M. Robinson is currently an independent CAD consultant, a role he has performed since 2005. Mr. Robinson was previously the head of CAD Manager and IT Support at Brownworth Engineering Associates, a leading MEP design company based in the United States, from 1980 to 2008. Mr. Robinson managed a team of 2D and 3D designers (focusing on Revit, BIM and AutoCAD). His leadership and support resulted in over $500 million in annual revenue for Brownworth Engineering. Mr. Robinson started his career as a CAD Draftsman at Brownworth Engineering, and worked there from 1991 to 2008. He was responsible for implementing the use of CAD tools in the company. Mr. Robinson also worked directly with the companys customers, including architects and engineers.

G. Duva was previously Chairman of the Art Department at a Catholic High School, from 2004 to 2008, where he proposed and implemented the “New Art Program”. He is an expert in a variety of graphics/CAD programs, including: Rhino3D, Macromedia Flash 5, Wacom Tablet with stylus, Coreldraw 9, Autocad 2000i, Umax Astra 3400 scanner, VistaScan, and Coffee Cup.

J. Peters is a highly experienced CAD draftsman, who has years of experience in using Autocad/Revit, Microstation and ARchicad to handle challenging Computer Aided Design & Drafting projects. He has managed construction inspections for numerous architects, city officials and banks, and has conducted on-site construction inspections to track budget costs, feasibility and projected budget overruns. Projects ranged from retail stores to multi-million dollar condominiums to private residences. He graduated with honors from San Diego State University with a B.A. degree in Environmental Design, with a concentration in Construction Technology Design Certification. He lives and works in Hailey, ID.

Y. Dean is an independent CAD and Interior Design consultant. Ms. Dean was previously the head of design at an interior design and home merchandising company, where she oversaw all design activities and projects of AutoCad, Revit, and Adobe CS4, and worked directly with architects, engineers, real estate developers and investors. She received a BFA in Interior Design from International Academy of Design & Technology in Michigan.

K. Bhargava is a qualified Architect, specializing in architecture, coordination and landscape design. She specializes in using AutoCAD both in 2D and 3D, Adobe Photoshop CS2 and has some knowledge of 3D Max and Google Sketchup. Her work has included working on institutional buildings as well as housing projects and townships.

C. Fekete is a registered architect, an AIA member and a LEED Accredited Professional. He specializes in developing construction drawings for architects and builders. Based on hand sketches, programmatic and building code requirements and budgets, he develops a project in CAD (Autocad, Vectorworks, Sketchup among others) and produces all the drawings for the completion of design documents necessary for client review and approvals, bids, building permit submission and construction management. During this process, he typically prepares floor plans, elevations, details, notes, and 3D views. In addition, he can mine the data in the drawings to produce various kind of schedules, including door and window schedules, space and surface reports (for heating, cooling and energy needs), material takeoff for cost budgeting, 3D analysis for informing the design and finding areas where building systems and structures come in conflict. Versed in financial analysis and construction economics, he also advises clients with respect to value engineering, life cycle cost, return on investment, and feasibility studies for institutional and commercial projects. As a registered architect, he can review existing conditions or a set of drawings and determine the need for updating and any changes necessary to satisfy the requirements of the building codes and local officials.

C. Ong is currently an independent design and CAD consultant, and has a degree in architecture. Mr Ong advises clients on preparing schedules (from design stage to construction documentation) and getting city permits. He is an expert in the use of Autocad, Sketchup Pro, Illustrator, and Photoshop. He has extensive experience in the development of drawings for custom homes, track homes, commercial buildings, and multi-family residential buildings.

N. McDonough is an Architectural Draftsmen with experience ranging from 4 story commercial building to residential additions. He has over nine years of professional experience as a draftsmen. He is a LEED Accredited Professional, proficient in the use of Autodesk AutoCAD and Revit 2011. He is also an expert in Adobe Acrobat and Photoshop, Autodesk Impressions, and Sketchup.

T. Mifsud is a CAD consultant providing services to architects, engineers, builders , construction managers, and facility managers. He provides a range of CAD services, including implementation, standards and best practices development, training, project support, CADDBIM management and 3D BIM modeling services. He has extensive experience with Revit Architecture, Revit MEP, Navisworks and AutoCAD. He is based in Southern NH which allows him to provide daily on-site services for clients in all 6 New England states. He has extensive real world experience in AEC-FM and CADDBIM management.

Comments

All project are challenging in different ways but the two main challenges are: unrealistic schedules and trying to meet our clients’ expectations

I use AutoDesk Suite and Revit. Pros and cons are too much detail to go into.

Training is ongoing. I have a program for our staff called “sharpen the saw” days, i.e. for 4 days a year (scheduled as work permits for the individual) each person or group selects a specific topic, researches/studies and develops a presentation for the benefit of the entire staff.

We don’t outsource anything in our skill set but do outsource to IT and web content/development consultants

Interview with Mr. T. Mifsud

1. 1. What kinds of clients do you serve?

   We serve architects, construction managers, facilities manager for CAD, REVIT and BIM and our particular areas of expertise are training, implementing software, support services, library development, standards development.

2. What was the most interesting CAD project that you ever worked on? What made it interesting?
   What challenges did you face?

   I work with and support many clients on their projects so there isnt one stand-out that I could describe as the most interesting.

3. Of the software tools that you use, which is your favorite and why?

   REVIT Architecture is my favorite software and I teach classes in it It makes everything easier than 2D AutoCad.

4. What trends are you observing in the market for CAD services? How have these trends affected you, and how are you responding to them?

   Over the last 5 years the trend in New England has moved totally away from drafting in 2D AutoCad. We anticipated this trend, moved ahead of our clients and now work primarily in 3D BIM.

5. What do you like about working as an interim CAD draftsman or external CAD consultant working on a time-bound project?

   I like not being tied to one desk and the challenge of constantly changing projects.

6. Have you ever provided CAD consulting services remotely, either via phone, the Web or email?
   Do you use any screen sharing tools (like Webex, Skype, or GoToMeeting), and are they effective?
   What kinds of questions and problems could you tackle remotely?
   Are there any issues that you feel are better handled face-to-face?

   Ive been using remote software for 6-7 years. The one I prefer now is TeamViewer because it is good for remote support, training, teamwork whereas others we have tried are not as quick or flexible. Working remotely with clients is good for handling all types of questions. For comprehensive introductory training of 2 hours or more its preferred to have a face-to-face meeting.

A. Trottier is an independent CAD consultant and an experienced draftsman. He has extensive experience in the area of fire alarm systems, and is an expert in AutoCAD 2009-2011 and AutoCAD MEP 2010 along with other office software including Adobe Pro X. Mr. Trottier has designed and planned system layouts, and has also created submittal packages.

Mr. M. Tatum has extensive experience in the design and drafting of PCB fabrication and assembly drawings. He is an expert in Solid Modeling and PCB software, as well as AutoCad (10 to 2011, 2D & 3D), Revit Architecture and Google 3D Sketchup. He is a graduate of the University Of Northern Colorado, Front Range Community College Tech School and the Denver Institute of Technology Architectural Drafting & Design.

M. Fitzgerald is a consultant and trainer in the area of CAD, Drafting and Illustration. He specializes in the following activities:

1. Architectural & Mechanical Drafting, including plans/elevations/sections/details, sketches to working drawings, as built surveys of existing structures, or mechanical parts using AutoCAD Scan to PDF, JPG, or TIFF for mark-up, or true reverse engineering, (i.e., re-drawing existing plans to AutoCad-dwg files).
2. Architectural and Mechanical Renderings: traditional 2D, or 3D renderings of plans/elevations, or pen and ink illustrations.
3. Site Visits (New York, or New Jersey) for onsite measurements of existing conditions and digital photography of sites.
4. Providing AutoCad layouts, for “Retrofit jobs, new designs, and “As-Built drawings”.
5. Providing “Graphic Conversions” for use in dynamic linking software, required on customer sites and for sales presentations.
6. Assisting Design Engineers & Field Technicians by providing them with AutoCAD, drawings and “As-Builts”.
7. Graphic conversions of Acad drawings to Windows Metafile drawings and to Micrographic Designer drawings and conversion from Bentley MicroStation to Acad drawings.
8. Assisting Account Managers (Sale force) by providing them with full size printouts of project, & pre-bid drawings.
9. Providing training in architectural terms, drafting techniques, AutoCAD skills for architectural work, technical writing skills, & minor mathematics for use in the architectural /engineering fields.
10. Providing manual/hand drawings and CAD drafting (Personal Designer Cad software) working with concrete construction layout drawings.
11. Manual drafting (pencil layouts), working with mechanical drawings from engineering and field personnel.