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Chatting with InRoads royalty
An interview with Mark Ditko, InRoads
guru
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LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA, USA —
As a part of MicroStation Today’s crusade to help
the MicroStation community find ways to increase productivity,
this month we spotlight a MicroStation expert who specializes
in Bentley’s civil engineering package. Say hello to
Mark Ditko, InRoads guru.
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| Mark Ditko, InRoads guru |
The Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania native’s wealth of knowledge
and experience make him a bona fide master when it comes to
the software. Mark has been a user since the first release
of InRoads, 15 years ago, is certified by Bentley as an InRoads
instructor and is a published author on the topic. It’s
not only the fact that his professional life has revolved
around InRoads that make him an expert, but his knowledge
of engineering as well. Mark has a background in survey, hydrology
and hydraulics, earthwork calculations, utility design, grading,
paving, and geometry that play a vital role in enhancing his
understanding of the modern InRoads user’s scene.
MicroStation Today caught up with Mark to get to know
more about him and share his experiences with the MicroStation
community.
MST: Tell us about your InRoads
background. How and where did you get started?
Mark: The first company that
I worked at was Haver, Nunn & Collamer in Phoenix, Arizona.
They were a pretty progressive company and had the early versions
of MicroStation and had InRoads running on a VAX mini-computer.
That was really my first exposure. It wasn’t until InRoads
was officially released right at the end of the 80s before
I started working with the software full time. At that time,
I was at a company called Collar, Williams & White that
was purchased by a Southern California based firm, Rick Engineering.
Rick was standardizing all of their offices on MicroStation
and InRoads, and I eventually became the lead in the Phoenix
office.RefManager (one of Toolkit’s component applications)
can update a batch of reference file paths with one command.
MST: How long have you been
training people on InRoads?
Mark: For about 15 years
now. Collar, Williams & White was an ink-on-mylar shop
when Rick Engineering purchased it. At that time there were
four individuals, including myself, originally trained on
the software at Rick. We were responsible for converting the
rest of the office away from the boards and onto this new
software. Because of a strange chain of events, I ended up
being the only one of the four left after a short period and
ended up in charge of this effort. That’s when my training
of others really started.
MST: We
hear you wrote a book on In-Roads. What made you decide to
write it?
Mark: I went to work for
Intergraph in January of 1995. It was there that I became
an InRoads instructor. I can’t recall a single class
where someone didn’t ask me, “Is there any other
material available that explains InRoads?” The first
time I heard that, it planted a seed, and every time I heard
it again nurtured that need. Eventually, I knew I was going
to do it, and it was only a matter of when.
MST: Who is this book for?
Mark: The book was absolutely
designed with the beginner in mind. However, there is everything
from the most fundamental InRoads concepts and tools to higher-level
applications. There are things in this book that won’t
be found anywhere else. With that said, I have met very few
users who are advanced in all aspects of the software. This
book will fill gaps that a lot of users have with the software.
The 20-page table of contents can be downloaded from the book’s
Website at ZenInRoadsEssentials.com.
MST: Who is Mark Ditko outside
of being an InRoads guru?
Mark: Besides being an InRoads
guru? Why would I do anything besides InRoads? Actually I’m
an inventor, and you will probably start seeing things broadly
available from one of my other companies soon. Beyond that,
I’m a philosopher at heart. I have to admit that I really
enjoy talking to people about their lives, their interests,
their ambitions and goals. I think that relationships are
pure gold and one of the most valuable possessions available
anywhere.
MST: Great philosophy! Thank
you for your time, Mark.
Mark: No problem! Thank you
for yours.
Now you know Mark Ditko and what he does. If you are an InRoads
user and feel your workflow is suffering due to lack of training,
then you now know who to call for help. You can contact Mark
through his Website at InRoadsGuru.com.
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