The requirements of the Building and Manufacturing industries are diverse and fragmented, and can only be addressed at a general level by the major CAD vendors. Consequently, an off-the-shelf solution may provide only marginal advantages over previous methods.

Supplementing the capabilities of these generic packages through customised software development is the most effective means of maximising your investment in I.T. Encina can help you address expensive bottlenecks caused by your CAD software, which directly cost time and money and indirectly prevent your company from taking on extra business. We seek to deliver the following benefits:

Accurate estimating is critical, but can also be prohibitively time-consuming. However, once the process of breaking down the design into its constituent parts has been developed for documentation, the same process can be used for estimation. This enables cost checks to be performed more frequently, even to the point where they become an interactive design tool to explore alternative, potentially cost-effective, solutions.

One of the primary objectives of custom development is to develop automated processes to detail and document the constituent parts of a design model. However, the limitations of automation must be acknowledged by making the results fully editable, highlighting ambiguities or trouble-spots for the designer to resolve. An iterative cycle of design and documentation must be explicitly supported.

This elevates CAD far beyond merely replicating the drafting process, and the time-savings which can realised are truly dramatic.

Accountants rely on spreadsheets as a matter of course, not only because they eliminate much of the drudgery, but because they help to eliminate mistakes. The same principles apply to documentation in the building industry, and to scheduling in particular.

But consider the wider possibilities. Failure to detect collisions, omission of key components, or conflicting detailing can result in expensive failures on site. Many simple, automated tests can be repeatedly applied, with enormous potential cost savings.

There are scores of disparate software solutions on the market which target specific design processes. Because they have been developed by different companies targeting a general market, they may have conflicting methodologies and will almost certainly not be inter-operable. This increases training commitments and reduces efficiency.

Custom development will deliver a single, homogeneous solution to your problem. No more or less than you need, entirely inter-operable, and consistent in its appearance and methodology.

We are entering an era where intermediate, paper-based documentation is not required. Increasingly, components for the assembly of buildings is automatically manufactured offsite. The ability to directly drive manufacture from the electronic design model will become as essential to the building industry as it is in the automotive industry.

Custom development will provide a significant competitive advantage in making this critical transition. A generic CAD solution - no more or less than your competitors software - won't make the grade.

In an increasingly automated market, design time and cost can be a significant barrier to meeting delivery targets. Custom development can have a huge impact by:

• Targeting the materials, methods, and constraints employed by your team.
• Automating repetitive or rule-based design processes.
• Implementing all required calculations within a single, consistent environment.
• Enabling rapid design variation through automated assistance.

Delivering good software isn't just a matter of technological prowess - it's about learning the needs of the end user and helping them to plan for the future of their business. And who better to understand your needs than someone with personal experience in the building industry? Our comprehensive experience in the AEC industry gives us a head start in understanding your business and the role you play in the wider market.

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