Customer Showcase

AutoCAD MEP, Cymap, and Tas Building Designer streamline data flow for building services consultancy.

The Challenge
“The need for compliance has brought extra work, but also extra opportunities for building services engineers,” says David Reading, a partner at Integrated Design Associates (IDA) in the United Kingdom.  Reading’s optimism suggests he is a man ahead of the game, already recognizing that with a combination of the right experience, knowledge, and technology he can turn what could be an obstacle to success into an open door.

Investing in the Future
Reading’s positive attitude comes partly from IDA’s recent decision to invest in a total solution for building services compliance from CADline Ltd.  The company had already been using both the electrical and mechanical versions of CADline’s Cymap solution for HVAC and electrical design.  It also recently cross-graded from using AutoCAD® software to AutoCAD® MEP (formerly Autodesk® Building Systems) software for building services engineers, designers, and drafters. The next step will be integrating Tas Building Designer, the dynamic thermal modeling and analysis tool.  He believes that together these three solutions will cut IDA’s building services design time by a hefty two-thirds.

Company History
IDA was formed in 1993 to offer specialist, multi-disciplinary building services engineering consultancy. Since then, it has acquired an impressive roll call of prestigious clients. Recent projects range from the lead consultancy on an NHS-accredited clean room facility for stem cell research for the Institute of Ophthalmology, to the building services installation design and specification of two new buildings for Kingston University, a 150,000 square-foot office refurbishment at Southside Victoria, and a number of multi-occupancy residential developments with Regal Homes.

Taking the Long-Term View to Success
IDA had previously used a combination of alternative industry standard design software and AutoCAD.  However, taking a long-term view, they recognized that using AutoCAD would give them the opportunity of moving on to AutoCAD MEP and developing a total solution incrementally. “We were also influenced by the fact that most architects we work with use AutoCAD or have moved on to AutoCAD architecture,” explains Reading.

Staying Competitive with Cymap
The team has also been using Cymap from CADline for a number of years for both routine and complex heatloss and gain, electrical and energy consumption calculations.  This has now totally come into its own with the introduction of Part L regulations.  “We couldn’t do our job now without using Cymap,” Reading says.  “There’s no way we could go back to our former methods as we would not be able to remain competitive.”

With the option of mechanical and electrical modules, Cymap offers comprehensive solutions for heating, cooling and energy consumption, piped and ducted services, and low voltage wiring and lighting design.  It can be used at all stages of the design process, from initial conception through scheme design to the production of working and record drawings.

Time-Consuming, Repetitive Tasks
However, the need for repetitive manual data entry was still preventing IDA from working as productively as it wanted to.  “There’s no doubt that the need for compliance has meant more work, and this has created the dilemma of whether to employ extra staff,” Reading continues. “However, the industry is still short of skilled engineers and consequently finding the right people is not just difficult, it’s expensive too.  Besides, we wanted our engineers to do what they are trained to do–design–not spend their time doing data entry and complex but nonetheless tedious calculations. Consequently, we thought that anything we could do to automate processes and eliminate routine work was worth considering.”

The Solution
The answer came when Reading attended one of CADline’s industry seminars on compliance.  “When I saw CADline’s fully-integrated solution comprising AutoCAD MEP, Cymap, and Tas I could see that this was the way forward for IDA.  Comparing this to other available products such as the government’s own iSBEM compliance software, I realised that the integrated combination of CADline’s software would result in a far higher quality product for our clients.

“Also, the AutoCAD MEP-Cymap-Tas combination allows us to produce compliancy statements so that we can clearly understand how the building and its associated systems are going to perform.  This enables us—at an early stage in the scheme’s design development—to evaluate the options available in order to consider improvements in both the performance of the building ‘envelope’ and the building services systems required to satisfy the user’s requirements.

“As a result, overall energy wastage and the client’s predicted energy costs are minimised, and the associated carbon emissions relating to the generation of the energy required to support the building is reduced—enabling a far more proactive approach.  I also liked the modular approach which meant we could begin with AutoCAD MEP and build up the solution as budget and workload allows.”

The Result
IDA is now just about to begin its first projects using AutoCAD MEP, and because the solution is AutoCAD-based but developed especially for mechanical, electrical, and plumbing engineers, the transition is expected to be a smooth one.  Because AutoCAD MEP has a direct link to Cymap, data needs to be created only once and is transferred seamlessly from one system to the other.  Not only does this save time, but it also eliminates opportunities for error, making the data more reliable.

Once the team is up and running on this combination, Reading plans to implement Tas.  This simulates the dynamic thermal performance of buildings and their systems, enabling users to compare alternative heating/cooling strategies, energy demand, and check for Part L compliance.

Reading predicts when the complete solution is installed, IDA will be able to perform all IT-related tasks in the design in one third of the time. “At least three data entries will be replaced with one,” he points out. There will also be a two-way flow of data, which means results are fed back—enabling users to try alternative scenarios and adjust the design accordingly.

New Business Opportunities
Reading sees these benefits as essential to take advantage of the business opportunities compliancy issues present. “We’ve found that many architects aren’t keen to take responsibility for Part L on board, which leaves the path open for building services consultants. 

“The other option is third party consultants who will test for compliancy for a reasonable price.  However, these organisations or individuals usually don’t have the skills or expertise to evaluate the options and advise on the alternatives—nor do they look at the entire building and find a solution that won’t affect the integrity of the design.  In fact, we are aware of companies who have not achieved a compliant and satisfactory design solution even after two or three attempts using this approach. “Anyone can recommend upgrading the services, but you need a way of intelligently interrogating the options available to balance efficiency with cost.  We believe our integrated solution will enable us to do this,” he says.

David Payne, Cymap product manager at CADline agrees: “Software is no longer just a way of automating processes—it needs to be smart and dynamic, enabling users to assess the impact of their design while there’s still time to make changes.  When it can offer this—and still help to increase productivity significantly—it’s obviously a very valuable investment.”