Why commission?

Buildings are used for a multitude of purposes.  It is these uses of buildings that place certain demands on a building.  Commissioning results in an evaluation of how well a building serves these purposes.

What are the measures of a building’s performance?

Improving the cost of operation is usually a commissioning’s primary motivation. Evaluating mechanical systems performance and energy consumption may be good operational measures however, occupant satisfaction is just as important.  Consider the human factors in a building’s performance; lighting quality, indoor air quality and temperature.  If the occupants are uncomfortable the usability of the building diminishes.  Based on measurements and evaluations a building can be rated on how well its performance meets an ideal set of objectives.

A very well written introduction to Commissioning  can be found at BetterBricks.com I suggest to have a look and learn more about Commissioning.

The process of Commissioning relies heavily on CAD and BIM technology to get the best results most efficiently.  Here is your opportunity to put your CAD skills to work.

*Some Object Enablers are build-in.  Visit http://www.Autodesk.com/oe to get a complete list of available object enablers.

In 2010 there was a well hidden page that showed you everything in one snapshot of user interface. Learn the UI terms here in rapid fire. Just roll your mouse over the numbered items.

Too small? Open the User Interface Overview in a separate window

After that speedy overview get a quick introduction to the AutoCAD 2012 UI and more, see the Getting Started Videos on the AutoCAD Exchange Web site.

I’ve found that many successful people are good at saying “NO”.  Its what they refuse to do that opens the door to better opportunities.  Directing time and resources toward more viable business prospects and away from “same old, same old” is a simple and effective strategy.  Thought before action can help you choose what to do and what to avoid. 

Constantly evaluate what defines and motivates your customers.  First ask, “Do I want them as a customer?” What makes them a better customer?  That’s the defining part.  Study what your customers want.  You can guess but its better to just ask them what they want.  That’s the motivation part.

You are now armed with this the results from this process.  You know who you want to do business with and how you might address their needs.  Now the challenge that sets businesses apart is making your offer more attractive than anothers.  That is if they even notice your offer.

Have you ever felt invisible?  Have you ever stopped to figure out why you felt that way?  Remember what successful people do, say no.  Saying NO to what is keeping you invisible can help you become visible.  Waiting for the phone to ring = invisible.   Picking up the phone and with your pitch rehearsed start calling people you know.  Now you are becoming visible.  It does not happen overnight.  It is a long road that discourages most people.  Persistence in your tasks, in your beliefs, in your actions gets results.  Re-evaluate your strategy and change direction if things appear to be stalled.  Stay visible.

You are good at what you do.  Give your desired customers a taste of what you can do for them. Give them free samples.  Become valuable by providing what your customers want, when they want it, in as convenient a manner as possible.  With persistence on your side you discover you have become both visible and valuable and are getting the work you want. 

The selfish motive behind this post should be obvious to you now.  If not, I’ll be blunt.  If your business is starving it won’t do me any good.  If your business improves we all win.  I will have a better chance of working with you to help you make your business even better.  Why?  Because I have become visible and valuable to you.

 You can preconfigure a layout for a specific paper size and plot device in Page Setup Manager.  Named Page Setups are a way to store and recall all your plot settings for a particular plot device making it easier to reuse the settings on another layout or import them to another drawing. Preconfiguring a drawing template with named page setups is a key ingredient in your CAD Standard. 
Here is a 3 min. video on how to create a named page setup.

Click HERE to view a document to help you develop a list of Page Setups you will need in your CAD Standard.

The Publish (or batch plot) command and Sheet Set Manager both make use of Named Page Setups.

 Here is a 6min. video that explains the pupose and use of Page Setups in the context of Sheet Set Manager.

1. I want to open windows explorer in a hurry and have the starting view show all my Hard Drives, Removable Drives, and Network Drive letters.  For this I use +E

2. I want to minimize all my open applications so only the desktop is showing.  For this I use +M

3. Ctrl+F is another 2 key combination used to find something while working inside a program.  Try it. Use Tip #1 to open Window Explorer then type Ctrl+F.  In Windows 7 you will get a search box opened in the upper right corner of Windows Explorer.  The +F hotkey will open a new Windows Explorer session and open the search box at the same time.

4. Undo.  Oh, how often do you do something and regret it then you want to Undo it?  Yeah, several times a day.  Ctrl+Z will undo your last operation in most applications.

5. I am going to skip Ctrl+C (Copy) and Ctrl+V (Paste) because you probably know these already. However, Ctrl+Alt+V is very handy when pasting clipboard content that has formatting that you don’t want to use.  This combination only works in MS Office applications but what a time saver. This hotkey will open a dialog to allow you to choose formatting options, one of which is Unformatted Text.  Now you can avoid having to paste, then highlight the content, change the font and change the height.  That’s just too much work when you know there is an easier way.  I like is so much I blogged about it exclusively in another post.

To help you find more useful hotkeys visit the Microsoft web site http://windows.microsoft.com/en-US/windows7/Keyboard-shortcuts

Architectural/Structural/Mechanical/Electrical/Plumbing Template files (1.9 Mb ZIP) 
CIVIL/SURVEY MAPPING File Templates (736.2 Kb ZIP)

How to find the CAD/BIM’s NCS 4.0 downloads. 

When you get the the CAD/BIM Technology Center web page the left hand margin contains links.  Choose Capabilities > Computer Aided Design (CAD).  You will see a Links category and a Documents category.  Expand the folder list under Documents.

What has changed?

Nothing really except the grouping of disciplines for a more convenient download of drawing templates and .lin files.   Click the image to get a glimpse of how the page is laid out.

What’s the diff between NCS 4.0 (http://www.buildingsmartalliance.org/index.php/ncs ) and the A/E/C CAD Standard? 

The Center receives a lot of calls and e-mails asking what is the difference between the NCS and the A/E/C CAD Standard. Basically, the A/E/C CAD Standard is a Department of Defense implementation of the NCS, with service-specific needs added. For instance, the NCS does not include detailed layers on items such as airfields and levees. However, these geospatial features are needed for both Air Force and USACE Civil Works CAD files. This is where the A/E/C CAD Standard fits in, as these items are covered and named so that they follow layer naming conventions established by the NCS.

For your convenience I have clipped out the answer to the above question “Whats the diff…” from this 3 page document https://cadbim.usace.army.mil/MyFiles/2010article_mcgcomments.pdf .  You can find this document and others on the home page of the CAD/BIM Technology Center.