Old Jobs / New Template

[Desirea]

Good morning. I am hoping to get some advice and see how others have handled this.

My company is currently in the process of creating a template and CAD standards. Previously there have been none. Each employee handled their own setup.

I have created an engineering C3D template and we are starting to implement it on new projects. My question is in regards to old projects that have not been completed or CAD files gotten from another source. How do you handle this? Do you try to export the work and import into a new template or do you work in the old / out of office CAD files? I am really wanting to try to find the cleanest method of brining the files up to our new standards.

Any suggestions are appreciated!

[BlackBox]

Introducing all new standards, or even major changes to existing standards, should only be applied to an existing project if the person with financial authority of the project says to do so.

If a project is near completion, it doesn't make practical sense to go back through an entire project and convert it to the new standards. If there's a critical need to do so, then duplicating work will be authorized. Unnecessary duplication of work just eats into project budget and reduces profit/bonus potential. Complete these projects as quickly as you can and the old standards (or no standards) will die off through attrition.

If a project is very early in the design process, it probably makes sense to adopt the new standards, as you'll be working on this project for some time.

HTH

[Desirea]

Introducing all new standards, or even major changes to existing standards, should only be applied to an existing project if the person with financial authority of the project says to do so.

If a project is near completion, it doesn't make practical sense to go back through an entire project and convert it to the new standards. If there's a critical need to do so, then duplicating work will be authorized. Unnecessary duplication of work just eats into project budget and reduces profit/bonus potential. Complete these projects as quickly as you can and the old standards (or no standards) will die off through attrition.

If a project is very early in the design process, it probably makes sense to adopt the new standards, as you'll be working on this project for some time.

HTH

That makes a lot of sense and for the most part that is how we have been doing it. Here are a few situations that are a little bit different. First, a lot of times we get files from architects. Some even have site layout or survey data in them. I've been having the CAD techs copy their work into our template before proceeding. Also, sometimes we get files from other engineering companies. For example, we got CAD files that were not complete and were needed to be finished by our company. To be efficient, would you create an xml file to import their civil items into our template?

[BlackBox]

That's kinda the whole thing with Standards; there's always exceptions to the rule.

Create an SOP for how to process 3rd party drawings. If you frequently work with certain companies, spend some additional time setting up automations to expedite the tasks where you can.

How you process 3rd party drawings likely depends on the data they've provided and the level of information you want when done.

In Civil 3D, sometimes that's simply exporting LandXML, Copy+Paste, or a simple WBLOCK. If dealing with survey data that's broken out with layer-context (meaning COGO Points are on element-specific layers for roads, top of bank, etc.) and you don't want to lose that level of detail by using LandXML, you now have to save a copy of their drawing, bring in your Styles and Settings and move their data into your layers, styles, etc.

Document the stuff that's frequently repeated, or critical to your company's needs. Develop some tools that make it easier for users to do the right thing when needed. This encourage users to be more independent, which just builds trust (in the tools provided and in them) and that makes your team capable.

[Desirea]

That's kinda the whole thing with Standards; there's always exceptions to the rule.

Create an SOP for how to process 3rd party drawings. If you frequently work with certain companies, spend some additional time setting up automations to expedite the tasks where you can.

How you process 3rd party drawings likely depends on the data they've provided and the level of information you want when done.

In Civil 3D, sometimes that's simply exporting LandXML, Copy+Paste, or a simple WBLOCK. If dealing with survey data that's broken out with layer-context (meaning COGO Points are on element-specific layers for roads, top of bank, etc.) and you don't want to lose that level of detail by using LandXML, you now have to save a copy of their drawing, bring in your Styles and Settings and move their data into your layers, styles, etc.

Document the stuff that's frequently repeated, or critical to your company's needs. Develop some tools that make it easier for users to do the right thing when needed. This encourage users to be more independent, which just builds trust (in the tools provided and in them) and that makes your team capable.

That's helpful. Thank you!