Bricsys 24/7® & BricsCAD®
Perhaps you are a small to medium size business. Your CAD/Design projects consist of five, maybe six team members (or less). You could be a manufacturing company maintaining your tooling and workflow areas on the shop floor, trying to apportion space, so the bean counters know how much the space is worth in relation to the manufacturing process. Retailers also face similar challenges in laying out their product lines through seasonal changes and promotional events. These are of course just a few of the many projects that a Common Data Environment (CDE) can be used to manage the drawing and design files. Projects don’t need to be large with thousands of files to reap the benefits of a CDE. Small projects can also benefit, even if the projects are internal.
In this article, I will take you through a simple space planning project using Bricsys 24/7® and BricsCAD®. We will do this, not as an exercise to necessarily learn these tools, but to see the effect they can have when used together.
Setup Overview
For this example, we will use the shop floor of a manufacturing business to illustrate the project. After the master space plan is created, we will make some changes using Bricsys 24/7® on a mobile device to make some annotations (markups). Basically, this is an elementary paperless communication exercise where all changes are visible to all stakeholders. In other words, a complete project history in the cloud.
Before we start, a project called ‘Space Plan’ has been set up in Bricsys 24/7, with a folder called ‘Spaces’. (See Fig. 1)
Figure 1
A floor plan showing the facility walls has been created, along with another five drawings, containing five simple polylines, each on a different layer, representing the five different floor spaces. (i.e., Goods In, Goods Out, Store, Production, and Office)
A master drawing will be created to show the complete facility with each of the individual floor space drawings attached as External Reference Files (Xrefs).
All these drawings will be stored on Bricsys 24/7, be accessible to all stakeholders (internal and external) and be our ‘Single Source of the Truth’ for all project activities.
Project Overview
Figure 1 also shows the individual space plan drawings in the Bricsys 24/7 project. Take note that the ‘The Work in Progress (WIP)’ files sit in a network drive.
After the ‘ShopFloor-Master.dwg’ has been built using the WIP plans attached as Xrefs, we then upload the ‘ShopFloor- Master.dwg’ to the folder for all stakeholders to see and comment on, both on the web and mobile.
Bricsys 24/7 Panel
Let’s take a look at the ShopFloor-Master.dwg in BricsCAD, complete with the WIP space plans attached ss Xrefs. (See Fig. 2)
Figure 2
After selecting the Bricsys 24/7 panel, the previously loaded drawings in the project appear under the folder ‘Spaces’.
After selecting the ‘Upload’ button, (+), the ‘ShopFloor-Master.dwg is uploaded to the Bricsys 24/7 project for web and mobile viewing.
The Bricsys 24/7 Panel is a view of the Bricsys 24/7 project contents. From here drawing files can be uploaded or downloaded, by anyone with access. A locking mechanism allows drawings to be worked on while being guarded from being overwritten. Multiple stakeholders can access and work on different drawings, knowing they are protected.
Bricsys 24/7 Web Interface
Here is a view of the ‘ShopFloor-Master.dwg’ in Bricsys 24/7, web interface. (See Fig. 3)
Figure 3
Now that the basic existing floor spaces have been identified, when changes are required to allocate space to accommodate production changes, Bricsys 24/7 has become our paperless communication portal.
Accessing the ‘ShopFloor-Production.dwg’ drawing on our mobile device gives us a paperless freedom to make comments (Annotations), that indicate changes that need to be made to the Production space.
Tracking Changes
Notice two Annotations (red boxes) have been added to the Production space made on the mobile device asking for two further sub-spaces to be created, Pre-Production and Quality Assurance. (See Fig. 4)
Figure 4
These annotations are now available for viewing on the website. (See Fig. 5)
Figure 5
All stakeholders with permission can view these changes and, if necessary, make further changes or add notes as required. The designers, in charge of keeping the WIP drawings up to date, will make the changes to the ‘ShopFloor-Production.dwg’ and then upload to Bricsys 24/7, keeping the single source of the truth intact.
Verifying Updates
Let’s view the updated Bricsys 24/7 web and mobile interface. (See Fig. 6 & 7)
Figure 6
Figure 7
Also, look at the updated ‘shopFloor-Master.dwg’ and ‘ShopFloor-Production.dwg’, showing the new space allocations.
Consider that different teams or companies can each work on a separate space drawing. When these drawings are uploaded to Bricsys 24/7, they are given a revision number. The ‘ShopFloor-Master.dwg’ is controlled by Xrefs of these drawings and each time it is uploaded to Bricsys 24/7, it will be given a different Revision number. All this controlling the single source of the truth.
Also, important to mention is that there is no substitute for a good set of drawing standards and project protocols that highlight the change process activities.
Bricsys 24/7 & BricsCAD
As simple as this exercise in paperless communication is, consider the possible workflows for larger and more complex projects. After all, aren’t complex projects just made up of smaller, less complex projects? Together Bricsys 24/7 and BricsCAD combine very easily to maintain, distribute, and store project documentation. And yes, there is much more here than just what I have demonstrated. Bricsys 24/7 is a full Project CDE complete with Version Control, Workflows, and many other functionalities you would expect in a CDE.
Project communication can be straightforward. It can be up to date. It can be maintained by multiple stakeholders, and it can, be paperless. Most importantly, it doesn’t need to be a blocker. It doesn’t need to be cumbersome, time-consuming, and most of all, it doesn’t need to be a headache to set up or access. Fortunately, these are all of the qualities of BricsCAD and Bricsys 24/7.
More About Bricsys 24/7®
Bricsys® 24/7® is a cloud-based common data environment for document management and workflow automation. Bricsys 24/7 offers role-based security and unlimited users to help ensure that the right document is in the right hands at the right time. Easy-to-use document management and hosting platform for your construction projects. As a project management information system, utilizing our automated workflows and custom forms to handle project management tasks or as a common data environment for all contract documents, drawings, and project workflows enables transparency for all stakeholders and bridges the design and construction phases. Add unlimited users to your projects. Every project member can access the Bricsys 24/7 file store, with their access rights based on their role in the project. Learn more about Bricsys 24/7 by visiting https://www.bricsys.com/247
More About BricsCAD®
Bricsys® BricsCAD® is professional CAD software without compromise. Accelerate your time to deliverable without compromising on performance, cost, licensing flexibility, and data security. Not ready to buy? Download the free, 30-day trial of BricsCAD® at Bricsys.com. Would you like free lessons? We have that available with Bricsys Learning. Ready to migrate to BricsCAD®? Download the Migration Guide. The latest version of BricsCAD® improves the tools and features users love, as well as new functionality and UI that supercharge productivity. Follow us today on LinkedIn or YouTube.
More About Bricsys®
Bricsys®, part of Hexagon®, is the global technology company that creates the BricsCAD® family of computer-aided design (CAD) products and the Bricsys® 24/7 project collaboration platform. We are relentlessly committed to the success of our customers by offering cost-effective, mission-critical CAD software with industry-leading product support. Learn more at www.Bricsys.com.
Hexagon® is a global leader in digital reality solutions. Learn more about Hexagon (Nasdaq Stockholm: HEXA B) at hexagon.com and follow us @HexagonAB.
