CAD/BIM Tips & Tricks
How To Win at CAD Standards in MicroStation
Published 26 November 2024
Updated 9 February 2026
When the boss bursts out of his office and roars, “Who the hell was responsible for the CAD standards on the Robertson job?” you know someone missed something or screwed up badly. And you hope it wasn’t you.
Managing CAD standards is like a time-consuming obstacle course — with deadline pressure adding insult to injury.
Whether you work in MicroStation®, OpenRoads™ or OpenBridge™, the truth is that managing CAD standards, while essential, is also a gigantic pain. So many details are waiting to trip you up that the process becomes a time-consuming obstacle course, with deadline pressure adding insult to injury.
We understand the importance of sticking to a project’s CAD standards. There’s a need for consistency when it comes to line styles, correct cell usage, well-defined levels and all of that. But maintaining these standards shouldn’t feel like a monstrous task.
A Familiar Foe?
We’ve all been there. You meticulously set up your project using the company’s CAD standards, but as the project progresses, inconsistencies start to creep in. Different teams or contractors use slightly different line styles, or the cell libraries get populated with unauthorized symbols, or somehow, despite your best efforts, the levels become a tangled mess.
These inconsistencies can lead to:
- Wasted Time: Searching for correct symbols, fixing incorrect line styles and correcting countless errors eats into valuable design time.
- Communication Errors: When drawings don’t adhere to established standards, misinterpretations may occur and rework becomes a very real (time-wasting) possibility.
- Reduced Professionalism: Inconsistent drawings can reflect poorly on your team and project, potentially damaging your reputation for accuracy and quality.
So, what do you do?
The Ideal Scene for CAD Standards
What are some of the features that you’d ideally want to see in the perfect CAD standards tool?
- Wouldn’t it be handy if a standards checker could identify every design file or cell library element that doesn’t conform to your CAD standards?
- How about a tool that would ensure that elements are on the correct levels?
Eradicate a major source of rejections — fouled-up CAD standards.
- What about catching incorrect symbology, including color, weight, style and element types?
- How helpful would it be if the tool flagged problems with the size, font and justification of text elements?
- Would you want it to check level settings for you?
- Checking cell names to make sure that only standard cells are used would be handy, right?
- In fact, how about a tool that simply checks for just about everything related to CAD standards?
A dream standards checker should eliminate hundreds of hours of monotonous manual proofreading of DGN files and cell libraries. It would, ideally, catch every violation early and eradicate a major source of drawing rejections: fouled-up CAD standards.
The Dream Is Here
What if we told you that every single one of the above-mentioned issues can be resolved with a single quality assurance tool?
Meet SpecChecker™.
SpecChecker is more than just a software tool. It’s your superhero sidekick for maintaining impeccable CAD standards within MicroStation, OpenRoads and OpenBridge. Here’s how it can help you:
- Proactive Error Detection. SpecChecker scans your DGN files to identify potential standards violations before they snowball into major problems.
- Comprehensive Analysis. SpecChecker goes far beyond basic checks, uncovering hidden inconsistencies in line styles, cell usage, levels and more.
- Customizable Rules. Define your company’s specific CAD standards within the software, so the tool works exactly the way you need it to.
- Detailed Reports: SpecChecker doesn’t just tell you that there’s a problem — it shows you exactly where it is and what needs to be fixed.
The Benefits of SpecChecker
The advantages of SpecChecker give you an almost unfair edge, but in today’s competitive market, we’ll take every advantage we can get, right?
- Increased Efficiency: Catching violations early minimizes rework and frees up time for actual design work.
- Enhanced Design Quality: Consistent, error-free drawings elevate professionalism and reinforce your reputation for excellence.
- Improved Collaboration: Consistent standards keep everyone on the same page, resulting in smoother workflows and clearer communication.
SpecChecker frees up time for more profitable activities — such as the actual design work.
- Reduced Costs: Preventing errors before they reach production saves both time and money.
Ready to Unleash the Power of Consistent Standards?
Don’t let inconsistent CAD standards undermine your projects. Equip your team with SpecChecker and experience a new level of control and efficiency in your MicroStation workflow.
High five? No, we call it the SpecChecker salute. It’s what happens when a project comes in ahead of its deadline — with perfect CAD standards.
Call a CAD/BIM Consultant at 727-442-7774 or visit AxiomInt.com to request a free demo today!
With SpecChecker as your ally, you can manage your CAD standards with confidence and deliver consistent, high-quality designs every time. And while we can’t promise that the boss won’t find something else to holler about, at least CAD standards won’t be on that list again!
