Ah, the moment we've all been waiting for since we heard about the latest release:
Lynn Allen has posted her AutoCAD 2007 Tips and Tricks Booklet.
Go check it out! I know that when I get a hold of some of these, they always go like hotcakes at my LUG meetings.
2006-05-22
2006-05-17
BIM for Facilities Management... ok, fine... Facility Owners
I do note that this article says ‘Facility Owners’ rather than ‘Facility Managers’… as the Director of my Department likes to say ‘We’re the tail trying to wag the dog’.
While not in a construction field, I do subscribe to AECbytes, as Lachmi Kemlani always has great articles and jumpstarts fantastic discussions from industry leaders on her site.
See below where I’ve snipped out the bits of this particular article that can apply to facility managers, as well as a great bit from her summary at the end. As always, I love to hear speculation about the Future of FM.
The ‘Transition to BIM’ is an issue that any facility owner is going to have to face. Almost all of our construction documents are created by outside contractors. So, a transition here wouldn’t just mean sending me and a couple others off to training. It would mean convincing our contractors to move forward, as well as forcing them to work more closely for increased consistency across their models, which means choosing reliable and easy to use collaboration tools.
Just the thought of that almost makes me want to give up on the whole idea right now.
BUT! Thinking of all of the money that BIM could save during construction is just a drop in the bucket compared to how much it could save us in the long run! According to the deskers presenting at the first FM mixer at AU2004, building a building costs about $200 sq ft, and maintaining costs about $40 a sq ft annually.
Do I have any hard numbers on this?
No. I don’t budget for our maintenance, and I don’t manage the new construction projects… but, I do support the people that do… and I know how important accurate documentation (or heck just HAVING ANY documentation) is.
Her article points out that the discussion brought up the point that there are currently no BIM-FM solutions available... well.. of course, my thought on that is...
Building Systems for FM?
I *AM* the End User
The BIM technology is maturing for Architectural and Structural and Building Systems aren't far behind. We should be building on these programs that are gaining acceptance, not trying to create something entirely new and distanced that we have to face import/export challenges with.
Anyway… for the non-FM’ers here, I do encourage you to check out the rest of Lachmi’s article and see what your customers are thinking about.
Use of BIM by Facility Owners: An "Expotitions" Meeting
The biggest one was that of the transition to BIM, and the overall consensus was that the "pain" was not really in the technology or in learning it, but in the change of the business process that is involved. To put it in another way, 70% of the change that is needed to move to BIM is going to be cultural, while the technology will account for only 30% of it.
Getting back to the owner's perspective—which, after all, was what the event was all about—some felt that owners need to look beyond the immediate benefits of BIM in the design and construction phase and focus on the long-term benefits they will realize in their facilities management and operations processes
what continues to surprise me is the amount of time that is still spent on debating BIM. I see BIM as a logical evolution from CAD, the next technological step for the AEC industry, and very much in tune with the technological advancements happening in other fields and in society as a whole. While BIM may be a complex technology, we should try and avoid making its adoption so much more complicated than it needs to be. We spend far too much time dwelling on the difficulties involved in making the change, and we are constantly trying to look too far ahead to see what benefits BIM can bring down the road. While a long-term perspective is important, the focus should be on what we can achieve with BIM in the near term and trying to find the best way to do it. I think we can only make some serious headway with BIM in the AEC industry as a whole when we start taking it for granted—just as we take CAD for granted now—and focus on the "how" rather than on the "why."
- Lachmi Khemlani of AECbytes
While not in a construction field, I do subscribe to AECbytes, as Lachmi Kemlani always has great articles and jumpstarts fantastic discussions from industry leaders on her site.
See below where I’ve snipped out the bits of this particular article that can apply to facility managers, as well as a great bit from her summary at the end. As always, I love to hear speculation about the Future of FM.
The ‘Transition to BIM’ is an issue that any facility owner is going to have to face. Almost all of our construction documents are created by outside contractors. So, a transition here wouldn’t just mean sending me and a couple others off to training. It would mean convincing our contractors to move forward, as well as forcing them to work more closely for increased consistency across their models, which means choosing reliable and easy to use collaboration tools.
Just the thought of that almost makes me want to give up on the whole idea right now.
BUT! Thinking of all of the money that BIM could save during construction is just a drop in the bucket compared to how much it could save us in the long run! According to the deskers presenting at the first FM mixer at AU2004, building a building costs about $200 sq ft, and maintaining costs about $40 a sq ft annually.
Do I have any hard numbers on this?
No. I don’t budget for our maintenance, and I don’t manage the new construction projects… but, I do support the people that do… and I know how important accurate documentation (or heck just HAVING ANY documentation) is.
Her article points out that the discussion brought up the point that there are currently no BIM-FM solutions available... well.. of course, my thought on that is...
Building Systems for FM?
I *AM* the End User
The BIM technology is maturing for Architectural and Structural and Building Systems aren't far behind. We should be building on these programs that are gaining acceptance, not trying to create something entirely new and distanced that we have to face import/export challenges with.
Anyway… for the non-FM’ers here, I do encourage you to check out the rest of Lachmi’s article and see what your customers are thinking about.
Use of BIM by Facility Owners: An "Expotitions" Meeting
The biggest one was that of the transition to BIM, and the overall consensus was that the "pain" was not really in the technology or in learning it, but in the change of the business process that is involved. To put it in another way, 70% of the change that is needed to move to BIM is going to be cultural, while the technology will account for only 30% of it.
Getting back to the owner's perspective—which, after all, was what the event was all about—some felt that owners need to look beyond the immediate benefits of BIM in the design and construction phase and focus on the long-term benefits they will realize in their facilities management and operations processes
what continues to surprise me is the amount of time that is still spent on debating BIM. I see BIM as a logical evolution from CAD, the next technological step for the AEC industry, and very much in tune with the technological advancements happening in other fields and in society as a whole. While BIM may be a complex technology, we should try and avoid making its adoption so much more complicated than it needs to be. We spend far too much time dwelling on the difficulties involved in making the change, and we are constantly trying to look too far ahead to see what benefits BIM can bring down the road. While a long-term perspective is important, the focus should be on what we can achieve with BIM in the near term and trying to find the best way to do it. I think we can only make some serious headway with BIM in the AEC industry as a whole when we start taking it for granted—just as we take CAD for granted now—and focus on the "how" rather than on the "why."
- Lachmi Khemlani of AECbytes
2006-05-16
Survey on Revit Rendering by Revit Team
<>augi forum posting >
We've been very happy with your willingness to answer questions for us in surveys.
If you are a user of Revit Building and produce rendered images, we want to hear your take on Revit's rendering. It will take about 10 minutes or so.
http://www.surveymonkey.com/s.asp?u=665082150566
We'll keep it open for a week. Pass it on if you have friends who might be interested and aren't reading AUGI in the next week!
Thanks,
Lynn Cherny
Interaction Design, Revit Product Design
<>
We've been very happy with your willingness to answer questions for us in surveys.
If you are a user of Revit Building and produce rendered images, we want to hear your take on Revit's rendering. It will take about 10 minutes or so.
http://www.surveymonkey.com/s.asp?u=665082150566
We'll keep it open for a week. Pass it on if you have friends who might be interested and aren't reading AUGI in the next week!
Thanks,
Lynn Cherny
Interaction Design, Revit Product Design
<>
2006-05-09
Article on Autodesk & Facilities Management!
Check out this Augi Hotnews article: AutoCAD & FM: Implementing a CAFM System by Shaun Bryant (FM trainer and consultant).
Looks like this is the first in a series? Keep an eye out for the June edition of Hotnews, where he promises us a peek of Autodesk's newly acquired FM:Desktop.
Looks like this is the first in a series? Keep an eye out for the June edition of Hotnews, where he promises us a peek of Autodesk's newly acquired FM:Desktop.
What is your CADnerd name?
alright, I got one too many forwards instructing me how to determine my stripper name, so I had to hijack the last one and put my own spin on it...
Find your CADnerd name: Boundary OffsetKey
MY NEW CAD NERD NAME IS IN THE SUBJECT LINE....
forward or not, I don't give a rip one way or the other... See what your CADnerd name will be, and share it with your all of your friends, and everyone you desperately wish would be your friend:
We all need a little stress-reliever! This only takes a minute, unless you are really really slow, in which case, I'll look forward to receiving your reply sometime next fall.
Send it on to everyone you know including the person that sent it to you, because if you don't, Bill Gates won't send me a penny, instead he'll pour Coke all over me, and you know what that can do to a person because of all of the other helpful emails you've gotten!
Sometimes when you have a stressful day or week, you need some silliness to break up the day. And, if we are honest, we have a lot more stressful days than not... personally, I prefer to delude myself into thinking that I've been out fishing all day.
Here is your dose of humour...
A. Follow the instructions to find your new name.
B. Once you have your new name, put it in the subject line of a new email and forward it to friends and family and co-workers and total strangers whose names you've farmed from discussion groups.
C. Don't forget to forward it back to the person who sent it to you, so they know you participated and that they aren't the only dork with no life willing to squander what precious little time we have on this earth.
1. Use the third letter of your first name to determine your new first name:
a = Pline
b = Circle
c = Attribute
d = Ray
e = Mline
f = Donut
g = Spline
h = Ellipse
i = Block
j =Hatch
k = Gradient
l = Boundary
m = Arc
n = Region
o = Wipeout
p = Text
q = Edge
r = Mesh
s = Polygon
t = Point
u = Rectangle
v = Entity
w = Handle
x = Cloud
y = Mouse
z = Key
2. Use the second letter of your last name to determine the first half of your new last name:
a = Open
b = Update
c = Edit
d = Query
e = Extract
f = Explode
g = Burst
h = Modify
i = Calc
j = Load
k = Run
l = View
m = Move
n = Configure
o = Match
p = Clip
q = Rotate
r = Scale
s = Mirror
t = Offset
u = Array
v = Stretch
w = Lengthen
x = Chamfer
y = Fillet
z = Join
3. Use the third letter of your last name to determine the second half of your new last name:
a = Commandline
b = Interface
c = Button
d = Macro
e = Script
f = Application
g = Routine
h = Menu
i = Dialog
j = Definition
k = Accelerator
l = Network
m = Palette
n = Shortcut
o = Key
p = Pulldown
q = Override
r = Display
s = Window
t = Tag
u = Tablet
v = Status
w = Environment
x = Transfer
y = Drag
z = Migrate
Be sure to check out my other nerdy time wasters - "You Might be a CAD Diva If..." and the 2006 System Variable crossword puzzle (page 7)... I am posting an edit here 08/06 to include a link to You might be a Redneck CAD Tech if... from MEP blogger Kelly Swa. Good stuff.
Now when you SEND THIS ON...use your new name as the subject... or use mine... or use 'Hey, look what this dork did, can you believe it?... honestly, just type whatever you want, because it's not like I care, or could stop you even if I did. If you don't send this to 15 other nerds within the next two hours, a boy in Blavlaguccia will be eaten by a one-pound goat named Starbucks... only you can save him!!!
Find your CADnerd name: Boundary OffsetKey
MY NEW CAD NERD NAME IS IN THE SUBJECT LINE....
forward or not, I don't give a rip one way or the other... See what your CADnerd name will be, and share it with your all of your friends, and everyone you desperately wish would be your friend:
We all need a little stress-reliever! This only takes a minute, unless you are really really slow, in which case, I'll look forward to receiving your reply sometime next fall.
Send it on to everyone you know including the person that sent it to you, because if you don't, Bill Gates won't send me a penny, instead he'll pour Coke all over me, and you know what that can do to a person because of all of the other helpful emails you've gotten!
Sometimes when you have a stressful day or week, you need some silliness to break up the day. And, if we are honest, we have a lot more stressful days than not... personally, I prefer to delude myself into thinking that I've been out fishing all day.
Here is your dose of humour...
A. Follow the instructions to find your new name.
B. Once you have your new name, put it in the subject line of a new email and forward it to friends and family and co-workers and total strangers whose names you've farmed from discussion groups.
C. Don't forget to forward it back to the person who sent it to you, so they know you participated and that they aren't the only dork with no life willing to squander what precious little time we have on this earth.
1. Use the third letter of your first name to determine your new first name:
a = Pline
b = Circle
c = Attribute
d = Ray
e = Mline
f = Donut
g = Spline
h = Ellipse
i = Block
j =Hatch
k = Gradient
l = Boundary
m = Arc
n = Region
o = Wipeout
p = Text
q = Edge
r = Mesh
s = Polygon
t = Point
u = Rectangle
v = Entity
w = Handle
x = Cloud
y = Mouse
z = Key
2. Use the second letter of your last name to determine the first half of your new last name:
a = Open
b = Update
c = Edit
d = Query
e = Extract
f = Explode
g = Burst
h = Modify
i = Calc
j = Load
k = Run
l = View
m = Move
n = Configure
o = Match
p = Clip
q = Rotate
r = Scale
s = Mirror
t = Offset
u = Array
v = Stretch
w = Lengthen
x = Chamfer
y = Fillet
z = Join
3. Use the third letter of your last name to determine the second half of your new last name:
a = Commandline
b = Interface
c = Button
d = Macro
e = Script
f = Application
g = Routine
h = Menu
i = Dialog
j = Definition
k = Accelerator
l = Network
m = Palette
n = Shortcut
o = Key
p = Pulldown
q = Override
r = Display
s = Window
t = Tag
u = Tablet
v = Status
w = Environment
x = Transfer
y = Drag
z = Migrate
Be sure to check out my other nerdy time wasters - "You Might be a CAD Diva If..." and the 2006 System Variable crossword puzzle (page 7)... I am posting an edit here 08/06 to include a link to You might be a Redneck CAD Tech if... from MEP blogger Kelly Swa. Good stuff.
Now when you SEND THIS ON...use your new name as the subject... or use mine... or use 'Hey, look what this dork did, can you believe it?... honestly, just type whatever you want, because it's not like I care, or could stop you even if I did. If you don't send this to 15 other nerds within the next two hours, a boy in Blavlaguccia will be eaten by a one-pound goat named Starbucks... only you can save him!!!
2006-05-05
Embed your DWF
Check out these two tips from Scott Sheppard...
How do I embed a DWF file in an Office document?
How do I embed a DWF file in an HTML page?
How do I embed a DWF file in an Office document?
How do I embed a DWF file in an HTML page?
2006-04-28
Bloggers, Bloggers Everywhere
I haven't posted much this week... busy catching up from vacation. But, I've also been _orking on my pet project... details about blogs. I've been throwing every blog link I can find into my Favorites folder, most of them more for the use of people in various industries I come across.
But, some of the names are rather ambiguous, so I've imported the list of 90 (yes, ninety) CAD-Design-Programming related blogs into a spreadsheet and am in the process of listing the industry and programs used of all of the posters.
A minor bit of trivia is that this month has seen the one year anniversary of my own blog. April 12th, 2005 I made my first post as the Mistress of the Dorkness (which, for some reason, seemed like a good idea at the time).
That realization, made me think back slightly further, to when I was still doing a LUG newsletter... in the January 2005 edition, I published my listing of a whopping 26 blogs. My, what the past year has brought, eh?
What is so great about blogs anyway? Well, those who work in the industry can spit out little bite-sized, easily digestible chunks of knowledge for all of the world to see.
I believe I just saw a posting by Roopinder Tara about why blogs are a favorite medium for us?
Personally, back when I was an editor... I really did love the editing part of my work. It was a challenge right up my alley helping the smarter, more technical people get their ideas across in an effective manner... what I didn't like about editing was recruiting authors, and weeding out the self-promoters. blah! That part of the gig just wasn't worth my time.
And... as a writer... I'm not all that good at selling myself... my work, my ideas, my opinions. I don't easily approach an editor and say 'I'm qualified to write for your publication and this is what I'd like to write about'.
I'm pretty anti-social anyway, and selling myself to a prospective publisher is more than a little intimidating.
And so, I blog.
I write what I want to, unedited, unrestrained... and unpaid.
Well, blogging does have it's pluses and minuses. ;)
After I complete my first draft of my listing of blogs, I'll find someplace to host the file and post a link back here.
Have a great weekend!
But, some of the names are rather ambiguous, so I've imported the list of 90 (yes, ninety) CAD-Design-Programming related blogs into a spreadsheet and am in the process of listing the industry and programs used of all of the posters.
A minor bit of trivia is that this month has seen the one year anniversary of my own blog. April 12th, 2005 I made my first post as the Mistress of the Dorkness (which, for some reason, seemed like a good idea at the time).
That realization, made me think back slightly further, to when I was still doing a LUG newsletter... in the January 2005 edition, I published my listing of a whopping 26 blogs. My, what the past year has brought, eh?
What is so great about blogs anyway? Well, those who work in the industry can spit out little bite-sized, easily digestible chunks of knowledge for all of the world to see.
I believe I just saw a posting by Roopinder Tara about why blogs are a favorite medium for us?
Personally, back when I was an editor... I really did love the editing part of my work. It was a challenge right up my alley helping the smarter, more technical people get their ideas across in an effective manner... what I didn't like about editing was recruiting authors, and weeding out the self-promoters. blah! That part of the gig just wasn't worth my time.
And... as a writer... I'm not all that good at selling myself... my work, my ideas, my opinions. I don't easily approach an editor and say 'I'm qualified to write for your publication and this is what I'd like to write about'.
I'm pretty anti-social anyway, and selling myself to a prospective publisher is more than a little intimidating.
And so, I blog.
I write what I want to, unedited, unrestrained... and unpaid.
Well, blogging does have it's pluses and minuses. ;)
After I complete my first draft of my listing of blogs, I'll find someplace to host the file and post a link back here.
Have a great weekend!
2006-04-25
Well, I'm back from London
Alright... I'm back ~dusts off desk... (except the telephone... those messages can wait a couple more minutes)~
I know, last summer when I went, and the weather was 75%%d and sunny, and my BH assured me it was always like that... wasn't going to last. Our first day there, we took my little one with some friends to some castle grounds for Easter festivities... it rained... his shoes were sooo muddy. You could tell I was the ignorant tourist, as all of the other children were readily equipped with little rubber boots. We went round to the shops soon after and found him some of his own (Thomas the Train, no less).
Suprisingly enough ~proud Mommy moment~ my 2 (he turned three while we were over there) year old was perfectly behaved on the 8 1/2 hour flight from Chicago to London. I was stunned.
Don't get me wrong, he's a good kid, better than most, but, let's face it He's A Toddler!!!
We hung out with many family and friends, and played with kids and fed ducks and saw 2 castles, went to the Natural History and Science Museums, and ate fantastic food (from homemade pizza to Indian, to waaay too many chocolate easter eggs). It was a great holiday for all of us, and I'm so happy we went.
I don't think I have a tip about autocad today. I'm still sort of beat and a little jet-lagged. I woke up 2 hours early today... not terrible, but, not fun either. ;)
Oh, I will do a little rant about something I saw *AGAIN* today in the cafeteria...
So, to the woman I saw today, and the many I've seen in the past, and the many I haven't seen:
You know salad is paid for by weight, so don't stand by the salad bar, digging into your plate for goodness sake... you're *STEALING* so knock it off! If you think it's too expensive, bring your own!
Alright, sorry, just had to get that out. ;)
Happy CADding, and don't forget to donate blood...
I know, last summer when I went, and the weather was 75%%d and sunny, and my BH assured me it was always like that... wasn't going to last. Our first day there, we took my little one with some friends to some castle grounds for Easter festivities... it rained... his shoes were sooo muddy. You could tell I was the ignorant tourist, as all of the other children were readily equipped with little rubber boots. We went round to the shops soon after and found him some of his own (Thomas the Train, no less).
Suprisingly enough ~proud Mommy moment~ my 2 (he turned three while we were over there) year old was perfectly behaved on the 8 1/2 hour flight from Chicago to London. I was stunned.
Don't get me wrong, he's a good kid, better than most, but, let's face it He's A Toddler!!!
We hung out with many family and friends, and played with kids and fed ducks and saw 2 castles, went to the Natural History and Science Museums, and ate fantastic food (from homemade pizza to Indian, to waaay too many chocolate easter eggs). It was a great holiday for all of us, and I'm so happy we went.
I don't think I have a tip about autocad today. I'm still sort of beat and a little jet-lagged. I woke up 2 hours early today... not terrible, but, not fun either. ;)
Oh, I will do a little rant about something I saw *AGAIN* today in the cafeteria...
So, to the woman I saw today, and the many I've seen in the past, and the many I haven't seen:
You know salad is paid for by weight, so don't stand by the salad bar, digging into your plate for goodness sake... you're *STEALING* so knock it off! If you think it's too expensive, bring your own!
Alright, sorry, just had to get that out. ;)
Happy CADding, and don't forget to donate blood...
2006-04-16
DWG Viewer updated for 2007
Logging on from 'sunny' England to bring you the news...
You can now download the newest version from the Autodesk site.
You can now download the newest version from the Autodesk site.
2006-04-12
I'm gone for a few days
I'll be leaving for a trip tomorrow morning. I probably won't be signing on to make any posts until I return to _ork.
Remember to keep learning, and giving back to the CAD community!
To piggyback on my post the other day about newsgroup behaviour, I'll add a link from the DWF guy (Scott Sheppard) giving tips on best uses for the Autodesk Discussion Groups.
Be sure to peruse his blog for some updates on new DWF technology and some uses (like dwf underlay or sectioning 3d dwf's).
Remember to keep learning, and giving back to the CAD community!
To piggyback on my post the other day about newsgroup behaviour, I'll add a link from the DWF guy (Scott Sheppard) giving tips on best uses for the Autodesk Discussion Groups.
Be sure to peruse his blog for some updates on new DWF technology and some uses (like dwf underlay or sectioning 3d dwf's).
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