BIM, which is currently under development, and was pleasantly surprised by the warm response, and interactive discussion which followed.

My list of NYC attractions remains woefully unchecked, so I feel a return visit may well be on the cards this year!

Rory

CADsmart joins Bentley's Be Employable initiative

So, the recession continues to dominate the headlines, and the world's leaders descend on London for 5 courses of Jamie Oliver's finest cuisine and a chat about the best way out of this mess. These are unprecedented times, and our industry is at the heart of the storm. Many firms have no option but to cut costs, and with it comes the very real challenge of layoffs. In a BBC article this week, it was reported that 'the number of architects claiming benefits has risen by 760% in a year'!

And yet, despite the economic chaos, it is refreshing to see that businesses can still display a human side, giving something back to an industry that has served them well in better times. One such example is Bentley's 'Be Employable' initiative. In a nutshell, Be Employable provides free software and training to designers, architects, engineers, and any other infrastructure professional who find themselves temporarily out of work. The reason? To help them improve their technical skills so that they can increase their competitive edge in a highly competitive job market.

As of this week, we're pleased to announce that CADsmart has joined the Be Employable initiative, providing free use of its skills assessment software.

CADsmart enables Bentley Community members to:
- Benchmark MicroStation skills against a recognised industry standard
- Highlight skills gaps for targeted training
- Focus learning using the Bentley Systems suite of training tools
- Measure improvements in personal CAD performance post-training

Each Bentley Community member gets:
- 2 free CAD (MicroStation) skills assessments
- A certificate with breakdown of test scores
- A personal training plan for use with Bentley Learn tools & resources

To register for the scheme, go to: www.bentley.com/beemployable.

This recession will end, albeit maybe not for another year or two. And when it does, I hope that some of the tough lessons we are learning this year can be retained. Perhaps in this way, and by supporting each other in times of difficulty, we can avoid a repeat of the mistakes which created this bubble-bursting maelstrom in the first place.

Rory

CADsmart development update

We are quite regularly asked what we have scheduled in our technical roadmap. The truth is, it can vary, depending on customer feedback, focus group activity, market trends, strategic decisions by the major vendors, and so on.

In spite of the economic backdrop, we remain pretty flat-out on our technical deliveries this year. BIM is clearly a big influencer in our current workload.

Our plans are sometimes subject to change, but to give you an idea of what we're focusing on this year, I've outlined our technical delivery roadmap, as follows;

- Feb 09-Mar 09 - MicroStation Rail x 10, Revit 64-bit compatibility (upgrade to SQL Server) and 2010 compatibility
- Apr 09-May 09 - Revit Structure basic x 10, MicroStation 3D x 10 and Bentley Architecture basic x 10
- Jun 09-Jul 09 - Revit MEP basic x 10 and Revit Architecture basic x 20
- Aug 09-Sept 09 - Revit Architecture & Revit Structure advanced x 10
- Oct 09-Nov 09 - Bentley Structural basic x 10 and quiz wizard module

We're also working on creating a framework for BIM accreditation; more to follow on this item later. Plus a development to compliment Bentley's Be Employable initiative. We also go live with a link to 4D's CADLearning training tools - 'Curriculum Builder' - in the next month or so.

Looking ahead to next year, we'll be continuing work on our existing portfolio, but also plan to create assessment libraries for the following; Geopak, Civil 3D, AutoPlant, Bentley Mechanical and maybe Inventor. Plus the usual Dashboard and reporting developments, not to mention custom library work for existing customers!

Hope that's useful; if there are any items you don't see mentioned here, or if you have any questions about the CADsmart development roadmap, why not give us a call?

Rory

CADsmart presents to AIA CIO LFRT meeting

I've been on the road this week, and it's been an eventful trip. My week started in Exton, PA, for a meeting at Bentley HQ. No sooner had I rented my car from Philly airport, than the local radio announced that Pennsylvania was expecting 10 inches of snow overnight! And so it proved, when I awoke on Monday morning to a scene from the movie 'Winter Wonderland'. I think my GPS had a Machiavellian streak, because the 30 mile drive to Exton took in just about every icy, snow laden side road in the county, studiously avoiding the nicely gritted Interstate!

The meeting at Bentley was very positive; we'll shortly be releasing news about a collaborative program, where CADsmart is contributing to their recently announced 'Be Employable' initiative.

Oh yes, and one other highlight of my visit to Philly; I found the 'Rocky steps' by the Philadelphia Museum of Art and couldn't resist running up to the top (though I stopped short of doing a little dance) ;)

Next stop was Tampa, Florida, a complete contrast in meteorological fortunes! 75 degrees and sunny, I decided to take a walk from my hotel to my morning appointment; some 9 or so blocks. Clearly this wasn't a bright idea, as I forgot just how vast distances are in the US versus the UK. After 20 minutes of walking (the first 5 in the wrong direction!) I soon realised my schoolboy error. Murphy's law of taxis kicked in (when you need one, they're nowhere to be found) and I was creeping towards being late for my meeting. At that moment, I happened to see a battered blue sedan pulling out of a car park in front of me, so I jumped out in front of the mildly traumatised driver and said, 'Ill give you $20 to drive me 1 mile in that direction!' When he realised that I was a mildly harrassed and geographically challenged (lost) corporate executive, rather than a car-jacker with poor taste, he eagerly accepted my offer and the deal was sealed.

The meeting with Axiom was very useful; more news to follow, but we're in discussion to co-promote CADsmart and Axiom's LearningBay training suite for Bentley users.

And so, on to the beautiful city of Charleston, SC, for the AIA CIO LFRT (large firm round table) meeting, where we had been invited to present a session on capturing performance metrics for CAD & BIM teams. My thanks to George Temple, CIO at LS3P and Shawn Foster at Jacobs, for their hospitality during my stay. Charleston is a wonderful place to spend some time, rich in history and southern charm; it also helps that my visit coincides with their annual food & wine festival (http://www.charlestonfoodandwine.com/2009/) :)

The CIO LFRT meeting was an information packed 2 days, covering a host of topical issues facing AEC firms in the current climate. 30 large architectural practices were shown how CADsmart's performance metrics provide a powerful source of business intelligence for firms using Autodesk & Bentley software, particularly in these challenging times.

I think I'll book ahead for my taxi back to the airport.

Rory

CAD & BIM - A Business Critical Resource

What's that noise? It's a delicate, almost musical sound, like a light falling of rain, only slightly more metallic. Could it be the sound of pennies dropping in boardrooms across the AEC industry?

For too long, CAD has been seen as a bit of a pariah within many architectural & engineering firms. The poor cousin; the whinging child in the corner. CAD 'Managers' are dismissed as slightly odd creatures, always working late (unpaid), often crawling around under desks with a pen or mini-screwdriver firmly planted behind one ear, slightly dishevelled, with odd socks and bits of network cable dangling around their necks like ill-conceived costume jewellery. And I use the term 'Manager' lightly, because how many firms actually extend their CAD leaders the courtesy of a senior management position? And yet, they are often the unsung heroes (or heroines) of their firm. Try being without them for a week and see what anarchy ensues!

But lately, it would seem, perhaps as a necessity brought about by the decline in our collective economic fortunes, that things are starting to change. There is a shift in the breeze and senior AEC management are waking up to the idea that CAD (and more likely BIM) might actually be a bit more relevant than they first thought. And furthermore, it might even be the very thing that keeps them in business long enough to enjoy the inevitable upswing in the economy.

Because what is the main deliverable of an architectural firm? Designing buildings, you say? No! The chief deliverable for an architect - it's 'product', if you will - is working drawings, production information, models! Ditto for engineers. And what medium do they use to create said products? That's right - CAD (or latterly BIM) software.

So the firms who have had their lightbulb moment, their penny dropping experience if you will, are now involving CAD & BIM not just at the periphery of their offices - but at the very heart of their enterprise. Not just as another costly, balance-sheet-sucking IT resource, but as a business critical investment that can be the difference between bids won and lost.

Take, for example, clients such as ASDA or the Army Corps, who are now specifying BIM tools as part of their project briefs. Without the ability to demonstrate proficiency in these tools, firms won't even make the long-list, let alone the short-list for future work.

CADsmart finds itself at the heart of this technology debate. Consider the following testimonial from one of our large customers (400+ users, multiple offices, mix of Autodesk & Bentley tools);

“CADsmart is fundamental in the assessment of CAD abilities for existing and potential staff. It provides increased business awareness of current skill-sets, records valuable cross office KPIs and enables management to better resource and deliver training within budgets. It improves business efficiency, productivity and profitability, enabling staff to gain skills and confidence to the mutual benefit of all concerned. It enables line managers to better assess their teams’ skills and contributes to annual staff reviews. The business is able to recognise and reward the best staff whilst encouraging them to become mentors to others. It fosters a healthy competitive environment amongst staff and establishes a desire for self improvement. CADsmart drives capital investment in CAD/BIM technologies and has become an important business management, analysis and ROI tool.”

Not surprisingly, this firm has posted some of the highest test scores amongst our large customers. It has a well managed CAD & BIM resource, which sits at the heart of the business - and which has the attention of senior management.

Could this be the model for all firms to follow, as we head down the road to BIM? How seriously does your leadership take their commitment to CAD & BIM?

Rory

Recession - a good time for CAD & BIM training?

As the recessionary typhoon continues unabated, drawing us all into its swirling centre, the question of staff development crops up time and again.

It seems as if everyone is looking at their budgets to see how they can be reduced. In most firms, financial controllers are looking at training budgets and assessing the benefits of immediately using some of the funds elsewhere or removing them all together! It is a difficult situation and one that presents CAD & HR Managers, and others responsible for training staff, with a serious challenge. How can they reach their targets - and keep projects on track - if their workforce is under-developed?

In Britain, the Learning Skills Council is encouraging businesses to take advantage of government funding for training, which may increase motivation and productivity; "Those (businesses) that make the right investment in training and development will be in a much better place when we come out of the recession. Training is one of the cornerstones of any successful business today, as it makes the organisation adaptable to change and therefore more productive. The last thing you should do is cut your training; now is not the time to lose employees to competition."

Research from the Cranfield School of Management shows that it is cheaper and more effective to 'grow your own' employees rather than shop around for talent. Cranfield's 'Nurturing Talent' report, which canvassed the views of 1,200 training and recruitment decision makers, found that three quarters of employers would rather nurture and develop talent in-house than recruit externally.

Almost half of small and medium sized businesses that develop in-house talent noted a cost saving, 20% recorded improved staff motivation and 45% increased employee retention. The report concludes; "For employers, the nurturing talent concept means managing and developing employees to achieve business goals. This could include training, employee coaching, staff mentoring and job enrichment to stretch employees with new tasks."

A leading US business performance coach states simply; "Train intensively in tough times... and less so in good times. In good times you want employees to be working hard, setting new performance records and serving customers; taking advantage of the good times. Prepare for the good times with intense internal training in tough times - you won't get a better opportunity!"

From our experience at CADsmart, we see AEC firms falling into two distinct categories; those who 'get it' and those who don't. The ones who do understand these principles have a rolling, continuous improvement environment for their CAD & BIM teams, including regular assessment, targeted training, buddying & mentoring schemes - and a clear path from basic skills through to advanced CAD & BIM applications for projects.

The ones who don't, seem to be taking more of a head-in-the-sand approach to their planning. They cut skills assessment from their priority list, along with training & development programs. Their rationale? We're not hiring, so we don't need skills evaluations. These same firms, when it comes to the unfortunate position of letting people go, have no real clue who their best - most productive - users are! They slice 5%, 10%, 20% from their payrolls - losing super-users alongside inefficient ones - without thought for the medium-term consequences!

Sensible business leaders are keen to keep staff motivated at all times. Good leadership is critical during times of fear, uncertainty and pessimism such as these. Companies need leaders who can manage their emotions, stay positive and show resolve. Providing development through internal mentoring, using senior users to mentor less experienced colleagues, can be very effective especially if salaries and promotion are temporarily pegged. The best CAD users will stay only if they are receiving development.

So, when faced with that budget challenge from your FD or CFO, make the case as strongly as you can that your training resources should take priority - and your training programs should be tailored and targeted. If you can achieve this - you can guarantee it will be effective.

Rory