architecture tips

Architectural CAD drafting services are the output of an independent unit that drafts Architectural drawings as a specialized service. Segregating Architectural CAD drafting services came from the need for focus.

Measurements An Architectural CAD drafting services firm would not assume a dimension which is either missing or not clear. Such dimensions are not interpreted, assumed or measured unless specifically asked. Here are some reasons:

A wrong dimension can have a huge impact on the design intent whether it be the slope of a floor, the size of a room or the aesthetics of the building Will cause a lot of rework when discovered at a late stage and take the project months behind An error in the architectural drawing has a cascading effect on all related service drawings Measurement needs a different skill set, normally employed by a focused drafting serviceThe best 2 rules to follow when a dimension is not clear are: Do not assume When in doubt, leave it out, and askDesigning The raison d'être of an drafting service is to leave the designers freedom to design and create. So, accepting designing pretty much defeats the intent of hiring a focused drafting service. At the same time, at every stage of the project there is design. Every drawing made opens a new line of vision, every sectioned detailed out is food for thought and fodder for the designer. In this background, when the client and the drafting service have reached a level of comfort, Design interpretation, does get done, though subject to the designer's final approval.Direct interaction with external parties Direct dealing by the architectural CAD service with the client, service consultants, manufacturers or end users is not recommended. Let's see whyIn design, it is critical that there must be a Single Point of Communication (SPOC) for all decisions. Ultimately, despite the plethora of inputs from multi sources, there is one brain processing that information and delivering the design There are some experts who believe that the SPOC system creates a bottleneck in process flow. While the debate continues, one of the outcomes of crossed communications could be lack of accountability and direction. Data collection During CAD documentation, at times data might be needed from the Internet or Reference books, like standards or codes. These are also excluded from the scope of architectural CAD services becauseInternet data cannot be trusted Interpretation and application of data varies Standards and codes applied to a project must be current. Every website does not necessarily have the latest update all the time

Conclusively it is important to mention that these are services normally excluded from the scope of drafting service. This article does not deem to restrict or dictate these exclusions in the reader's agreements with architectural CAD service firms. In fact, questioning a norm is the starting point of change.

The AEC Associates are, as the name suggests, your partners in ever dynamic and invigorating AEC domain; your service providers for all disciplines of the architecture, engineering and construction industry. We will assist you in all your drawing, drafting, documentation, CAD/BIM and value added services. A well-knit consortium of professionals, our combined experiences spans across continents, millions of square feet in construction spread through a wide gamut of executed projects. Our Vertical focus includes: Architectural, Structural and MEP.

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Communication

The architect is language is essentially visual. Sketches, drawings, images are the tools used to convey design intent to drafters, consultants, vendors and clients. Today technology allows any of these to be easily sent to any part of the world. Why then does communication get listed as a challenge? Let is look at this from another angle Why does a bit of frustration or irritation creep in one gives instructions to one's drafter over the phone? Maybe this question will help further Why do architects form a high percent of business travelers, second to only sales and marketing, in many countries? Think again, the last time when an architect explained his design. He used a mix of 3 modes of communication

(a) Visual, using lines

(b) Words, using voice or text

(c) Action, using hand gestures and responsive action by the listener, in the form of nods, shakes, eye contact, etc.

The last part, especially, is a hallmark of anyone communicating a design or an idea. So, how does Outsourcing deal with this innate need of communication in architectural CAD drafting services?

Time difference

More often than not, the architect and the service provider are in different time zones. Service providers use this as a selling point "we work when you sleep, thus making your office a round-the0clock studio". How about the times when:

It was the last day and we couldn't open the files sent The layers were wrong and we had to redo a lot of stuff just to print The X Ref command is giving an error and I can't solve it. I'm stuck There are some minor corrections. Now do I have to wait a full day? There is a change that is easy to explain over the phone. Is there anyone I can talk to, or do I have to go through the whole routine of red line-scan-email-describe?

Scheduling

A beginner to Outsourcing of architectural CAD drafting services would feel it takes longer to do a drawing, than when done in-house. No refuting that. Here are typical challenges faced in scheduling:

Response time due to time zones Need to write everything down Need to scan red lined drawings and send them through email Time for number of reviews More quality checks happen at service provider's end The smallest of delays by the client are immediately met by a revised schedule and extended deadline from the service provider

Manpower

Typical questions in the client's mind about the architectural CAD drafting services provider

What quality of people does that country provide Outsourcing being cost oriented, would not my service provider pick the cheapest resources? Why would the best brains join a monotonous, non-creative job? How do we know that the team promised (and billed for) on my job has not been replaced by cheaper and less qualified resources?

Confidentiality

The worry about their drawings remaining confidential is a big concern amongst first time users of outsources architectural CAD drafting services, the prime worries being:

The strictness of copyright and IPR laws designs in the service provider's country The temptation of the service provider to use the designs for a local project The chances of one is work being shared with a competitor The chances of one is name being quoted as an outsourcer The chances of one's drawings being shared proudly as samples of work done

The AEC Associates is a design support service provider for all disciplines of the architecture, engineering and construction industry. We will assist you in all your drawing, drafting, documentation, CAD/BIM and value added services.

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The millennium has ushered in many new specializations, one of them being architectural CAD drafting services. In previous Articles we have looked at various aspects of these services, right from technical to managerial to techno commercial. In our previous article we looked at Exclusions in architectural CAD drafting services, where we discussed those tasks which most service providers do not perform, and the reasons why. On the same lines, this article looks at clauses and items normally included in contracts for architectural CAD drafting services firms. It must be mentioned that this writer dies not deem to give legal advice here, nor frame the clauses in legalese. The approach of the article is to look at the spirit or the need behind various terms and clauses. For this reason, broad categories have been created.

Scope of work The foundations of the relationship are not, as we often get deluded ourselves into, money, speed, relationship, branding, sales or CRM. These are supports, embellishments etc. But the client hires the architectural CAD drafting services firm for work. Here are some points that help to define the task:

Drawing list:Complete with details on:

ScaleSoftwareOutput fileTask to be performed in each sheet

Time

Schedule: this must include client's responsibilities, inputs, and reviews with deadlines. An ideal schedule specifies:

Drawings deliverable on each dateParty responsible those drawings (service provider or client)Time zones and time defining terms like 'EOD' (End of day)Consequences on further schedule in case of interim delaysExtensions: where there is creativity, Parkinson's Law must apply, resulting in probable extension of deadlines. The contract must deal with the impact of such schedule changes on the client as well as on the architectural CAD drafting services firmAccess: Trivial as it might sound, it must be agreed upon at what times in their time zones would certain people be available acceptable protocol for replying (especially with emails).

Money We may cry ourselves hoarse that money is not the Raison d'être of our business, but the number of points cropping under this heading - money - makes us believe we do, after all, live to eat!

Fee: goes without saying, the contract must quantify the fee specifying he currencyPayment terms: The last things a client wants is stoppage of work because of non-payment to the architectural CAD drafting services firmMilestones: a corollary of the above point, stages and triggers of interim payments must be defined with complete clarityMode: To avoid a check-is-in-the-mail situation, the mode of payment, mode of dispatch, payee name, bank details, and most of all the address at which the check (or transfer) is to be dispatched must be clear as crystal

Billing:

PeriodicityTriggerModeReceiver, approver and payer

Credit

Days receivableStarting dateOverdue paymentsRecovery

Others:

PeopleChangeCommunicationExitCopyright

The AEC Associates are, as the name suggests, your partners in ever dynamic and invigorating AEC domain; your service providers for all disciplines of the architecture, engineering and construction industry. We will assist you in all your drawing, drafting, documentation, CAD/BIM and value added services. A well-knit consortium of professionals, our combined experiences spans across continents, millions of square feet in construction spread through a wide gamut of executed projects. Our Vertical focus includes: Architectural, Structural and MEP.

View the original article here

A number of questions were featured, that may occur in the minds of the architects planning to Outsource the first time. This article does not intend to directly answer each question, for the simple reason that many of these are particular to the client and the service. In fact it is recommended that the client addresses these questions when hiring his architectural CAD services partner.

In this article, we look at suggestions on how Outsourcing of these services may be done. In this perspective, we do not look at the benefit of the client or the service provider, but more at successful completion of the project.

The Brief

Popularly known as the foundation of client satisfaction in any creative endeavor, the Brief describes the task to be done, covering these aspects:

Expected outputCommitted inputDeadlineMilestonesWork processPeople responsibleFile Transfer Protocols

Documentation

Two simple but valuable quotations from an experienced speaker in this industry are:

Queries, when they arise, must be put up. There is no stupid question, except the one you didn't ask
When in doubt, write it out

Design being a dynamic exchange of ideas, needs query, resolution and suggestion. And these need record and documentation. There are no words that can show the true value of written communication in Outsourcing.

Communication

One of the challenges of any remote working relationship is a sense of loss of control. The digital age is still new, and we need things to be tangible to trust in them. In this situation, communication plays a key role in bridging the gap between fear and feel. These are the different modes of communication used:

TelephoneVideo ConferenceEmailLive chat, like Skype or, at times, a client's proprietary 'chat-ware'Desktop sharing sessions, like GoToMeeting

Process

A good outsourcing relationship specifies not just the goal, but also the methodology in which the client and the architectural Cad services partner will get there. This ensures a smooth efficient, and, yes, profitable journey for both.

Almost every company has a work process of their own. Most of these processes are organically evolved through hits, misses and project demands. But they become habit, almost second nature to the organization and its workers. The architectural CAD drafting services firm, on the other hand, would, perhaps be used to 4 or 5 processes, having worked with those many types of clients.

To ensure a smooth ride, it is important to marry these processes, and customize a process for the project which works best for both.

Back up

Anything that can go wrong will go wrong Murphy's Law.

And a modern corollary of this law is: "Hope for the best, plan for the worst".

Reputations are built on trust, which come from delivering unfailingly. To make that happen, we must plan for failure, and always create a back-up. This has been discussed with an excellent live example from this very industry in our separate blog in this subject.

Project Management

Another key to success in Outsourcing is to treat the smallest of jobs as a project, with a Project Manager in charge, and responsible for:

DeliveryQualityPlanningSchedulingTrackingReporting

Agreement

Conclusively, a smooth relationship rides on a clear agreement on, in this case:

PriceDeliverablesDeadlinesPayment termsDeviationsExitConflict resolution

Each of these will be separately dealt with in separate blogs or articles.

The AEC Associates is a design support service provider for all disciplines of the architecture, engineering and construction industry. We will assist you in all your drawing, drafting, documentation, CAD/BIM and value added services.

View the original article here