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Soccer and MicroStation

Thursday, 31 January 2013

Aaron Powell, Senior Mechanical Engineer and Soccer Coach gives advice on both.

DAYTON, OHIO, USA — How do you increase efficiency when working on diverse MicroStation projects that rarely have things in common with each other? How do you speed projects up without compromising quality? Does designing in 3D really help or is it a hindrance? We asked Aaron Powell from Barge, Waggoner, Sumner and Cannon (BWSC) to give us his insight into these questions.


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Being more efficient at work helps Aaron Powell take time to do some of the important things in his life like help coach his son’s soccer team.

MicroStation Today: Increasing efficiency is something virtually all companies are looking to do. How do you do that in your company without compromising quality?

Aaron Powell: Our projects include designing hangers, army-reserve centers, dining facilities and even child day-care facilities. Because we don’t do the same types of things over and over, we have to look at how to improve our processes.

Over the years, we’ve moved from designing systems in 2D to doing virtually everything — from the start — in 3D. When you start in 3D, you have to really visualize what’s actually there. You catch things like a support beam being out of place or a conduit not lining up correctly that you might miss in 2D. It’s often more difficult to work in 3D but the potential time savings can be great.

We also use the right tools for the right job. For instance, most of our projects require some sort of schedules. Without Microsoft Office Importer, we’d end up spending hours making these look good and keeping them up to date on every project we work on. Microsoft Office Importer a real time-saver. We also have other tools from Axiom that we use. Global File Changer comes to mind. While we don’t use this on every project, it’s nice to know that we have a tool like that available. For instance, we had to turn a bunch of levels off across hundreds of files. Global File Changer can do that quickly without having to go into each file and turn off the levels manually.

Ultimately, you have to provide what the client wants. Having the right tools mdash; and using them mdash; can really speed up a project, get it done faster and ensure that the end result is what the client wants.

MST: What kinds of projects do you work on?

Powell: We serve a wide variety of industries across a several markets including industrial buildings, energy, environmental, aviation, water services, private development, surface transportation, civil site design and federal government initiatives.

BWSC is a multidisciplinary architectural and engineering firm with nine different offices in Alabama, Ohio and Tennessee. We’re consistently ranked in the top 500 engineering firms in the United States.

My office in Ohio focuses on military-type work including work for the Department of Defense. So, our projects include designing hangers, armyreserve centers, dining facilities and even child day-care facilities. It’s a pretty wide assortment of projects.

MST: Sounds like it would be hard to get bored with so many different projects to work on.

Powell: Exactly. Also, even though our office specializes in government-type work, we’ll also help out with work that any of our branch offices have as well. For instance, right now I’m working with one of our offices to help design a steel mill and an assortment of 15 other types of industrial buildings.

We never really work on the same stuff twice. It’s a challenge and it keeps us on our toes.

MST: What’s your function at BWSC?

Powell: I’m the Senior Mechanical Engineer. I lead the design for HVAC and plumbing systems. In addition to overseeing the drafting, I do a lot of the designing and drafting myself, including laying out the ductwork and piping. Much of that work is done in 3D, which, while challenging, I enjoy doing.

MST: You mentioned that you use Axiom’s tools. What’s the biggest advantage you get from these?

Powell: They’ve increased our efficiency of being able to perform tasks whenever MicroStation is involved. When we need to make a change in a design file, we can make the changes to multiple design files at the same time. Axiom tools giveus a streamlined method of making the changes. For example, we use Microsoft Office Importer on every project we work on. It’s a really good way to fit our schedules into the drawings and be able to make updates to the schedules without having to open every version of the schedule separately. Global File Changer is another product we use. That one’s very handy to have whenever you need it. We don’t always use it on every project, but it’s the kind of tool you want in your tool belt. If you have to make the same type of changes in a lot of files such as changing text or turning on or off levels, it’s so much faster doing it with Global File Changer than it would be to open up each file individually to make the changes.

MST: What advice do you give your soccer team?

Powell: The “advice” that we give the kids is pretty much limited to “go out there and have a good time”, “kick the ball” and “you’re going the wrong way!” I’ll work on having advice with a little more substance as they get older.

MST: Where do you see the future of CAD going?

Powell: We’re leading the way with the government with a lot of the 3D projects we’re working on. They’re kind of looking at us to guide them in how projects are designed. Some of the things that we’re seeing is a potential interaction between the different 3D CAD systems, making it easier to convert between projects done in something like Revit and projects done using Bentley products.

More and more people are drawing in 3D. It’s more of a “ooh and ahh” to present to the building owner. I see it in the future as kind of being a tool that the owners can utilize. Say, if they’re looking to change a filter on their air-handling unit, they can just go to the model and find out what size filter they need for a particular piece of equipment. Information associated with that piece of equipment would be in the model. I think that’s going to be an increasing focus for building managers, especially for building managers who have maintenance in mind.

MST: Who’s your favorite fictional character and why?

Powell: I always liked watching MacGyver when I was growing up. The guy would be faced with a variety of situations and he would always come up with a way to diffuse a bomb or something using a toothpick. That’s engineering at its greatest and that’s always intrigued me. I loved watching that show when I was young.

MST: Thanks, Aaron MST

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Product Review: Nigel Davies puts Global Workspace Manager through its paces.

Friday, 3 April 2009

There has been an item on the MicroStation Wish List since its inception over three years ago. [Editor's note: The MicroStation Wish List was developed in 2005 by EatYourCAD in conjunction with the worldwide Bentley Community and was announced at BE 2005.] The item, which is currently in the top three, is for MicroStation to have an “External configuration interface” (an interface that would allow you to edit MicroStation configuration variables without having to open MicroStation).

Nigel Davies, Director of Evolve Consultancy, has 20 years of extensive experience within the AEC industry.

There is a need when implementing any corporate application to ensure it is correct on all workstations. With a highly configurable product such as MicroStation, it’s even more important to ensure it remains correct on all workstations. Using MicroStation itself to check each workstation would be a long, slow slog. This is probably the main reason that an “External configuration interface” has enjoyed a top position on the MicroStation Wish List. So, we were very interested to hear from our friends over at Axiom that they had a new product, “Global Workspace Manager“, to fulfil some of those needs.

What does it do?
The features list for Global Workspace Manager (OK, I’m going to just refer to it as GWM for the rest of this review) is fairly comprehensive. I can’t sum it up any better. GWM is designed to:

  • View and modify configurations on any workstation.
  • Copy project configuration files and all project resources to another server or workstation on the network.
  • Produce an inventory of workstations that includes location, users, projects and which versions of MicroStation are installed.
  • Compare working configurations against a non-working configuration.
  • Isolate configuration levels and view changes made at that level.
  • Track a variable to see how it was changed at each configuration level.
  • View the final value of any or all variables.
  • Group, sort and filter the grid to produce valuable documentation.
  • Use categories to view specific user-defined groups of variables. [Editor's note: the "Category" tab shows variables categorized similar to MicroStation's Workspace | Configuration "Category" list. It can be customized to show user-specific "groups" or categories of variables.]
  • View variables in a tree similar to MicroStation’s configuration dialog box.
  • View a description of each MicroStation variable.
  • Build complex configuration definitions using the expression builder.
  • Easily create filters to display variables that “begin with”, “end with”, “contains”, “does not contain”, “is equal to” or “is not equal to” a user-defined string.

Yes, that’s quite a lot of features. But is it any good? Not one to turn down the chance to roll my sleeves up and dive into a few configurations, I set about giving it a thorough going-over.

First of all, why would you need it?
It used to be that it was pretty simple to deploy MicroStation on any workstation. All you needed was an edited “mslocal.cfg” to point to the central configuration files and you were fine. [Editor's note: The "mslocal.cfg" file is the first configuration file that MicroStation opens when started. Key variables in this file direct MicroStation to find files in a specific "central" location (path). Collectively, these files are sometimes referred to as "central configuration files".] While that’s still true for desktop PCs that don’t move around, in this age of a less-localized workforce, more people using laptops and the added complication of managing additional offices, it’s common to need at least some of your server configuration files on each workstation. That’s where GWM steps in. With the installation of a small utility (the client) on each computer, configurations are uploaded to GWM every time MicroStation is started. GWM lets you review those configuration files, make edits and ship them back out again. It’s less vital to install GWM on those PCs that are never detached from your server workspace, but then you can never be too careful if ol’ George likes to mess around with his workspace settings. Another useful application of GWM is to check and maintain workspaces on multiple servers or in multiple offices.

How does it work?
When you install GWM, you are prompted to set up a central database location where all your various workstations (that will have the client utility installed) will write their configuration files. GWM then provides you with a “.bat” file to install the client utility on your workstations. When MicroStation is started on a workstation that is running the client utility, the utility copies the configuration data to the central location that was previously set up. GWM reads this data and displays it in various, customizable formats.

Global Workspace Manager can keep track of MicroStation workspaces and present information about them in an easy-to-read, spreadsheet-like table.

(Note: It is well worth checking out the PDF guides installed with the product. GWM installs a demo database for you to play with and gives some valuable quick-start advice.)

GWM has four tabs at the bottom of the screen, which allow you to view the information, review the configuration process and edit variables.

“Workspaces” is the “home page” that shows one line for each workspace at your site (or in your corporation).

“Variables” is where you can check the values of variables from one or several workstations.

“File order” displays the order in which MicroStation processed the various configuration files — a heck of a lot easier than scrolling through an msdebug.txt file! [Editor's note: "msdebug.txt" is a file that MicroStation creates when run in debug mode. The file contains a whole lot of information about an installation of MicroStation. It lists all of the configuration files that run and shows what MicroStation variables are set in each configuration file. It also displays the configuration files and variables in the order that they are loaded. This data allows a very advanced MicroStation expert to determine exactly what happens when MicroStation loads, what settings are set within MicroStation, how they got to be set that way and much more.]

“Category” presents the variables in a tree view, grouped similarly to MicroStation’s Workspace Editor. Unlike the Workspace Editor, this is fully customizable through a “DebugCategory.txt” text file, which allows you to create your own categories and move variables around to suit your needs.

Dealing with multiple workstations reporting multiple workspace components can get very confusing. That’s where Axiom’s GWM excels. Each page in GWM is easily organized into more manageable groupings, by simply dragging a column heading to the top of the screen. For example, you can group by “Location” and then check which office has which workspace and when it was last updated without having to log in to remote servers or machines. Fantastic!

Global Workspace Manager allows you to group by any column such as the “Project” column. Grouping by “Project” lets you easily see, among other things, when a user last worked on a particular project.

I also gave it a more realistic test. I had a problem workstation where the user was continually complaining that his seedfiles were the wrong ones. Identifying his machine was simple. Next, all I had to do was find the report using the correct project configuration file, highlight it and switch to the “Variables” tab. From there I could group by Variable name and then by File to see each time that the variable MS_SEEDFILES was being set. Sure enough, the project configuration file was wrong.

Even with one just one workstation, finding a configuration variable can be difficult. In MicroStation you have no option but to scan through the “All Alphabetical” list in the Workspace Configuration dialog box if you can’t find it where you think it should be located. For example, did you know that you won’t find MS_RFDIR (the variable that sets the search path for reference files) under the References category? GWM has a search capability for just this purpose. Simply press <Ctrl+F> to find all the variables that contain a particular string.

You can filter any of the columns to show only the item you select, making your views easier to understand. Should you need to, you’ve even got an option to hide all the intermediate values of configuration variables and see only the final value.

Not only was I able to identify the error in the project configuration file, GWM also allowed me to open the project configuration file with a right-click and fix it right then and there. As soon as I saved the project configuration file, GWM asked me if I wanted to save it back to the original workstation. No, I wanted to update the server workspace. That wasn’t a problem either as all I had to do was browse to the correct place. Incidentally, if you make a change that needs to be rolled out to multiple machines, GWM can handle that as well.

Global Workspace Manager allows you to filter data to show a specific variable such as “MS_CELL” and then see each intermediate value as it is defined at each configuration level.

At any point, you can export the data from any GWM grid view to Excel to keep records of your system at key dates. You can refer back to these records if you need to check how things were set up previously. For upgrading or, in my case, maintaining records of any changes made to our clients’ configurations, it’s starting to look invaluable.

The only disappointment for me is that you can’t really say it has an “external configuration interface”. However, when you consider its comprehensive configuration builder and its intuitive and uncomplicated interface, to say it “just allows you to view and edit configuration files” is belittling its usefulness. And hey, it’s only the first release. As the product picks up customers, it’s certainly going to improve. Axiom is always open to development suggestions.

I’d originally thought it was more valuable to the larger organization, but I’ve changed my mind. We’re not large and it could prove very helpful to us. In fact, if you have a need to manage configuration files on servers or workstations, if you’ve got any laptops in the office with MicroStation installed, if making sure your standards are correct in all locations is important, then Axiom’s Global Workspace Manager is something you should seriously consider.

Now, where’s the AutoCAD version?

Evolve Consultancy
For more information about services provided by Evolve Consultancy, contact Nigel at Nigel@Evolve-Consultancy.com.

Want more tricks under your belt? Call now!
To schedule a free, online demonstration or for more information on LearningBay’s e-learning courses, contact an Axiom MicroStation Consultant today! Call 727-442-7774 extension 1448.

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How to speed up MicroStation production — CADsmart CEO, Rory Vance, talks about technical competence and production speed

Saturday, 7 February 2009

Clearwater, Florida, USA — CADsmart, headed by CEO Rory Vance, has created a software tool that is designed to help CAD managers assess what’s needed in order improve efficiency and increase production.

Rory takes time off from helping companies meet project deadlines to spend time with his family (and monkey) at the Rock of Gibraltar.

MicroStation Today: CAD managers are more overworked and overstressed today than ever before. How does your program help with that?

Rory Vance: They’re overworked partly because they or their users aren’t as technically proficient as they could be. The stress comes from having too much to do in not enough time. Training in general can both increase someone’s speed as well as proficiency which handles both of the problems you mentioned. What we offer is the ability to determine what specifically they need training on. If you increase someone’s technical expertise, designs can be completed faster and with fewer errors. This leads the way to getting projects done faster.

MST: How much improvement are companies actually experiencing with your program?
Vance: Our goal, which is often exceeded by our customers, is to help increase performance by just five percent in a year. Research has shown that significant productivity gains can be achieved by targeting simple performance improvements each year. For instance, a target of five percent annual improvement in performance is worth 12.5 extra days per person per year. [Editor's note: Example given is for 50 weeks (two weeks off for vacation) per year times 5 work days per week. Multiplying 250 days by a 5% performance improvement equates to 12.5 extra days per designer.] For a firm that has 20 designers, if you increase each of their performance by just five percent, the company gains the equivalent of an extra person working full-time at no extra cost. These days, with competition the way it is, that extra person could be crucial to the success of a company.

MST: Can your program reduce the amount of time — and therefore expense — that someone has to spend on training?
Vance: Yes, it certainly can. Training for the sake of training isn’t smart. If someone is already proficient at 80% of the software they’re working on, why waste time and increase company expenses training them on the part of the software they’re already good at? Instead, tailor the training to the 20% that needs improvement. The assessments show what areas a person is weak in as well as which areas they’re strong in. They also give companies the ability to monitor and manage performance improvements. We have a saying at CADsmart, “If you can’t measure it, you can’t manage it.” At the end of the day, if you don’t know what your staff don’t know, then you’re not maximizing your efficiency.

MST: You call them “assessments” but they sound like tests to me. Most people don’t like taking tests. What’s different about CADsmart?
Vance: A test is where you study something and then find out if you retained and can apply the information you studied. Our software provides an assessment of skills in a live, real-world scenario. All we’re interested in doing is helping to show where users are strong and where additional training is indicated. After someone takes a CADsmart assessment, they receive a certificate with a full breakdown of how they did in each area of the assessment, along with a detailed training-needs analysis. Our software also has a discreet recording feature, so sessions can be replayed for training or support purposes afterward. With a test, you either pass or fail and you either go on or don’t. Our assessment is different. We provide an exact “road map” on how to increase performance and proficiency. This will result in faster production and fewer errors. We’ve found that the combination of both assessment and training can bring about a dramatic increase in both width and depth of knowledge of our customers’ CAD users.

MST: The assessments only seem to be part of the issue. The users would need training as well, which you don’t provide. When are you going to add that to your line of products?
Vance: We don’t offer training nor will we ever offer training. Yes, training is the other element needed after assessing. However, CADsmart specializes in assessing CAD skills. It could be viewed as a conflict of interest if we also provided the training. We leave the training to others. Ideally, companies would use a system like LearningBay, which provides on-demand, tailored training on specific areas. That way, users get training on the exact area that they need training in. Again, the idea is to determine what the weak areas are and then provide training targeted to those areas and not spend a lot of time and money grinding away at areas that a person already knows well.

MST: How often are the assessments done?
Vance: Companies only need to assess their employees and contractors once or twice a year. First, you do an assessment and then you let the person complete some training in the area or areas that were weak. A training program can then be created based on the results of the detailed training-needs analysis. This process of assessment and training is then repeated over and over. The results of the repeated assessments provide CAD managers with ongoing skills assessment of users and gives a roadmap for training that will improve both the quality and the quantity of work produced. It’s a continuous improvement loop.

MST: Can CADsmart be used as a method of screening contractors and new employees?
Vance: Yes. Originally, CADsmart was developed as a way to automate CAD skills assessment for Human Resource personnel. In addition to benchmarking CAD performance and targeting training needs, Human Resource personnel use our software to help determine CAD skill levels. How do you know if a job candidate — employee or contractor — is as good at CAD as they say they are? Our unbiased skills assessment not only helps determine the actual skill levels of both employees and contract workers, but can also be used to negotiate pay rates.

MST: Where do you see the future of CAD going?
Vance: More and more there’s a big push for “sustainability” both in the CAD environment and in the world at large — sustainable life-styles, sustainable communities, sustainable economies. Right now, in the CAD arena, Bentley is pushing sustainable infrastructure. Autodesk is pushing “sustainable design” and has even created a position called “Director of Sustainability”. A lot of factors go into the concept of “sustainability”. But it means more than just being “green” and making responsible choices in materials. No matter how you look at it, creating a sustainable anything comes down to creating a sustainable company, which is built on the individuals that work there. If you empower the individual to be able to be more proficient and more able, then the company is more likely to survive. A community that has thriving companies is more likely to be sustainable than one that doesn’t. The same goes for a city, state or country. At the end of the day, it’s the individual with the right tools and the right know-how that makes the difference.

MST: Thanks, Rory.

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MicroStation Today — February 2009(Volume 16, Issue 2)

Sunday, 1 February 2009

Click here for back issues.

MicroStation Today — August 2009 (Volume 16, Issue 2)

Download a PDF version of this issue.

To read the pages above, download Adobe®‘s free Acrobat Reader®, if not already installed in your computer.

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Will AutoCAD lose market share? — Bob Moeller points to untapped market.

Wednesday, 7 January 2009

Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, USA — With MicroStation’s new release of Athens, the battle of MicroStation versus AutoCAD is heating up. Bob Moeller, suggests a plan that could give MicroStation a strategic victory in the marketplace.

With over 30 years in the drafting and design industry, Moeller knows what it takes to capture a market sector.

MicroStation Today: As a veteran in this industry, I’m sure that you’ve run into your fair share of problems. What has been your biggest frustration?
Moeller:It’s been frustrating that there’s not more support for machine design from MicroStation. This especially impacts a whole industry of smaller manufacturing plants. MicroStation is a great CAD system and they could be taking away market share from AutoCAD if they focused on this area more.

For an example, Bentley used to supply a “NUTS.CEL” cell library with each MicroStation software package. However, the last couple of upgrades did not include it. I’ve learned to keep my old cell files when upgrading or purchasing another seat of MicroStation. Providing some basic, standard parts in a cell library like nuts, bolts and fasteners would be a good sign that Bentley was interested in this area.

I have been using MicroStation for machine design since 1987 and it’s a great software package. But Bentley doesn’t seem to know that there is a whole industry of small businesses that use MicroStation to design a variety of products such as assembly machines, drill fixtures and welding fixtures. If you go to Bentley’s site, there’s little if anything to support this market segment.

MST: What are some of the most interesting projects you’ve worked on over your 20 years of working with MicroStation?
Moeller:There have been two that really stand out. On one, I was given $100,000 to design and build a plastic-lined, pipe-flanging machine. [Editor's note: A "flange" is a "rib" or "rim" used for strength, guiding, or attachment to another object.] It tightened a flange on a pipe to proper torque, left the proper amount of liner protruding out the end and aligned the flange holes up with the flange holes on the other end of the pipe. Prior to building this machine, all that was done by hand, using a pipe wrench.

The second was a washing machine that washed window glass. We had looked for a glass washing machine on the market but couldn’t find one that would clean the glass to our customer’s specifications. So, I was given the job of designing one. One of the problems that we needed to address was to prevent water from spilling on the floor as that creates a wet, slippery and dangerous environment. The glass needed to be able to enter a wall of liquid, stay submerged while being washed then leave the washing machine tank without spilling any liquid on the floor. The other problem was that the glass had to enter, move through the washing machine and come out the other end all on a horizontal plane. This was quite a trick to do.

MST: How did you first hear about Axiom products and how have they helped you?
Moeller: I found Axiom years ago when I was looking for a program to prevent the MicroStation manager window from coming up in the gutter. That’s when I found Dual-Screen Window Manager. [Editor's note: When using two monitors, the "gutter" is the space between the monitors. Dual-screen Window Manager not only handles the top level "parent" application window, but also adjusts the "child" windows used by an application — such as multiple documents opened by a word processor or multiple views displayed by MicroStation. The program works with MicroStation and most Windows-based programs.] I then saw that Axiom had a lot more to offer. For instance, I now use FileFixer when I import pesky AutoCAD files. It is amazing how many errors there are that FileFixer is able to completely clean up after importing or attaching these files.

MST: Over the last 30 years, I’m sure you’ve seen quite a few companies come and go. What would be your advice to companies that want to get ahead?
Moeller:A company’s life-blood is the cash-flow generated through customers. No customers means no cash-flow! So, treating customers right is paramount and that includes vendors and supplies. I know of one company who always paid their invoices the day after receiving them. If there’s ever a shortage of material, their supplier always makes sure that they receive their shipments on time. When I asked the supplier about this, I was told, “They always pay their invoices. We never have to ask for payment.” Because they pay their invoices promptly, this company had favor with the supplier and always had finished product to ship even when the competition didn’t.

MST: If you could trade places with anyone for a day, who would it be?
Moeller:If such a position existed, I’d trade places with the person who had the authority to fire all those in Washington that stand in the way of drilling our own oil so the USA would no longer be dependent on the middle east. That would bring down the price of gas at the pump.

MST: What do you think MicroStation (or AutoCAD) should do to win the hearts of engineers and CAD designers?
Moeller:Well, a big step has already been taken when they both agreed to read and write each other’s formats. The next step would be to have one CAD software package that would have an on-screen button that would switch from MicroStation to AutoCAD look and feel and then back again. This would minimize or eliminate the training required to learn the other CAD program when new employees come on board. Think of the training dollars that would be saved by engineering departments. Companies would also have the advantage of having a larger pool of candidates to choose from.

MST: Thanks, Bob.

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MicroStation Today — January 2009(Volume 16, Issue 1)

Thursday, 1 January 2009

Click here for back issues.

MicroStation Today — August 2009 (Volume 16, Issue 2)

Download a PDF version of this issue.

To read the pages above, download Adobe®‘s free Acrobat Reader®, if not already installed in your computer.

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Will true interoperability change the CAD industry? Melcher Mack, CAD Manager for Bergmann Associates, talks about 3D design, multiple disciplines and the future of CAD.

Friday, 7 November 2008

Rochester, New York, USA — Bergmann Associates CAD Manager, Melcher Mack, has been in the CAD industry for over ten years. He gave us some insights on changes he’s seen in the industry as well as his prediction on where it is going.

Melcher Mack — on a crusade for true BIM

MicroStation Today: What is your background?
Melcher: In high school, I took an architectural elective course where I worked on designing my dream house. Later, I went to college for Marketing Management but found I was more interested in designing things than selling them. So, I went back for Mechanical Technology.

MST: I’m sure Bergmann Associates was happy about that. What type of work does your firm do?
Melcher: Bergmann Associates has been around since 1980. We offer an extensive range of engineering, architecture, planning and design services for commercial, institutional, retail, education and industrial leaders as well as agencies at all levels of government.

MST: What have been some highlights for you personally in this industry?
Melcher: After I started working at Bergmann Associates, we began looking at 3D design packages. This is when I really “got it.” Once I could see more of what we were drafting instead of 2D lines and arcs, I really got into CAD. Helping the company transition from primarily designing in 2D with just a few design packages to using 3D in our design process and using multiple design packages tailored to specific disciplines has definitely been a highlight for me.

MST: What are some of the most challenging aspects of your job?
Melcher: Bergmann Associates is engaged in a number of both small and large projects. For instance, we’re one of four firms working on the Renaissance Square project here in Rochester, New York. For me, the most challenging part is maintaining all of the software packages that we use on our different projects. Keeping multiple design packages working efficiently in multiple disciplines across multiple offices can be very challenging, to say the least.

MST: As a CAD Manager, what kinds of problems do you encounter?
Melcher: Anything from “how do I get this icon on my screen” to “I just lost three hours worth of work”. It’s frustrating losing work or trying to get software to do something that it should do but doesn’t. Axiom’s tools help with that. Although I first heard about Axiom through mailings, it was at the BE Conference where I really saw what software options Axiom developed. [Editors note: The "BE Conference" is an annual conference sponsored by Bentley Systems.] Axiom tools have increased our productivity with software like Microsoft Office Importer. ™ We have been very impressed with what that tool can do.

MST: What do you use Microsoft Office Importer for?
Melcher: We have several people who use Microsoft Office Importer on every project they do. They use it with Microsoft Word for general notes and with Microsoft Excel for extensive tables like schedules or bill of materials. One of my colleagues recently told me the product was great, worked well and really saved hours of time on each of their projects.

MST: What would you like to be doing in ten years?
Melcher: As long as I’m involved with design technology in some fashion, and not just pushing paper, I’m sure I’ll be content.

MST: What book do you wish you’d written?
Melcher: The types of books I have read are not the types of books that I would want to write. For an example Into Thin Air by Jon Krakauer. In order to write it, I’d have to experience it and that’s one I’d rather not.

MST: If you could trade places with anyone for a day, who would it be?
Melcher: If it’s during the workweek, my Father — he’s retired!

MST: What do you predict will be the “next big thing” in CAD?
Melcher: The big issue in CAD today is true interoperability. If we can accomplish that, we will see technology really take off in this industry. The buzz in the industry right now is BIM. [Editor’s note: Building Information Modeling (BIM) is the process of generating and managing building data such as geometry, spatial relationships, geographic information, quantities and properties of building components (like manufacturing information).] We all say we are “BIMing” or attempting to do BIM, but until true interoperability exists, I don’t believe you can accomplish it. The major CAD companies are acquiring a lot of software packages to cover each phase of a project to accomplish BIM. I think their intentions are to have software in each phase of BIM that’s interoperable. The problem is, we all use a different lineup of software to accomplish our goals on a project. Most likely, it will always be that way. This industry will accomplish more once there is a certain level of true interoperability between multiple software companies. I believe International Alliance for Interoperability (IAI) has the most potential to make interoperability happen.

MST: Thanks, Melcher

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The curse of the mummy’s deadline

Tuesday, 7 October 2008

An interview with Romulus III — Chief Architect to Ramses II

Cairo, Egypt — In search of an appropriate interview for the October edition of MicroStation Today, I found myself in Cairo, wandering the streets and looking for a story. A few of the locals informed me that the Egyptian Museum had a healthy collection of mummified ancient Egyptian kings, so I thought — being the Halloween issue — it couldn’t hurt to take a look.

In ancient times, missing a deadline could mean your death.

After wandering through halls laden with artifacts from the tomb of King Tutankhamun, I located Ramses II, arms crossed and with a gold mask covering his face. I kept walking and a few displays down, there was another mummy in an open casket, a roll of papyrus and ancient Egyptian pen laid at his feet.

Intrigued, I picked up the papyrus and was startled to discover… it held blueprints for a pyramid! If I could interview this chap, the article would fit right into the October edition! I picked up the pen and thought for a bit. My eyes darted to the inscribed plate in front of the casket: “Romulus III — Chief Architect to Ramses II”. Suddenly, the mummy started to move!

MicroStation Today: My god!
Romulus III: Aaaaauuuuuuuurrrrrgggghhhhh! Who disturbs my slumber?!

MST: Um… Er, hello. That would be me. I’m a reporter for the monthly periodical called MicroStation Today. It’s a CAD-related magazine… MicroStation specifically. I was wondering, could I do an interview on you? I’m sure our readers would love to hear about your experiences as an architect in ancient Egypt!
Romulus III: Hmmmm… As you have taken my drafting pen, you have incurred the wrath of the dreaded Romulus III — Chief Architect for Ramses II. This, I cannot forgive.

MST: What if I were to replace the pen immediately after we do our interview? No harm, no foul right?
Romulus III: Well, I suppose that would be alright. It is a tad drab just sleeping all the time. What have you got?

MST: Well, you must have a pretty interesting story on how you began as an architect. Can you tell us about that?
Rumulus III: I started off as a mason [someone who builds with cement and materials like stone and brick] when I was 15, carving stones and such. There was a complete lack of wood, so most of our buildings were built of stone, which was just as well, I heard that a lot of them are still standing today. You can’t say that about most structures that old. Anyhow, I wasn’t that fond of manual labor, so I apprenticed under a master architect, and he taught me a lot. By the time I turned 24, I was Ramses’ Chief Architect. I had a lot of respect, but also a lot of responsibilities. Structure design is no walk-in-the-park, let me tell you. I would have given anything for some way to speed it up and handle the problems that kept popping up.

MST: You know they have something like that now, it’s called “MicroStation”. It’s a Computer-Aided-Design software program. It lets you design entire structures with pinpoint accuracy and much faster than traditional pen and papyrus.
Romulus III: That’s amazing! And there are no problems with it?

MST: Sometimes there are, but there are tools like FileFixer and Title Block Manager that help sort those out quickly and painlessly.
Romulus III: Wow! Sounds like those would have been life-savers!

MST: Yeah, I know.
Romulus III: I don’t think you do! I was executed for not finishing the designs for Ramses’ “Thebes Temple Remodeling Project” in time! That man was an insane multi-tasker! He wanted all existing monuments to reflect his divine nature and power, so we had to come up with plans to redesign dozens of existing temples in his image, and he wanted it done in a month!

MST: You could have done it in a week with MicroStation and Toolkit.
Romulus III: Exactly! Now you know what I mean when I say “life-savers”. Anyhow, at least I was given the gift of eternal life by mummification. He must have liked me to some degree.

MST: Yeah… Next question: What do you think is your greatest accomplishment?
Romulus III: The Ramesseum, hands down. [Editor's note: The Ramesseum is a memorial temple that was built by Pharaoh Ramses II in 13th century B.C. It currently lies in ruins across the Nile river from the city of Luxor.] There were three statues of the man [Ramses II], one of them weighed over 1,000 tonnes! It was preceded by two courts and had giant pillars, huge walls, the works! I am definitely proud of that one. I heard it’s not doing so well today though. Pity.

MST: What is your favorite movie?
Romulus III: Well, you’d think that I don’t watch TV, stuck here in my display. However, the museum guard booth is just down the hall a bit, as you can see, and last year one of the guys (“Bakari”, I think his name is) brought his daughter to work. She sat in there and watched a cartoon called “The Prince of Egypt”. Excellent film, very true-to-life stuff. I pulled my wrapping down a bit from over my eyes and watched the whole thing. I laughed so hard, I started coughing up dust!

MST: Yeah, I saw it too, good stuff. Now, what do you predict will be the “next big thing” in CAD?
Romulus III: I had always thought it would be wonderful if they made a special table with instruments attached that helped you measure distances and draw perfect lines and curves on your papyrus.

MST: Yeah, that’s already been done. It’s called a “drafting table”.
Romulus III: Ah, I see. Well… then how about some sort of magic box that can hold thousands and thousands of designs. Maybe even simulate the designing process — allowing you to draw faster and more accurately!

MST: Yeah, we’ve got that too. It’s called a “computer”. And the “Computer-Aided-Design software” I told you about earlier is what simulates the designing process.
Romulus III: So that’s what a computer is? Fantastic! I heard you say “computer” earlier, but I just ignored it. Didn’t want to tie you up for too long here. Anyhow… So you’ve already got that, huh? Okay, well I’m sure there are things that could be improved, like, say a guy needs to make bulk changes to all of his designs? Changing all circles to squares or making all of a certain type of line thicker, that would be a “next-big-thing” wouldn’t it?

MST: We’ve got that too, it’s called Global File Changer and it’s part of Axiom’s Toolkit.
Romulus III: What about when something goes wrong and you can’t open your designs?

MST: FileFixer handles that. It’s also in Toolkit.
Romulus III: Well you know what? You just may have asked the wrong mummy!

MST: That very well may be the case, Romulus. I’ve got to catch a flight in about half-an-hour. Are you ready for me to replace the pen?
Romulus III: (Yawn) Yes, I think so. I’m growing rather sleepy. This is the most excitement I’ve had in the last 700 years!

Romulus crossed his arms and laid back in his display case. I placed the pen and the papyrus back at his feet and made my way outside to flag down a cab. “The Editor is not going to believe this,” I thought, clutching my notebook to my chest. I hopped in the cab and said, “To Cairo International Airport! And step on it!”

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Keeping planes in the air

Thursday, 7 August 2008

An interview with FAA Engineering Technician, Carolyn Seritt

The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) turns to Carolyn Seritt for solutions when things get turbulent.

Atlanta, Georgia, USA — When you fly into an airport, do you ever recognize something and think, “Holy Cow, I did that!” Carolyn Seritt does. She is an Engineering Technician on the Computer Aided Engineering Graphics (CAEG) team of the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) in Atlanta. She helps FAA engineers with software problems. She is the “go-to” person when problems arise. We had a chance to talk with her at length at the Bentley Empowered Conference in Los Angeles.

MicroStation Today: Hello Carolyn, what is happening in your life these days?
Carolyn: The most exciting thing about my job right now is I get to do some extra work on the Hurricane Team.

MST: The Hurricane Team? What’s that?
Carolyn: After a hurricane, the FAA deploys a special team to get air traffic control equipment back up and running. We have damage assessment teams that go out and then restoration teams to handle any reported damage. The main objective is to get equipment back on-line. We might have to repair radar equipment or replace a window in a tower. We even have a portable tower that we can drive out if the tower is damaged.

The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) turns to Carolyn Seritt for solutions when things get turbulent.

MST: Sounds exciting. How did you get to where you are today?
Carolyn: I have been a drafting technician since 1974. I was the first female to enroll in drafting and design at the Walker County Technical School. At that time, it was truly a man’s profession. I had many obstacles to overcome, but I loved drafting so I persevered.

My father was on a survey crew in the early 1900s. He built roads and bridges all over Tennessee, Georgia, Florida and Alabama. He inspired me to select drafting and design as my career. I am a mother of two engineers. Matt, my elder son, is a computer engineer. Bart, the youngest, is a civil engineer. I guess you could say engineering is in our blood.

I started out drafting on the board. I have worked for a land surveyor and a civil engineer. I have also done land planning and run-off control. [Editor's note: "run-off control" is the control of water that does not soak into the soil and has to be controlled.] In years past, I worked out in the field as a survey technician. My husband and I owned a small surveying and engineering company. It was my job to clear the path through the woods and brush while setting the points to survey by. It was nice to be outside, but when it was 90 degrees and there were yellow jackets stinging or it was below 30 degrees, well, I was not too happy with those circumstances. That was the time when I would try to find a way to stay in the office and work. Being married to the boss did have its advantages.

I learned to draft on the computer in 1993 when the FAA hired me. My first CAD experience was with a product called Autotrol, a CAD application that was very similar to MicroStation. Later I used AutoCAD. Currently I use MicroStation.

MST: How did you first hear about Axiom products and how have they helped you?
Carolyn: Our drafting coordinator turned us on to Axiom’s products. Our drafters run FileFixer on every file before closing and saving, fixing all kinds of problems behind the scenes. We have used Axiom’s FileFixer for more than eight years. In that time, we have used FileFixer to clean up more than 35,000 drawings. When we send our drawings out to vendors, they praise the way our files are so manageable and the electronic data is so clean. Our specialist for the outside vendor drawings uses Axiom tools constantly. We also ask our vendors to use FileFixer when they are contracted to do our drawings.

MST: With your family history in engineering, what do you predict will be the “next big thing” in CAD?
Carolyn: I envision that a CAD program might become voice commanded in the future. In the past, when I was on the board using the old Leroy set, I dreamed that perhaps one day I would type the text for a drawing, or someone would invent a device that would do the inking for contour lines. Now look at us. [Editor's note: During the days when drafting was done by hand, neat lettering could be done using a Leroy lettering set made by drafting supply company Keuffel & Esser.]

MST: What would you like to be doing in ten years?
Carolyn: I see myself being retired from government service in ten years. I plan to move to my 45 acres in north Georgia. I hope to be using my skills and knowledge to develop that tract of land into a home. I want to become as self-sufficient as possible. I have lived a wonderful life in engineering and I use that knowledge often.

MST: What’s a book you wish you’d written?
Carolyn: The book I wish I would have written is “How I Won the Lottery”. In all seriousness, I am writing a book about the comedy of life as the only girl in a family of five boys, growing up on farms in Alabama and Georgia.

Once when we were cutting wood and I was picking up sticks, I was not paying attention as well as I should when Dad cut down a small tree (about 8 inches in diameter) that landed right smack on my head. It was a wet area and when I moved my feet to stagger around, my footprints were two inches into the ground. I felt like one of those cartoon characters that had been driven into the ground with the stars circling. Luckily there were no injuries — I don’t think. (Some people might argue that point.) All in all I would say that I have had a wonderful career. I am blessed.

MST: We hope you do win the lottery so you can add that to the book you are writing.

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The father of American architecture — An interview with President Thomas Jefferson.

Monday, 7 July 2008

Monticello, Virginia, USA — In addition to being the third president of the United States, Thomas Jefferson was also an accomplished architect. He designed Monticello (his home in Virginia), the Virginia State Capitol Building and University of Virginia’s entire original campus. In celebration of the birthday of the United States of America, MicroStation Today arranged to speak to him about his love of architecture.

MicroStation Today: Tell us about yourself.

Mr. Jefferson: Well, I’ve been called “Man of the People”. I spent the better part of my life establishing the rights of the states. Aside from practicing law and politics, I also dabbled in many fields over the years such as fishing, archeology, writing, architecture and gardening. I actually came up with a way to enjoy English peas, fresh from the garden, three full months out of the year by staggering the planting of fifteen different types. English peas are wonderful!

MST: I bet they are! Now Mr. Jefferson, I suppose most of our readers know what you have done as a statesman, but can you tell us some things about yourself that our readers might not know?

Mr. Jefferson: Hmmm… Well, not many people know that I was the first president to shake hands when greeting people instead of bowing. I always liked to keep my posture in tip-top shape. It’s amusing to look around now and see how much the handshake has caught on!

Aside from that, I used to keep a pet mockingbird named Dick in the White House study. I would let him ride on my shoulder whenever possible. I even trained him to take bits of food that I held between my lips at meals! Dick would always hop along after me, never far from my side.

MST: That’s amazing! Now earlier you mentioned that you “dabbled” in architecture. I Googled your name and I would hardly call that dabbling, can you tell us about some of your history with CAD?

Mr. Jefferson: Oh, CAD? When I started out, CAD hadn’t even been thought of yet. The majority of my work was on pen and paper, I had to use Axiom’s conversion services to convert it all to DGNs. I dare say, working with design files is exponentially easier then working with the old pen and paper. I was so relieved when the conversion was done!

Anyhow, after the conversion was complete, I used my design of Monticello to put a little 3D application on the web so that people can do a virtual tour.

MicroStation was a big step up from the old days of pen and paper. I must admit that when I first started using MicroStation, I did run into some problems. One day I was walking through my bear garden — I kept quite a few bears in my garden, they were gifts from Lewis and Clark you see — anyhow, I was walking through the garden and I received a call from an associate of mine at the American Institute of Architects. He was frantic, babbling about how he was sorry and he meant no harm. When I finally calmed him down, he explained that he had been working on the Monticello design and when he hit “fit view”, the whole design file had become a dot! I immediately called Axiom, they sent me FileFixer and the file was back to normal in a matter of minutes. I don’t know how we got this far without any of their tools! I immediately purchased MicroStation Productivity Toolkits for all five of my designers and it has paid for itself several times over.

MST: What is your title? What are your daily duties?
Mr. Jefferson: I guess I would describe myself as the author of the Declaration of American Independence and the Statute of Virginia for Religious Freedom. Oh yes, also the Father of the University of Virginia. Those are the things I am most proud of.

As for daily routines, I really do so many things. I spend some time on archeology, digging up old ruins and such.

There is one thing that I have done for many years though. Quite some time ago, I was given a large piece of cheese, a 1,235 pound hunk of it to be exact. I’ve been chipping away at it for years now with crackers and apples and such. Have you ever heard the term “The Big Cheese”? That term actually originated from this fantastic gift — interesting bit of trivia.

MST: What are some of your biggest CAD jobs? Please provide details on them.
Mr. Jefferson: I’d have to say that designing my home in Virginia, the Monticello, was quite a job. But the Virginia State Capitol and the University of Virginia campus were both pretty large as well.

We were actually right in the middle of a huge job — hundreds of design files — when the United States switched from the Julian calendar to the Gregorian calendar. This meant that we had to change the date by eleven days in each and every title block! That would have been days and days of man-hours! Luckily, I had Title Block Manager! I was able to make the change in every single design file in just a couple of minutes! I really dodged a bullet there! [Editor's note: The Gregorian calendar handles leap years differently than the Julian calendar and more accurately reflects the time it takes the Earth to revolve around the sun.]

MST: What is your favorite TV show?

Mr. Jefferson: West Wing.

MST: If you could have a conversation with anyone, living or deceased, who would it be? What would you talk about?

Mr. Jefferson: Ah, that’s easy! That would be English philosopher, John Locke. I always wished that I had had the chance to speak with him. I was inspired by his thoughts on property and value. For instance, the idea that ownership of property is created by the application of labor, and nothing else. If you were to read the Constitution or the Declaration of Independence, there is no doubt that you would see shades of Locke shining through.

As for what we would talk about? Anything and everything! I’ve studied his work and philosophies. But I know nothing of the man! For instance, who was his favorite football team? Did he prefer a particular genre of music? These are the things I would ask.

And, of course, I never tired of debating political theory with my good friend John Adams.

MST: Any final words for our readers?

Mr. Jefferson: Never give up on freedom. I went through a lot to help get us where we are today and I’d say I’ve given everyone a pretty good head start. But keep in mind, I’m not merely talking about politics, I’m talking about every aspect of your life. Since this is a CAD periodical, I’ll just say that if there is a barrier in your way that is preventing you from doing your job right or if it’s stealing your weekends from you, get the tools you need to get it done right and right now. That’s what I did and it worked out pretty well for me!

MST: To all American MicroStation users, have a wonderful Independence Day.

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