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Bentley Award winner conquers three weeks
of work overnight with RefManager.
LONDON, ENGLAND — Famous for — among many
other things — the BBC, Big Ben and the River Thames,
London is where we caught up with this month's showcased MicroStation
user - Steve Wright, an Associate at environmentally-minded
United Kingdom engineering firm whitbybird. Steve kindly took
time to share with MicroStation Today his love of football
(soccer) and how he kept on schedule for one of his biggest
projects.
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| Steve Wright, Associate at United Kingdom engineering
firm whitbybird |
MicroStation Today: Please give a short background
of your CAD history.
Steve: I joined whitbybird in 1988 as a draftsman and
started using CAD in 1989 using a program called CADBuild
(an early CAD software package). Whitbybird migrated to MicroStation
in 1994 after we had success using Bentley's 3D steelwork
modeling packages. We started using Triforma in 1999 and later
we included Bentley Structural (Bentley's design and documentation
solution for structural systems, like steel, timber and concrete)
in our collection of CAD programs. We are now one of the leading
engineering practices that uses 3D technology to produce 2D
drawings. I have been fortunate to help develop the whitbybird
CAD systems from its inception to our current 3D-modeling
environment. In 2003, one of my Triforma models won the Bentley
Award at the BE Conference held in Baltimore, Maryland.
MST: What is your title? What are your daily duties?
Steve: I was promoted to Associate last year. My main
responsibilities are the day-to-day running of CAD resources
company-wide. This includes recruitment, workload management
and telephone support for technical problems. I am also responsible
for the continuing development and maintenance of the CAD
systems and whitbybird CAD Standard. I am still involved in
working on live projects and producing 3D models for 2D drawing
extractions.
MST: What have been some of your biggest jobs?
Steve: The major project I have been involved with
over the last five years has been the redevelopment of the
BBC Broadcasting House in London. This is a part refurbishment
and part new build project worth approximately £350
million [Editor's note: that's over $600 million US]. This
is a very interesting project because due to the proximity
of the London Underground tube lines (London's subway system)
and the sensitivity of recording equipment, the entire building
has to be acoustically isolated. In order to achieve this,
all the columns are "broken" at the underside of
the first floor level and an isolating spring is placed at
the "breakpoint" to act as a damper. The project
was also a challenge to model due to the complexity of the
structure. It is currently the biggest Triforma model in the
office.
MST: How has RefManager helped you get work
done?
Steve: We purchased Axiom's RefManager in 2002.
This was for a specific project, which was one of the largest
projects in the office at the time. The project was two years
old and the drawing and model file naming protocols had to
be revised to suit a new project-based CAD standard. We had
over 175 design files plus all the relevant reference/model
files - a total of over 600 separate design files to rename
and, more importantly, keep the reference file paths intact.
To do this manually would be a very laborious task for someone
to carry out. In addition, we had to be sure that the final
results were going to be perfect, as the project schedule
was still moving ahead.
MST: How much time and money would you say RefManager
saved whitbybird?
Steve: We estimated that the renaming of 600 design
files would take us three man-weeks to complete, which would
have been a major problem for the overall project schedule.
This is why we looked at and finally purchased RefManager.
We ran RefManager overnight and the results were perfect.
All the files were renamed and the reference file paths were
intact. This couldn't have been done without RefManager.
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| Graph showing Steve Wright's time savings on one project
using RefManager. |
MST: What's your favorite TV show?
Steve: I do not have a favorite TV show as such as
I tend to watch a lot of sports on TV. My favorite sports
to watch are cricket, golf and any football game involving
Arsenal [Editor's note: Arsenal is a London-based soccer team
that was first formed by a group of factory workers in 1886].
MST: If you could have a conversation with anyone,
living or deceased, who would it be?
Steve: My choice would be Isambard Kingdom Brunel,
the Victorian engineer. His work was so diversified - railways,
buildings, tunnels, bridges and ships. He pushed Victorian
engineering knowledge to the limit. I feel it would be very
interesting to hear the man talk about out where he got his
drive, ideas and inspiration from.
MST: What would be the first thing you would do
if you won £10 million in the lottery?
Steve: Buy a hospitality box at the new Arsenal Stadium.
MST: Thank you very much for talking with us, Steve.
Call now!
For more information on RefManager
contact an Axiom MicroStation Consultant today! Call 727-442-7774
extension 9364, e-mail 9364@axiomint.com
or visit Axiom on the Web at www.axiomint.com
now!
For more information on whitbybird, click
here.
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