Moving forward (when your company won’t)

I've got a guest poster today, Matt Stachoni. Thanks for sharing, Matt! 

I hope my readers enjoy his practical advice. 

Q: My company is refusing to move to Revit because they think… (there’s a huge learning curve)(training costs too much)(we’ve got too much work to have people out of the office for a decent amount of training)(BIM is a fad)(Autodesk sucks)(etc).

I feel like I’m being left behind everyone else in the industry by using outdated tools and methodology.

How do I keep myself educated/efficient/marketable when I don’t have the financial resources of my company behind me?

A: I very much sympathize with your situation, because falling behind the technology curve is a terrible feeling. Even working for a reseller, I often feel behind the cutting edge, especially reading some of the BIM and Revit blogs I scan on a daily basis. The stuff people are doing with the product is really crazy nowadays.

I’ve seen many instances where a few people were interested in it, but the attitudes of managers and principals made it all but impossible to be on any sort of cutting edge. In this economy, firms are faced with a real problem... Spend a ton of money to FINALLY get on Revit – and use it - or simply miss out on project work because you fail to move ahead. I've seen it happen in this area. Two years ago, no one used Revit. No one wanted to. No one felt they needed to. Now, it's a completely different story. Many of the subcontractors are using Revit and Navisworks just to make sure their designs work.

Everyone knows it's rolling over the area like a huge tidal wave. If you want to survive, you want to be out of the crashing surf, riding the waves up and down. And if you are still standing on the beach, you at least need to be looking in the right direction.

Yeah, it's expensive. But how expensive are cause delays and interoperability problems with your projects due to your current software? Using old, outdated CAD applications probably hurts your people more than anything else. This artificially limits your employees' progress and overall market worth, and it makes it harder to find quality new employees, because no one wants to work for someone who is still stuck in 1992.

Learning Revit? First get yourself a copy of the software. Download and install Revit Architecture 2012, then after 60 days, get Revit MEP, then Structure. After six months of diligent work, you’ll understand all three applications and be the most valuable person on the planet. If you can still get 2011, get that first; now you have a complete years’ worth of Revit fun.

Then download the Architecture, MEP and Structural tutorials for 2010 from the Autodesk support site. They really do help get you off the ground and understanding the program's thought pattern. The online videos, while helpful, only give a very cursory introduction to the software. YouTube is your best friend – there are lots of Revit videos full of tips and tricks.

Then get a copy of Navisworks Manage and learn that. Download a copy of my “Introduction to Navisworks Manage” class from last year's AU, 'cause it totally rocks, here: http://au.autodesk.com/?nd=class&session_id=6765.

Get two books: “Introducing Revit Architecture” by Patrick Davis, Charlie Busa, Steve Stafford, et al, and “Mastering Revit Architecture” by Eddy Krygiel, Phil Read, and James Vandezande. Read the Introducing book first, and do all of the exercises. Then read the Mastering book to reinforce how it all comes together, as well as learn valuable out of the box techniques.

For the first few weeks, build a project a day. Nothing special, but concentrate on one aspect, such as creating compound walls with articulation (regions, sweeps and reveals), roofs of various kinds with fascia, gutters and soffits, and stairs. Build lots and lots and lots of stairs.

Get Paul Aubin's DVDs series on Mastering the Family Editor and creating parametric families. These are really good instructional videos. http://paulaubin.com/blog/master-the-family-editor-series-available-on-dvd/ I also liked his Revit Essentials videos as well.

Download and read AUGIWorld Magazine, which has some of the bestup to date Revit/BIM Info anywhere.

Subscribe to all of the Revit blogs you can find. Here are just a few of the ones I like:

http://insidethefactory.typepad.com/

http://revitclinic.typepad.com/my_weblog/

http://revitclinic.typepad.com/my_weblog/

http://www.architecture-tech.com/

http://whatrevitwants.blogspot.com/

http://therevitkid.blogspot.com/

http://dorevit.blogspot.com/

http://www.revitzone.com/

http://autodesk-revit.blogspot.com/

http://buildz.blogspot.com/

http://revit-detail.blogspot.com/ (follow the details tutorials from day one)

http://blogs.rand.com/architectural/

http://revit.blogspot.com/

http://do-u-revit.blogspot.com/

http://bimtroublemaker.blogspot.com/

http://cad-notes.com/category/revit-architecture/revit-architecture-tutorial/

http://bimboom.blogspot.com/

http://allthingsbim.blogspot.com/

http://mep-cad.blogspot.com/

http://ductductpipe.blogspot.com/

http://inside-the-system.typepad.com/

http://doddsandends.typepad.com/blog/

http://jasongrant.squarespace.com/

http://www.goodrevit.com/viewforum.php?f=9

http://thesustainabledesigntoolbox.typepad.com/blog/

http://sites.google.com/site/revitblogdirectory/

http://www.revitup.co.za/_mgxroot/page_10937.php

Regards,
Matt Stachoni
Senior AEC Applications Technical Specialist
CADapult LTD

3 Mill Park Court, Suite A

Newark, DE 19713

(302) 733-0477

matt.stachoni@cadapult.net

http://www.cadapult.net

AEC Blog: http://www.cadapult.net/aecblog

Matt Stachoni is the senior AEC Applications Technical Specialist and BIM implementation consultant for CADapult LTD, an Authorized Autodesk Silver reseller in Northern Delaware, and has over 20 years’ experience working with Autodesk applications.

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OT: School Update redux

In the Summer of 2009 I gave you an update on how my continuing education was progressing, and I thought it was time for another.

Returning to School
I started attending St. Louis University in the Spring of 2008 (coincidentally, we found out we were expecting our second child about two weeks before classes began... yikes! I decided to stick it out, though, as I'd already taken a brief ~cough~five year~cough~ break from my studies after my first son was born and didn't want to be deterred again).
I joined the School for Professional Studies (which has evening, weekend and online classes) because of a special program at work. They actually brought SLU teachers to one of our buildings on campus and the other students were all employees. I only stayed with this program for a year, after that, I started scheduling my own classes and attending on the University campus.

I wasn't sure what the demographic was going to be. It turns out that a majority of the students are female (yes, even in my Computer Science classes). Also, a majority were in their 40's and 50's (many of whom have children in high school and college). There were some folks in their 20's and 30's, but, not all that many.
Of course, we have all felt a certain kinship, despite any age gaps, because we had something pretty major in common... we were all balancing full time work in addition to school.

Declaring my major was somewhat difficult. In the summer of 2009, I made my decision and signed on for the new (at the time) Organizational Leadership and Technology program (it's a combination of two programs, the Computer Science and Organizational Studies coursework). I thought it would give me a more well-rounded education over a straight Computer Science degree.

Although, if they had offered the Informatics degree back then, I probably would have signed up for that instead (:sadpanda: seriously, when did they add that? Sneaky little so and so's.).

Fun Fact:
The AUGI Annual Salary Survey reveals that, in 2002 27% of responding members had a Bachelor's degree or higher. By 2010, this percentage had increased to 41%.

Handling the Coursework
The program I'm in operates on a compressed class schedule (a class only runs for nine weeks, allowing students to complete at least five classes in a year, one at a time), but, don't let that fool you into thinking it is easy. Almost all of these classes will still cover an entire textbook in that time. The class meetings are four hours long, we still have tests, papers to write, chapters to read in our books, as well as a host of multimedia supplements (darn the technology!!!). It is VERY intense and you have to stay on top of it.
But, it's doable. I have told myself so many times since I began, "you can do anything for nine weeks".

As an applied sciences type of girl, I thought that the core studies would be a boring waste of time, but, I've found that I actually really enjoyed them. I suppose maturity and perspective might have had something to do with that change of heart?
Something a few students don't care for is the fact that many instructors require us to get up and speak in front of our classmates...  
Seriously, don't spend time worrying about public speaking. Just pick a topic you're familiar with and trust that you know what you're talking about, it will get easier every time you have to do it, and an increased comfort level in front of an audience will benefit you at work, guaranteed.

I do most of my homework during my lunch hour at work. I am fortunate enough that I have an hour break, and my own office. So, I shut my door, eat at my desk, and catch up on class discussion group posts, read articles, listen to any online lectures and write my papers (I'm so sick of APA formatting guidelines).
Although, since the university upgraded their online classroom platform (Blackboard), I have been able to check into content and discussion posts from my iPhone, so I can use the time normally wasted waiting in line at the DMV, etc.
I might read textbook assignments while watching a movie with the family, or driving around on our weekend errands (obviously, I'm not the one driving, my husband is... I'm riding).
I tend to take my quizzes online after dinner or at some point during the weekend.
~looks around conspiratorially~ Okay, I confess, sometimes, I just can not get everything done in the time I have allotted... so, typically toward the end of the semester, I will schedule a day off of work, and spend it tucked away into the corner of our local library (which is much quieter than the university library). I use this time to finish up any major projects and study for my final exams.
I also try to take my notes in an electronic format as often as possible... when you're cramming for an exam, it's a lot easier to do a search for a specific term, than to have to flip through an entire notebook in a vain attempt to locate a single piece of data.

Paying for Classes and Textbooks
Obviously, cost was a major consideration in my education. I'd only pursued an Associate's degree as a youngster because it was all that I could afford at the time (although, I was pleased at finishing that without owing anyone any money). I wanted to obtain a Bachelor's degree, but, I just wasn't sure how I could pay for tuition and books and fees, etc.

My employer will agree to reimburse a set amount of tuition (and fees and books) per year, once a degree program has been approved by our educational benefits department. That is something for which I am extremely grateful, of course.

I wanted to take more classes than they were able to pay for, though, so I completed a Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA), which is the first step for obtaining grants and loans to help with the expenses. The financial aid office also links to resources to find specialty scholarships.
Unfortunately, I will have some student loans when I graduate, but, I wanted to complete my degree in four years, rather than eight, so I bit the bullet.

I don't buy my books from the school bookstore, I buy them from Amazon. You have to keep an eye on the class information and try to purchase your books as soon as possible... if you wait until two weeks before the semester starts, you'll notice the prices jump as the book sellers realize certain books are in demand. Sometimes, you just cannot find used books at a reasonable price, so, I've actually rented them.

In order to pay for the books, I've done some work through Amazon's crowd-sourcing program, Mechanical Turk. Most of the gigs (hits) don't pay diddly, but, you can sift through and find some that are easy enough to do while you're watching TV, and, if you get fast enough, the earnings can add up.
Also, I like to do some usability studies with Autodesk. Some of their longer studies provide an Amazon gift card as a 'thank you'.
While my employer finally added the benefit of reimbursing for textbooks (last year?), I'm the one purchasing them up front, and I'm not going to be wasting funds.

What Now? 
Last night... ~pausing for dramatic effect~ last night I received written confirmation of my application to graduate. It is official, I will be completing my coursework (with all classes already scheduled) in 2011.
~waits for applause to die down~
I'm happy to finally see the light at the end of the tunnel. I'm sure my family is, too.

I really think that, given my tendency to do most of my work during my lunch hour, I've minimized the impact on my family as much as humanly possible (although that effort may not have been as noticeable, as I was still freelancing a bit during this time)... but, we will all appreciate my extra energy, when I no longer have to get up early, stay up late and come home from work worn out because I didn't have a single break during the day.

No. I'm not entirely sure how I will put this degree to work. Over the past couple of years, I have become more involved in Project Management roles for our department's technology initiatives, which enables me to use my experience with 'that computer stuff', as well as my experiences with the details (scope, specifications, bidding, budgeting), so expanding on that might be the logical way to get some use out of my education. I obviously love my coworkers and believe in the work that we've been doing together for over a decade, and it will be nice if we are able to put our heads together and find something for me to do. ;-)

I will also be continuing my education and pursuing a Master's (MS) in Informatics. Thanks to an accelerated program at SLU, to kick start things, I've already taken one class toward this degree and will have another this Fall.


I hope that, in recounting my experience here, I can give others an idea of what it has taken to complete a goal like this (answer summary: stubbornness, time and having superman for a spouse).

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Enter to win your free book by Friday

Just a reminder that you've still got time to submit a tip to be entered in a drawing to win a fabulous book.

The prizes are:

• Mastering AutoCAD Civil 3D 2011 - by James Wedding, P.E. & Scott McEachron
• AutoCAD 2011 and AutoCAD LT 2011 - by Ellen Finkelstein
• Mastering AutoCAD for the Mac - by George Omura & Richard (Rick) Graham

Submit a tip using the following for a guide:

Name: Melanie Perry
Email address: mistressofthedorkness@gmail.com
Book Preference:  AutoCAD Bible
*Attribution*: Melanie "Mistress of the Dorkness" Perry
*Product*: AutoCAD
*Tip*: Use the Express Tool "SYSVDLG" to access your system variables, and even save them as an SVF file to preserve or share your current settings. 

Use the comment area below or drop me an email. 
The tip can be for any Autodesk product. A process, a favorite command, a system variable... whatever you like. *Please, specify which of these three books you'd like to win. I'm doing one drawing for each book.*
The drawing for the winners will be chosen at random by my two-year-old this weekend.

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Tips and Tricks Contest - Win a great book!

Thanks to the generosity of James Wedding, Ellen Finkelstein and Rick Graham, I have some very sweet prizes for three lucky readers!

• Mastering AutoCAD Civil 3D 2011
• AutoCAD 2011 and AutoCAD LT 2011
• Mastering AutoCAD for the Mac

I've linked to the table of contents of each of these wonderful texts, check out everything these authors cover. I haven't read Mastering Civil 3D, as that's not my industry, and I don't own a Mac but, I'm sure those books are just as chock full of tasty tips and will serve as a handy reference just like the AutoCAD Bible (which I have read in the past and do highly recommend).


Contest Rules: 

1. Post a tip about any Autodesk product using the comments area below.
2. Tell me which book you'd like to win.
3. Provide your email, so I may contact you for your mailing address if you've been selected.
4. Contest is open until March 18th, 2011. 

The winner will be chosen at random by my two-year-old.

I apologize, but, the winner needs to be in the United States (these are pretty heavy books and I'll be footing the bill for shipping), unless you're willing to wait for a hand-delivery at Autodesk University 2011?

Since I now have moderated comments (due to having far more SPAM comments than real ones), I will be collecting the information posted there, but, will not be publishing the comments themselves.

The tips and tricks submitted by the contest entrants will be shared in a blog post the last week of March.

Use the following as a guide to submit your tip:

Name: Melanie Perry

Email address: mistressofthedorkness@gmail.com
Book Preference:  AutoCAD Bible
*Attribution*: Melanie "Mistress of the Dorkness" Perry

*Product*: AutoCAD

*Tip*: Use the Express Tool "SYSVDLG" to access your system variables, and even save them as an SVF file to preserve or share your current settings.

I'll only be posting those fields marked with an asterisk, and of course, I'll only be using the email address you provide to contact you if you're the winner.

I am asking that you share a tip with me, in exchange for your chance to win a free book, but, it does not have to be restricted to AutoCAD or Civil3D, if you have a great Revit or AutoCAD MEP tip etc, feel free to share it.

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If Poe did CAD...

Recently I trotted out the old favorite poem "Abort, Retry, Ignore", based of course, upon the classic literary work, The Raven by Edgar Allan Poe (I find the rhythm of trochaic octameter quite engaging).

In response, a friend posted his own composition, and granted me permission to repost it here (although, you can find it on his own blog - http://antmansclone.wordpress.com/ )

Cad upon a midnight dreary, bloodshot eyes welled up and teary
Revising a project that had changed a thousand times before–
There I sat, not even blinking; into slumber I was sinking
Pots of coffee I was drinking, drinking to stay off the floor
“How long will this last?” I wondered, gazing at my office door–
Had been there since the night before

Though fuzzy now, I still remember the hour of which my comembers
Abandoned me to alone dismember these drawings — What an awful chore!
Against all hope to hold back sorrow, vainly trying time to borrow
To finish that job before the morrow, tomorrow when I would sleep once more
Bed with pillow, couch, chair or floor–
Tomorrow I would sleep once more

Where was my undo command? I thought I had them all at hand
I looked again, and there it was, where it had not been before
Decided then to abdicate some recent work, I undid eight
Aghast, I realized my fate — I only meant to undo four
Stupid mistakes like this I invariably deplore
Forced again to redraw more

To make that wall a little longer for to make the shearwall stronger
I had to change the roof slope and eliminate a door.
Architect would not allow for that, there for the moment I just sat
Waiting for him to come back with a design he could adore.
Nary a sound I heard as he entered, returning through my office door
Red ink upon the paper more

Upon my check plots peering, as I stood there, knowing, fearing,
Before he even gestured I knew he had changed the plan some more
Finally the silence broken, as he started to betoken
The words from his mouth hardly spoken uttered changes I knew to abhor.
“Flip the plan and change the elevation of the second floor.”
Merely this and nothing more

“Can’t you just a button press to make more sense out of this mess?”
I said OK to appease him and send him from my space once more
Back to my workstation turning, anger towards him stronger burning,
Sure my next paycheck I’d be earning not only just a little more–
This shock to my system must be worth not only just a little more–
Started coffee pot number four

Music streaming from my speakers, helping me from growing weaker
Screaming songs to match the feeling of the hairdo that I wore
Nodding off and half awake, suddenly a double take
I pinched myself for dreaming’s sake; what now do my eyes absorb?
Everything was in its place, it appeared I had to do no more
I stood and breathed; a pallid countenance I no longer wore
I felt as though on sunny shore

And as I felt it, a glint of light shone in to aid me from my plight
Dawn’s radiant hues had lifted my soul — I could feel it in my core
But to chagrin my heart’s elation {Unhandled Access Violation}
“NO!” I screamed, “Not my creation!” I paced around my office floor
In desperation tried to get my drawing back to where it was before
Audit or recover, ultimately my file I could not restore
My drawing file was no more

Though the morn was shining brilliant, and I thought myself to be resilient
My keyboard could not withstand the shock of my mouse hitting it with force
It was over, I conceded; by the deadline it was not completed
And I sat there, felling defeated, rejected and forlorn
I looked at my computer, letting sink in the horror of that wretched morn
I turned my back, went home to sleep; trudged out my office door
And there I pledged it, “Nevermore”

- Anthony Mason - 2002

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AutoCAD 2011 - List of Hotfixes, Updates, Service Packs et al

autodesk.com/autocad

Under Support > Data & Downloads > Updates & Services packs, you can check to see if you need to make any updates to your production software.

Oh, and, of course, don't forget to check out the Read Me files for all of these prior to install, to see if it applies to your product, to see if it's been superseded my something more recent, and to see the various options available for install (standalone, imaging, network installs, etc).

• AutoCAD 2011 Update 1.1 
• Makes a few general fixes, also updates the CER
• AutoCAD and AutoCAD LT Layer Manager Hotfix
• You don't need this if you've installed update 1.1, above. Resolves Layer Manager instability experienced during certain tasks.
• Certified Hardware XML Database Update
• Hardware certification database (driver info).
• SAMReport-lite for Windows 7
• Allows installation of SAMReport on Windows 7
• Autodesk InfoCenter Hot Fix
• From site: "searches in InfoCenter may encounter not getting any search results when searching for double-byte characters (Japanese, Simplified and Traditional Chinese, Korean)."
• AutoCAD 2011 CHM-Based Help
• There are performance issues with the online Help files, so you can download this to keep locally. 
• Asian Character Command Line Input Hotfix For AutoCAD 2011
• Liveupdate HotFix for French/Italian/Spanish AutoCAD 2011 64-bit versions
• PublishToWeb HotFix for French/Italian/Spanish AutoCAD 2011 64-bit versions
• Autodesk Materials Library 2011 Update 1
• From site: "This update resolves an issue with some of the default materials in the Autodesk Materials Library not being usable in certain non-English products."

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AutoCAD 2011 Launch - Part 4 (photos & videos)

Part 1 - Tweet archive posted from event

Part 2 - notes from the webcasts

Part 3 - notes from the webcasts (continued)

Finally, part 4, photographs and videos from the event (<- link points to photos shown in the picasa slideshow embedded below).

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