With improved documenting and sharing of engineering, GIS and infrastructure design information, the City of Vancouver empowers field crews to respond as much as 50 percent faster
SAN RAFAEL, Calif., Sept. 27 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Autodesk, Inc.
(Nasdaq: ADSK) today announced that the City of Vancouver, British Columbia is
using Autodesk Design Review software to improve its response time for
infrastructure repair, maintenance and emergency issues. Vancouver's
Engineering Services Department (ESD) deployed Autodesk Design Review, which
is based on Autodesk DWF technology, to help ensure field workers have
accurate, timely information needed for on-site repairs, and have the ability
to document equipment repairs in real-time. With the Autodesk solution in
place, maintenance and repair activities are conducted more efficiently and
crews are able to repair emergency water leaks as much as 50 percent faster.
(Logo: http://www.newscom.com/cgi-bin/prnh/20050415/SFF034LOGO )
Vancouver's ESD is responsible for delivering engineering, geographic
information systems (GIS) and infrastructure design services to the city's
public works branches. The City of Vancouver covers 114 square kilometers and
serves more than 545,000 people. The ESD needed to make up-to-date maps and
drawings accessible to water leak detection and service field crews, most of
whom have little or no experience with design software. Before Autodesk
software was implemented, the City's maps were reprinted approximately every
two years, which often forced the crew to return to their base for more up-to-
date underground infrastructure plans.
The ESD also was hindered by its duplicative process for collecting and
incorporating paper-based feedback on infrastructure repair projects,
especially from field and emergency response crews who typically write and
circulate comments on paper printouts. This prevented the ESD from instituting
efficient all-digital design reviews.
Now, sharing rich 3D digital information with remote teams is fast and
easy. Instead of carrying outdated paper copies, each truck is outfitted with
Autodesk Design Review on a laptop, through which crews can access current 3D
infrastructure maps, from a central database. Field crews can then zoom in and
out of design details and print the exact information needed.
In addition, when a new potential leak is identified, field crews open an
electronic map of the layout in Autodesk Design Review, and digitally review,
measure and mark up infrastructure maps, flagging any problems for the leak
detection team. Comments from the field are sent back to design and
engineering professionals in the ESD office who can then overlay the changes
on top of the original maps and drawings, for fast revisions. This capability
significantly improves collaboration with field crews, helps keep
infrastructure information up-to-date, and ultimately translates into improved
service and increased safety for the citizens of the City of Vancouver.
"The DWF files in our leak detection trucks are electronically updated and
contain far more detailed information than paper maps," said Ravi Chhina,
superintendent for breaks and leak detection in the ESD waterworks operations
department. "With fast access to more detailed information, our leak repair
crews are responding to emergencies more quickly."
A long-time customer of Autodesk, the City of Vancouver has used Autodesk
Map 3D, Autodesk Civil 3D and Autodesk Land Desktop software on many of its
projects. With Autodesk Design Review, the city has realized more value for
its overall investment in Autodesk design and GIS software because now anyone
involved in key workflows across the organization can access rich 3D design
information.
"By using the best Autodesk 3D software solutions in combination with
Design Review, the City of Vancouver has created a complete workflow that
helps streamline infrastructure management for more effective city
operations," said Amar Hanspal, vice president of Autodesk's Collaboration
Solutions. "Autodesk solutions allow them to get critical information to the
right user at the right time, and help them keep their maps and infrastructure
drawings up-to-date and accessible during emergency situations."
About Autodesk
Autodesk, Inc. is a Fortune 1000 company, wholly focused on ensuring that
great ideas are turned into reality. With seven million users, Autodesk is the
world's leading 3D software company for the manufacturing, infrastructure,
building, media and entertainment, and wireless data services fields.
Autodesk's solutions help customers create, manage and share their data and
digital assets more effectively. As a result, customers turn ideas into
competitive advantage, become more productive, streamline project efficiency
and maximize profits.
Founded in 1982, Autodesk is headquartered in San Rafael, California. For
additional information about Autodesk, please visit www.autodesk.com.
Autodesk, Autodesk Map, Civil 3D, and DWF are registered trademarks or
trademarks of Autodesk, Inc., in the USA and/or other countries. All other
brand names, product names or trademarks belong to their respective holders.
(C) 2006 Autodesk, Inc. All rights reserved.
PR contact : Brandi Cook, Edelman, (503) 471-6839
Email : Brandi.Cook@edelman.com
SOURCE Autodesk, Inc.
09/27/2006
CONTACT: Brandi Cook of Edelman, +1-503-471-6839 or
Brandi.Cook@edelman.com, for Autodesk, Inc.
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AP Archive: http://photoarchive.ap.org
PRN Photo Desk, photodesk@prnewswire.com
Web site: http://www.autodesk.com (ADSK)
8812 09/27/2006 06:00 EDT http://www.prnewswire.com
