New Civil 3D Skill Builders Available

A new 5-part video skill builder titled Transferring Site Data Between Revit Architecture and AutoCAD Civil 3D is now available from the AutoCAD Civil 3D Skill Builders web page. This skill builder is a series of videos that show how to share and manipulate site data in Revit Architecture and AutoCAD Civil 3D. There are also other videos for 2010, as well as 2009.

Did You Know

This is not a new video, from what I can gather from searching the internet, it has been out there for a while. Did You Know, seen here, http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jpEnFwiqdx8, is a great look at the rate of change seen by the world, and also some comparisons between the US, India, and China in regards to the education of our kids and our population. One example being that the top 25% of India's population in terms of IQ is greater than the entire population of the US.

After watching this video a couple times, I took two things away from it. The first is easy. The rate of change in the world of technology is increasing, and the amount of information being created is also increasing at an exponential rate. Pretty easy to see even without the video, we all saw the demise of records when CD's came on line, and now we are watching the demise of the CD in favor of digital downloads (both illegal and legal). The difference is the amount of time needed to make that change, it took I am guessing a good 10 years to see CD's really supplant other media options, but digital downloads only took 2-3 years (again, a guess, not based on any actual knowledge on my part, just my observation).

I am in the business of selling technology and services around that technology, so change is not new, I make a good living off of it. It also gives me a good perspective in watching my customers and how they approach change. In the field of architecture and engineering, before I became an adult, there was a fundamental change that took those in the field from paper and pen to the computer. A big change for sure, but really only in media, they used the same processes for the most part, just now they did it on a computer. CAD started off, and still does today to a large degree, just mimic the old process that took place on paper (hence the use of layers and references and other techniques). Later, after I got in the business, another move took place which took some in the industry from a 2D CAD process to an object based process (for example, an architect now had software that behaved more like the real world, doors had to be placed in walls and if you moved a wall, connecting walls updated and changed). Still primarily a 2D process though, but it introduced a higher level of intelligence. Again the difference was that people were on paper for centuries, but only on CAD for a number of years before the next change. There are still organizations that have not moved to that next phase, and we are now in yet another shift, to model based design, where the entire project is now modeled in a database and everything in the design is coordinated. This shift took place just a few short years after the last one, again showing how quickly the shifts are taking place now. And there will no doubt be another one even sooner, probably a shift to more collaborative technology between organizations.

The point I am trying to make, is the real change that organizations need to start to make is not how to change technology or move to a new system, but think about it as a change process. The technology is now becoming such that the real winners are the organizations that can manage the process of change itself without hurting itself, thereby allowing them to keep up and take advantage quickly as new technology comes into the market. That is the real competitive advantage.

The second thing I pulled from the video, is how we approach education in this country. Looking at countries such as China and India, we stand a very good chance of falling behind in terms of intellectual power. In the future, I think information is going to be the differentiator, who can create it, and also more importantly, who can manage it and make it usable. Look at the success of Google, which is basically a company that doesn't really create anything, but rather catalogs various types of information and makes it easy for people to search and use it. We are seeing (and many lament) the move of low tech industries to third world countries for the low cost labor. What will remain will be service jobs, and those in information (creation and maintaining it), design, and business. We can sit around and complain about the loss of the old jobs, but the fact remains, it will happen, and continue to happen, and instead of complaining about, we need to change how we approach it. Our students need to be prepared for this changing world and made to realize that to make it in the future, they will need to be comfortable with technology.

LEGO Bricks Inspire New Type of Architectural Model

Recently, a Lego Store opened here in Charlotte, and since my 6 year old is a lego fanatic, naturally we had to go. Among all the lego kits for Star Wars and Indiana Jones, I noticed several kits based on architectural works. Not necessarily aimed for the younger kids, I thought they were pretty neat and would be interesting for a teenager that may be interested in the field, and definately for those adults who are interested in architecture, whether they are in the field or not. I saw the Empire State Building and the Sears Tower, but evidently they have several more available. When I came across this article, it was nice to see how the series came to be.

It would be interesting to carry this to other types of engineered structures as well, maybe like the Golden Gate Bridge or something similiar.

At any rate, it looked like something I might like to purchase for myself, partly to remind myself of the times I spent putting Legos together as a kid, and to connect a little bit with the field that I depend on for my livelihood.


http://archrecord.construction.com/news/daily/archives/090817lego.asp

Autodesk Acquires BOSS International Inc.

Autodesk recently annouced the acquisition of BOSS International, Inc. which is the developer of hydrology applications such as RiverCAD, WaterNET, and StormNET. This will give a boost to Autodesk's existing hydrology tools that come with Civil 3D that were acquired when they purchased Intellisolve. As users of Civil 3D know, hydrology was the big gaping hole for some until the Intellisolve purchase. Now with BOSS, Civil 3D will eventually get stormwater analysis, floodplain analysis, and water distribution analysis (which was something desired by many firms). This will help round out the hydrology solutions for Civil 3D. It also may be a indicator of future trends of adding more niche functionality to Civil 3D which will further separate it from AutoCAD Civil (as well as competitive products like Carlson Civil Suite).

Original press release here http://pressreleases.autodesk.com/index.php?s=press_releases&item=627

NC & Texas State Kits Available for Civil 3D and Civil

Autodesk has posted North Carolina and Texas State Kits. More to come (SC and others).

Customers working in these states can download these kits to help them create styles for the respective states DOT standards.

http://usa.autodesk.com/adsk/servlet/index?siteID=123112&id=7271531&linkID=9240698#2010

Download Country Kits that can be added to your AutoCAD Civil 3D 2007, 2008, 2009, and 2010 installations giving you access to country-specific reports, templates, and much more. Content varies by country and may include:

• Drafting and design standards (Civil 3D label and object styles)
• Design standards files for calculation of superelevation
• Drawing templates (AutoCAD .DWT Files)
• Sheet templates for Plans Production (AutoCAD .DWT files)
• Codes files to localize the point, link and shape codes for corridor models
• Reports

Civil 3D 2010 Service Pack 1 available

Service Pack 1 for Civil 3D 2010 is now posted and available for download here at Autodesk.Com

http://usa.autodesk.com/adsk/servlet/ps/dl/item?siteID=123112&id=13620865&linkID=92406988

Social Media Pitfalls

Monday seems to be my posting day, I generally go through all my emails and newsletters then.

Great article for people in the workplace. I recently let go of an employee who was badmouthing the company on facebook, which was bothering other employees who had access to her page.

Incidentally, for those in sales, it makes sense to follow the policy, don't put anything on the web or email that you wouldn't want a customer to see. It seems customers get wind of things more than we give them credit for.

As social media become the latest branding strategy, networking technique, job seeking tool and recruitment vehicle, they're also becoming the latest way for people to find out job offers have been rescinded, to get reprimanded at work and even to get fired.

It's happened so many times -- publicized and not -- that one would think we could learn from others' mistakes. (But, if that were the case, I wouldn't have anything to write about, now would I?)

A recent tweet by a potential Cisco employee, for example, turned ugly when she decided to tout a recent job offer:

"Cisco just offered me a job! Now I have to weigh the utility of a fatty paycheck against the daily commute to San Jose and hating the work."

Unfortunately for "theconnor" (the handle for the would-be employee), Tim Levad, a "channel partner advocate" for Cisco, saw the tweet and responded with this:

"Who is the hiring manger, I'm sure they would love to know that you will hate the work. We here at Cisco are versed in the Web."

Read the rest of the article here...

http://msn.careerbuilder.com/custom/msn/careeradvice/viewarticle.aspx?articleid=1953

The Top 100 Green Design Firms

Great article which underscores the growing practice of sustainable design, pretty significant I think to see an increase of 63% YOY, makes you wonder if the economy hadn't tanked, how great of an increase would we have seen.

By Engineering News-Record

The overall design market has taken a big hit during the recent recession. But for many owners, hard times have stirred increased interest in the more practical elements of sustainable design, such as energy efficiency. The ENR Top 100 Green Design Firms generated $2.85 billion in revenue in 2008 from projects registered with such green design programs as the U.S. Green Building Council’s Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design, an increase of 63.9% over $1.74 billion in 2007.

Read rest of article here...

http://archrecord.construction.com/news/daily/archives/090706top100greendesignfirms.asp

BIM adoption rate exceeds 80% among nation’s largest AEC firms

Dave Barista, BD+C Managing Editor

July 8, 2009

Building Design and Construction

The nation’s largest architecture, engineering, and construction companies are on the BIM bandwagon in a big way, according to Building Design+Construction’s first annual Top 170 BIM Adopters ranking, published as part of the 2009 Giants 300 survey.

Of the 320 AEC firms that participated in Giants survey, 83% report having at least one BIM seat license in house, half have more than 30 seats, and nearly a quarter (23%) have 100-plus seats. In total, the Giants hold 28,174 BIM seats, with the average firm having 106 seats.

Read rest of the article with this link...

http://www.bdcnetwork.com/article/ca6668193.html

Revit Architecture 2010 Skill Builders

New Tutorials available from Autodesk on Revit Architecture 2010. This first one is focused on the Conceptual Design environment in Revit.

Autodesk Revit Skill Builders

Dangers of too much government spending

My job, my company, and my industry rely heavily on design and construction, so an economic recovery is very desirable where spending in these areas increases. But there is a danger with too much spending by the government (particularly with plans that don't impact an economic recovery), and the new administration may be putting us in jeopardy by digging us in a hole for the next several years with false hope.

Interesting information in the article linked below.

http://www.reedconstructiondata.com/jim-haughey/post/credit-constraint-on-us-recovery-soon-ahead/#When:20:17:00Z

Welcome, this is the first of hopefully many posts on a variety of topics. I am a Sales Manager living in Charlotte, NC. My company TPM, is a consulting firm specializing in design and output solutions for Architects, Engineers, & Construction. We are resellers for companies such as Autodesk, HP, Oce, Xerox, Canon, among others and have been helping our clients for over 35 years across the Carolinas.

When I'm not working, I enjoy movies, books, spending time with the kids.