The Rest of the Story

This blog was moved in October of 2008. Click Here to read this post and join us at I.II.I Professional Consulting Services where we are continuing our efforts in Paving the Way for your success.

Click Here for a full menu of our Professional Services

"Adding another dimension: 'Slow and steady' describes how this firm transitioned to 3-D design"

By now most of you have read about CT Brannon in Tyler, TX. What you may not have known was that I worked with them on their Civil 3D Implementation (with C3D 2005!). And you think Civil 3D isn't ready? I beg to differ... It's as ready as you want it to be - it's a tool!

The article is wonderful, but it doesn't tell the whole story. Why do I think Brannon was successful? Because they allowed me the necessary time to build them a strong Civil 3D Template, and then teach them how to use it. The whole thing took a week - a week, that's it, a week, period. One week they didn't know a thing about the program, 2 weeks later they were doing a new subdivision, with new software. This isn't a testament to me, it's a testament to them trusting their Reseller to help them properly roll out Civil 3D.

I would venture to guess that if a firm tries to Implement Civil 3D on their own starting today, they'll face the same struggles most of us have (I know I have in the past): Where is that setting, what layer should I put that on, how will I work with x'refs, do I really want the Sheet Set Manager, when is a drawing file too large, should I grade in Land Desktop, or should I grade in Civil 3D - bylayer, bystyle, is the model too big, can I have this many viewports, do I need new hardware, how do I draw a line by direction, and WHAT is the VAULT ???

The key to a successful Civil 3D Implementation is allowing someone the necessary time to investigate the program and discover how it will fit into your organization. If you can't dedicate someone on your team to the task, then hire your Reseller or a Consultant. If you start looking at an Implementation plan TODAY, and you take your most seasoned Land Desktop user and put him/her in charge of the task, you'll be ready to go sometime in the next year, no way around it - Civil 3D is DIFFERENT, and more dynamic, than anything you've ever seen. You aren't simply UPGRADING, you can't simply learn what's different - the entire program is different! It's like moving from the drafting board to the PC for the first time!

So here's the bottom line: If you can't dedicate a person or a team to the task of investigating how to roll Civil 3D into your organization, then don't think twice about farming out the job - many of us have poured our lives over the past 4-5 years into Civil 3D. If neither you or the boss are willing to follow either of those suggestions, then don't roll out Civil 3D yet; but I'll caution you - your competition, like CT Brannon, is... that's a fact.

Cheers!