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New Mexico Department of Transportation
uses MicroStation Productivity Toolkit to fight file
corruption and gray hair.
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| The New Mexico DOT CAD support
team. Front row, left to right: Tina Ruiz, Val Salazar
and Jessica Roybal. Back row, left to right: Steve Trujillo,
Ricardo Lopez and Silas Salazar. |
SANTA FE, NEW MEXICO, USA
— Due to the ever-changing world of technology, the New
Mexico Department of Transportation implemented a CAD support
team that uses MicroStation Productivity Toolkit to
handle issues such as file corruption, cell management and
project specification adherence. Silas Salazar, CAD Support
Unit Manager, was available to tell us a bit about his team
and their success over the past eight years implementing Toolkit
in the department. Read on to see what he had to say about
Toolkit, the New Mexico Department of Transportation
and the future of CAD.
MicroStation Today: How was
your team assembled?
Silas: Our group was created ten years ago to begin the transition
from our mainframe CAD system to PC-based workstations. Our
group, as it exists today, supports over 120 MicroStation
and InRoads users throughout the New Mexico Department of
Transportation. The strength of our staff is the result of
the wide range of experiences they bring to the table as former
bridge, roadway and traffic designers and technicians. As
in all drafting and design environments, we are constantly
fighting a battle to control the quality of the digital data
flowing in and out of our department of transportation.
MST: How have Axiom products
helped solve the problems that you encounter in your position?
Silas: Our department of transportation has been using Axiom
products for nearly eight years. At the user level, we attempt
to simplify drafting workflow so the staff can concentrate
on design issues. Microsoft Office Importer and
CellManager have served us well in this arena. Our traffic
section especially loves the ease of cell creation and maintenance
that CellManager offers due to the sheets no longer
being a merging and scaling battle.
The bulk of MicroStation Productivity
Toolkit is used by the support group as a maintenance
and quality control tool. FileFixer and Problem
Element Viewer have saved our department of transportation
countless hours and dollars by simply not having to recreate
corrupted design files. These tools along with SpecChecker
are used to review our consultant electronic deliverables
as part of the project closeout process.
MST: Where do you see
yourselves in ten years?
Silas: In ten years, three of us will be retired and probably
spending our days fishing while letting others fight the gray
hairs. At this point in all our careers I do not believe we
would rather be doing anything else. For me personally, it
takes an extreme amount of energy to keep up with this workload
and ever changing technology. I hope ten years down the road
I find myself in good health and able to enjoy a slower-paced
lifestyle.
MST: What book do you
wish you had written?
Silas: My son will turn two years old next month, so I wish
I had written A Two-Year-Old’s Guide to Raising a
40-Year-Old Dad.
MST: What do you predict
will be the “next big thing” in CAD?
Silas: In the transportation CAD field, I believe the “next
big thing” will be GIS [Editor’s note: GIS or “geographic
information systems” is a collection of computer hardware,
software, and geographic data for capturing, managing, analyzing,
and displaying all forms of geographically referenced information].
The ability to easily interface and manipulate GIS datasets
for transportation projects will determine which companies
will continue to do business within department of transportation
environments.
Call now!
For more information on MicroStation
Productivity Toolkit contact an Axiom MicroStation
Consultant today! Call 727-442-7774 extension 9577 or e-mail
9577@AxiomInt.com.
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