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    • Tag: workflow

    CTC Licensing Model Change – What you need to know!

    Posted on by Diana Gonzalez

     

    With the release of the 23.0.0 version of all the CTC Software tools, CTC has taken the opportunity to update its licensing model.

    Licensing for any of the CTC suites of tools was broken up into tiers of licensing with maintenance attached or differences depending on how many employees were in the company. It was tedious to explain, and not too efficient to implement.

    Starting with the 23.0.0 release of the suites, CTC is moving to a CSL model of licensing. This Cloud Shared Licensing is much more in line with the SaS model of software delivery. However, this is deliberately not the named user licensing that Autodesk has moved to. The CSL model is intended to simplify access to the tools while maintaining the flexibility of the network licensing style of license.

    Put simply, the CSL model is a cloud-hosted version of the network licensing most of us are familiar with. This means there is no need for installing license managers on local servers, all users need is internet access to use the CTC tools. The CSL is hosted on the new CTC website that was launched in conjunction with the 23.0.0 suite releases.

    With the new website, there have been additional efficiencies added by automating tasks like the option to renew automatically and automatic fulfilment of orders. The new website will also give administrators detailed insight into their teams’ suite usage and the ability to control the allocation of licenses with the creation of Groups of users on the website.

    The move to CSL was done for efficiency for everyone. It simplifies and standardizes access to the tools, allows for instant license allocation, offers to report on the usage of suites and tools, and simplifies pricing models.

    One thing to note is that the 2022 and older versions of the CTC Suites still only work with the legacy licensing and cannot use the CSL model.

     

    Want to learn about this licensing in more detail? Visit: View Recording (gotowebinar.com).

     If you have questions regarding this new licensing model for the CTC Software, your SolidCAD Account Manager will be more than happy to help!

     

     

    CTC 2021 Revit Product Updates!

    Posted on by Rikki Kenzhebayeva

    CTC Software has been preparing to release updates to our AEC tools for Revit 2021. This release launched May 4th and affects most of our AEC offerings. HIVE has undergone a massive update, streamlining all aspects of user interaction and management. Our software suites have all been built to work on the new Autodesk 2021 platforms, and the SuperDoor Configurator and Casework Configurator content packs have been upgraded for 2021 as well. All of these tools will continue to support the 2017 versions of Autodesk products and newer, so they will also fit into your workflows for any version from the last 4 years. Additionally, the Mechanical Electrical Plumbing Productivity Pack content files have been upgraded to 2019, containing hundreds of updated families and a lot of new features and improved workflows. These tools are purpose-built to support your entire workflow from beginning to end, putting the right tools in the right hands so all team members gain efficiencies every day.

    Contact CTC or one of our partners for more information about the 2021 updates to our tools!

    HIVE specifically has had major changes to the user interface of the content management system (CMS). Many of you have provided feedback after extensively using the currently released HIVE system. We listened! The new HIVE has a major facelift, and the HIVE management portal on the web has been overhauled to make management easier, and to provide you with analytics for organization-wide use of CTC tools, project performance metrics and insights into how your teams are searching for content in the CMS. As always, we strive to develop our tools alongside you, so you and your teams can work efficiently. This update will be available May 11th. Feel free to share your experiences and ideas for how we can continue to improve.

    The other productivity tools in the software suites are all updated to work on the Autodesk 2021 platforms as well. This year we have decided to make sure that we support 5 version of Autodesk products, since we know many of our clients have projects with long lifecycles. While Autodesk may not officially support 2017, we felt that we should continue to make our tools available for that release since some of you have let us know that your projects are still being managed in that version. This new 2021 release of our tools will have the ability to communicate with the HIVE management portal so you can have a better understanding of the return on your investment this next year.

    CTC has 3 major Revit-based content packs. The two that install into the ribbon are the SuperDoor Configurator and the Casework Configurator. These, like our other suites, will be supported on Revit 2017-2021. The other content pack, the Mechanical Electrical Plumbing Productivity Pack (MEPPP), has been heavily updated in its latest version. It will be supported on Revit 2019-2021 with the actual content delivered in Revit 2019 format. We made this choice since most of the projects starting fresh in your firms will be on 2019 and later. We did not see value in building on older versions, as existing projects in production do not see huge benefits in transitioning standards mid-production. This MEPPP update has seen further standardization of the parameters used to help align our pack with metric users. The first release will be in Imperial units of measure, but a metric pack will be coming soon. This release saw heavy formula updates and further removal of unit dependencies. The lighting fixtures, electrical equipment and mechanical equipment have seen major updates, improving face-based and level-based hosting in a single family, and general ease of use. Many other categories have been touched as well, to ensure a uniform workflow and general consistent use. SuperDoor Configurator and Casework Configurator launched May 4th, the MEPPP will be available May 11th.

    As always, we encourage you to contact us at: sales@solidcad.ca

    Revit Content Management- Changing Needs for a Work from Anywhere Future

    Posted on by Rikki Kenzhebayeva

    The past year has brought challenges to all. While we look for areas to support and encourage, we continued to look at how we can best serve the needs of our clients. One of the most critical points that hit many, was the need to support entire workforces now working remotely. For our clients using Revit, Autodesk BIM 360 Collaboration enabled our clients to continue to work as teams on new and existing Revit projects. This critical piece ensured that projects could move forward. However, the Revit project models are only a portion of the solution required.

    Architects, engineers, and contractors need to author and populate these models with content. Doors, windows, beams, columns, HVAC equipment, lighting fixtures. Every piece of design content needs to be carefully selected and placed. We also need ways to manage and support these projects. Ideally helping our clients be more efficient, reducing the risk of errors and omissions, and heading off project issues ASAP.

    Dan Stine of Lake Flato Architects shared his thoughts around the important topic of content management and project analytics in this article published on the Autodesk University site. Dan explains the critical issues that CTC Software’s HIVE solution solves. SolidCAD is the exclusive provider of HIVE for Canada.

    In his article, Dan talks about the important topic of content management and project analytics and CTC Software’s holistic solution in this space, that being HIVE. He covers the importance, the challenges, disparate pockets of content, broken feedback loop, and more.

    Check out his blog post on The Necessity of Content Management and Project Analytics.

    *Dan Stine’s Bio:

    A Minnesota native who recently relocated to San Antonio, Texas, Dan Stine has nearly 30 years of experience in the AEC space. He is a Wisconsin registered architect and teaches graduate architecture students at North Dakota State University (NDSU) and presents regularly at the University of Minnesota. Additionally, he has written 14 textbooks, including six on Revit, two on AutoCAD, and one on AutoCAD Architecture. His Residential Design Using Autodesk Revit 2021 is the #1 Revit book in the academic market in North America. He also writes posts for his blog, BIM Chapters, and for Enscape’s blog. He is currently the Director of Design Technology at Lake Flato Architects, the #1 US firm on the 2019 ARCHITECT 50 List.

     

     

    HIVE is a content management system developed specifically for the AEC industry. Firms can organize, manage, set permissions, and ensure the latest content is kept up-to-date and available for all project participants, even when working remotely. Users can quickly find Revit, AutoCAD, PDF, JPEG, and other file types quickly using libraries, tags, favorites, and file metadata.

     

    SolidCAD is the exclusive provider of HIVE for Canada.

    Reach out to our CTC team today. We’d like to understand more about your workflows, issues, and projects in Revit so we can continue to work towards practical solutions for our clients. 

     

     

    Label Genie for Civil 3D: New Features

    Posted on by Rikki Kenzhebayeva

    Label Genie, with it’s recent debut, changed how we do Civil 3D sheet annotation. Allowing automated insertion of labels across multiple drawings and layouts at once, Label Genie turns hours of work into minutes. The latest release will feature labeling in Profile and Section Views, and add many new label types, such as dimensions, blocks, pipe and pressure networks. Additional anchor objects will be included and new data sources will be available, such as block attributes, property sets, objects data, and more.

    In this mini video series: Part 3, our Technical Consultant Infr/GIS – Colin Gaudet will showcase how you can automate labeling in Profile and Section Views, benefit from even more label types and anchor objects than before, and more.

    For full information on CTC tools for Civil 3D click here

    Auto Grader for Civil 3D: New Features

    Posted on by Rikki Kenzhebayeva

    Auto Grader is a game-changer in Civil 3D site grading. Through dynamically linked feature line sets, users can create grading families for parking lots, ponds, subdivisions, and more. The latest release features a “template-based” grading method, allowing automatic insertion of a user-defined set of feature lines, such as a building pad, along defined baselines, such as a roadway. Other enhancements include more detailed surface targeting, automatic surface boundaries, better family preview controls, and other user-friendly features.

    In this mini video series: Part 2, our Technical Consultant Infr/GIS – Colin Gaudet will showcase detailed surface targeting, automatic surface boundaries, better family preview controls, and other user-friendly features in the video below.

    For full information on CTC tools for Civil 3D click here

    Earthwork Processor for Civil 3D: Subgrade Volume Calculations

    Posted on by Rikki Kenzhebayeva

    Earthwork volume calculations can be a complex task in Civil 3D, especially with variable depth subgrades found in many site projects. With the CTC Earthwork Processor in the CIM Project Suite, this work is done for you. Subgrade and stripping surfaces are created based on intuitive inputs, then results can be automatically labeled, tabled, hatched or exported to a spreadsheet.

    In this mini video series: Part 1, our Technical Consultant Infr/GIS – Colin Gaudet will give you a quick overview of Earthwork Processor from CTC CIM Project Suite and cover some of the main features and capabilities.

    For full information on CTC tools for Civil 3D click here

    CTC & Feature Lines – Establishing the Hierarchy of Power!

    Posted on by Rikki Kenzhebayeva

    Which option do you choose when creating a feature line? In my early days of learning Civil 3D I was given an analogy of buckets. That any of the objects in a site, “Bucket”, could not interact with other objects, this was the purpose of sites.

    This analogy was half-true and only the tip of the iceberg.

    For starters, sites can only house certain objects, and only parcels and grading groups are confined within sites.

    Alignments and feature lines have the option.

    The limited interaction between these “Buckets” only limits the interaction of the objects in a site from communicating with the objects in another site. That’s why we can choose to restrict feature lines and alignments.

    However, when feature lines are contained in a site, we have additional control over their interactions with one another.

    This is called Split Point Resolution and it allows us to set which feature lines govern at a crossing. Assigning styles to feature lines, we can set which styles are the most important for the design.

    I use this for lot grading to manage a variety of constraints and to make sure that right of way and existing elevations are respected.

    Using the split point resolution while grading this cul-de-sac, it ensures the lot lines obey the right of way and the existing tie in points.

    This technique can be used in many other grading scenarios like drops in a curb or pond access paths.

    It is a powerful concept that not many designers have embraced yet.

     

    And if that isn’t powerful enough for you, consider using CTC Software’s Auto Grader to automate the rest of your grading! This tool dovetails beautifully with the native split point resolution for feature lines in sites.

    Auto Grader has 3 different types of “Grading Families” that can be used to tackle almost any grading project.

    Parallel Grading allows mass dynamic stepped offsets from one or multiple baseline feature lines. Offering flexible grading for project areas such as curbs or ponds

    Perpendicular Grading allows mass insertion of elevation points/grade breaks across feature lines connecting to a baseline feature line. Offering automated grading solutions for lots in a subdivision or drop curbs.

    Template Grading is the newest addition to this tool allowing incredibly flexible 3D insertion control over template feature lines. Allowing you to establish grades from baseline feature lines and associate relative grades to the inserted template. This offers unparalleled flexibility for operations such as building envelope insertion.

    Hopefully, this challenges you to find even more efficiencies in your use of feature lines.

    Flexible, Customized Legends and QTOs with CTC’s Data Wizard.

    Posted on by Rikki Kenzhebayeva

    Flexible, Customized Legends and QTOs with CTC’s Data Wizard.

     

    How do you tackle quantity takeoffs in your projects? Do you use Civil 3D’s QTO Manager? Do you scale on paper or PDF’s?

    Between the inaccuracy of paper and PDF calculations, and the tedious setup and inflexibility of the MTO Manager, we don’t have a great solution for quantities of what’s in our projects.

    Data Wizard can make this cumbersome task a lot more efficient and accurate. This tool searches your drawing for Civil 3D & ACAD point, line, and area type objects then tabulates them all for you.

     

    This is a very versatile tool, and once objects are selected and filtered, we can choose specific data to extract. In the case of QTO, a layer description can be used to label the item. Then areas, lengths, and counts can be tabulated for each respective item.

     

    We can then sort and prep this data for AutoCAD Table insertion, or export to Excel. Data Wizard allows you to customize what you are looking for every step of the way!

     

    Once the QTO is set up, we can also save the setup to a template to share among projects. This speeds up the QTO process even more for future projects.

     

    This is just one way to use Data Wizard. Alternatively, we can extract graphics and layer descriptions to produce sheet-specific legends for our plan production.

     

    This tool will save time and reduce human error with any tabulation tasks across your projects!

    Automated, Flexible, and Iterative Plan Production Tools. CTC’s Sheet Generator Workflow is the Whole Package.

    Posted on by Rikki Kenzhebayeva

    You can’t afford to create plan and profile sheets without these tools!

    If you have ever tried to create Plan & Profile sheets on mass with the Native View Frame tools it sure beats doing it by hand. But it also still requires a lot of manual manipulation after the layouts are created. And worst of all, you have to get it right the first time because the tools were not built to offer an iterative workflow.

    CIM Project Suite’s Sheet Generator workflow is a set of tools to speed up and increase the flexibility of the sheet creation process.

    Native View Frames vs. CTC Software’s Plan Viewshapes

    Plan Viewshapes consist of a block to represent the extent of your allowable viewport area in a sheet and a polygon to represent the actual shape and positioning of the viewport you would like to create. No more chopping View Frames at matchlines and hatching the rest of the rectangular area in your sheets.

    Creating profile views natively vs. with CTC’s CIM Project Suite.

    This is a bit of a trick comparison because the Sheet Generator workflow takes advantage of the native tools for creating profile views. Although, Sheet Generator offers much more mass editing controls for profile view heights, stationing, and object projection. These tools give you the ability to have uniformity across any number of profile views, and have lots of flexible options for centering these profile views on key information.

    The sheets that are created from CTC’s workflow will pull from company templates for sheet layout, and integrate into Sheet Sets seamlessly. The previously specified Plan Viewshapes and Profile Viewshapes create polygonal viewports with custom matchline blocks. The layout creation also adds north arrows, names layouts, and adds sheets to sheet sets automatically.

    The most important part of this workflow is that if the linear design changes in any way, all the sheets can be updated. Not recreated but updated! This means that custom notes and legends, details and blowups will all stay in the layouts. Updates to viewports, north arrows, stationing, matchlines, layout names, and sheet set information all take place automatically when the layouts need to incorporate a design change. This iterative flexibility is a game changer for large projects, it eliminating human error, and executing massive changes to sheets with just a few clicks.

    I hope the Sheet Generator workflow peaks your interest and helps you to find a new level of intuitive automation for your projects.

    CTC also has great tutorials for all their tools on their Youtube Channel.

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_IlLnoK1qrk&list=PLTCH_HgPsbw_DWqEaVLF9xhWMjGPey9SI

    Beairsto & Associates Engineering

    Posted on by SolidCAD
    Success Stories

    Beairsto & Associates Engineering

    Beairsto & Associates Engineering Ltd. (BASE) has been providing surveying and engineering guidance towards the growth and development of the communities they serve since 1963. BASE provides:

    • Municipal Engineering
    • Building Design Engineering
    • Legal Land Survey
    • Oil & Gas Survey

    BASE offers a comprehensive list of services to its clients and is involved in all stages of their projects including: legal, design, construction and as-built survey; drafting services, multi-disciplinary engineering services and project management for all departments, including procurement and site supervision.

    BASE is an industry leader, facing typical industry issues related to geomatics workflow and wanted to eliminate bottlenecks in their processes. BASE’s processes were dependent on manual intervention and verification at many stages. Without complete automation, there was a lack of data flow and standardization between software and people. Finally, BASE could benefit from a data management platform for the whole workflow, so as to manage data from all processes. This would automate basefile creation, source/destination updates, consistency, tracking and management. A data management system would improve accuracy not requiring staff to track and check the hundreds to thousands of transactions and files generated on engineering projects.

    BASE chose SolidCAD/Cansel because of their extensive experience in workflow optimization in a whole range of geomatics technologies.

    Geomatics Workflow Optimization: Beairsto & Associates Engineering Ltd. (BASE) achieves increased efficiency and decreased risk through automation

    Project Profile

    SolidCAD and Cansel met with the Design and Survey Management team for a discovery session to understand their existing workflows, issues and future goals. Although BASE was doing well with their current manual practices, they needed a new workflow that would increase efficiency and reduce risk.

    During the meeting, SolidCAD and Cansel identified three specific opportunities for their current workflow:

    (1) Enhanced Integration Between Stages of the Process – Enhancing interoperability resulted in the ability to leverage data through each phase decreased the reliance on manual processes that may risk data loss or misinterpretation.

    (2) Reduced Manual Checking and Management – Leveraging interoperability reduced time spent for employees to check and rebuild data value.

    (3) Developed Object-Based Design and Stakeout – CAD systems were configured to receive, design and provide stakeout objects for survey equipment. These objects and supporting data are provided to field crews based on standardized stakeout plans making this process as efficient and comprehensive as possible by meeting the business and technical stakeout requirements.

    SolidCAD/Cansel worked with BASE to study their current survey, design and stakeout for construction processes along with supporting datasets and comparing to industry best practices. This work involved reviewing existing files, personnel, equipment and deliverables to determine the most effective change management for BASE for immediate and future requirements. In turn, this led to the creation a strategic roadmap eliciting immediate and future requirements within the vision, goals and objectives of the company.

    After the initial work, SolidCAD/Cansel worked with BASE to implement a standardized system, workflow and documentation based on industry best practices that integrated with the existing BASE platform. Finally, SolidCAD/Cansel trained staff in the system and assisted BASE staff with pilot projects, post implementation support and strategic planning.

    The Results

    BASE has achieved more efficiency and less risk by implementing survey methods that tie directly to design objects and output to stakeout objects. This maximizes the use of surveyor’s time in the field, linking survey data directly to model-based design templates for both survey and stakeout. The model based design uses templates to standardize road, parcel and utilities design and outputs survey objects for stakeout. The system is supported by an organized file and database system including automated updates from external sources, such as municipal and provincial and a managed historic library of survey data directly accessible to anyone who requires access.

    BASE continues to refine and expand their processes utilizing their standardized platform and strategic roadmap to grow into horizontal and vertical markets. Overall the Workflow Optimization service helped solidfy BASE’s status as a leader in their industry and improved the way they service their clients in Western Canada.

    To learn more about our shared services, visit us at: www.cansel.ca/store/cansel/en/profservices

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