<![CDATA[<P>The Military Engineer l November-December l 200992
instead of blank paper.
Debate in the early days of CADD
revolved around terms like productiv-
ity and payback. Early marketing hype
went something like this: At the XYZ
?rm, we now produce our working
drawings on CADD. Using the speed
of computers, we can shorten produc-
tion time and spend more time on the
creative, decision-intensive part of the
job. Seminars focused on whether
CADD could pay for itself and how to
charge the client extra for CADD-pro-
duced working drawings. This was a
painful time for many CADD pioneers.
Today
A breakthrough is occurring with
CADD in leading A/E of?ces. We are
hired to seek and solve problems, to de-
sign buildings or highways or whatever.
But the greatest cost of our services is
not designing, it is documenting our
design. In word processing, the cost of
documentation has disappeared, it has
become automated. Whether the same
thing can or should happen to the same
in CADD design is debatable; however,
we are clearly moving in that direction.
The designer can now consider more
options in greater detail at the ear-
lier stages of design than any manual
method would allow. Rather than start-
ing each design phase on blank paper
or screens, each phase forms a founda-
tion for the next. Signi?cant portions of
the initial drawings are made with the
same precision as the ?nal ones. Modi-
?cations are easily made without com-
plete restarts.
CADD has given us a competitive
edge for now, but the A/E world does
not sleep for long. Four factors will in-
?uence the speed with which CADD
will transform the design process on a
profession-wide basis: technology, cost,
people, and quality.
Technology.—Competition in the
CADD marketplace is causing the tech-
nology to advance in quantum leaps, but
the state-of-the-art continues to frus-
trate CADD users. First, computers are
more effective at manipulating numbers
and letters than graphic data. As a result,
programs written for CADD use com-
puter power to translate graphic infor-
mation into digital data and back again.
This takes time and often leaves a user
hanging on a thought while the com-
puter catches up. This problem will dis-
solve as microprocessors become faster.
Second, CRTs or other forms of view-
ing screens are not very portable. There-
fore, we still rely on a plotted hard copy
for presentations and documentation.
Todays plotters continue to be a weak
link in the system. Electrostatic plotters
which are 60 times as fast as pen plot-
ters may be the beginning of a break-
through in this area.
Third, with CADD, project data can
be electronically transmitted to deci-
sion makers miles apart who can look
at and react to the same graphic infor-
mation simultaneously. The technology
to transmit the enormous quantities or
data associated with a CADD-produced
drawing, however, leaves much to be
desired. It can take all day to transmit a
complicated drawing on standard tele-
phone lines and the cost can be prohibi-
tive. Microwave and satellite transmis-
sions should provide relief in this arena
in years to come.
Cost.—Plans to invest $1 million in
CADD equipment make most A/E com-
pany executives wince. News of hiring
eight new people seems far less painful.
But, the two costs are equal. The aver-
age per employee salary in a typical A/E
?rm is about $16.00/hour (total payroll
divided by number of employees). A
top-of-the-line mainframe CADD sta-
tion used for an eight-hour shift, ?ve
days a week, costs about the same.
For companies that cannot afford a
mainframe CADD system, there is an
alternative. Micro CADD systems are
emerging rapidly as a legitimate supple-
mental tool for the A/E. Although they
cannot yet compete with a mainframe
CADD in resolution, speed, versatility,
three dimensions, or color graphics,
their cost is only $1.22/hour.
People.—For a time, creative people,
who had grown up with the tools of
drawing, appeared reluctant to adopt
computer technology in their work.
Some even seemed offended by it. We
all assumed that the widespread use of
CADD as a legitimate, creative design
tool would be delayed until these peo-
ple could be won over or replaced.
This is proving to be a passing prob-
lem. Computer hardware and software
?rms recognize that their futures de-
pend on the term user friendly. They
are moving rapidly to eliminate techni-
cal obstacles to the widespread accep-
tance of CADD.
Quality.—While the initial loading of
project information in the CADD sys-
tem can be just as laborious as tradi-
tional processes, CADD earns its keep
on coordinating various disciplines
work an on every change that occurs.
Discrepancies between A/E disci-
plines often cause project delays when
professionals work on outdated back-
grounds. CADD allows the backgrounds
for all disciplines to be automatically
updated, even when the work proceeds
concurrently. If the architect moves a
wall, the modi?cation is immediately
transmitted through the computer to
the engineer for referencing.
Delays and claims often result from
design con?icts in building systems.
Color overlay techniques allow for sim-
pli?ed crosschecking of interference
among building systems. The possibil-
ity of a structural beam, mechanical
duct, and electrical conduit occupying
the same physical space is reduced.
Tomorrow
CADD has the potential for breaking
away even greater boundaries to our
creativity by allowing A/Es to work with
all three dimensions simultaneously. In-
stead of relying on the painstaking and
time-consuming process of translat-
ing two-dimensional plans and eleva-
tions into models and perspectives for
three-dimensional study, one architect
is looking toward the day when CADD
will allow the designer to draw in three
dimensions from the start.
The question is no longer whether,
but when, to adopt CADD. It has evolved
into an important design tool with in-
herent economies and quality improve-
ments. Now, more alternatives can be
considered in greater detail. We reduce
errors caused by a lack of co-ordination
and multiple hand-offs. We accommo-
date changes with far less pain and far
better results. Creative thinking is sup-
ported by rigorous analysis. The result
is better projects and the ultimate win-
ner is the client.</p>
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