M. Robinson is currently an independent CAD consultant, a role he has performed since 2005. Mr. Robinson was previously the head of CAD Manager and IT Support at Brownworth Engineering Associates, a leading MEP design company based in the United States, from 1980 to 2008. Mr. Robinson managed a team of 2D and 3D designers (focusing on Revit, BIM and AutoCAD). His leadership and support resulted in over $500 million in annual revenue for Brownworth Engineering. Mr. Robinson started his career as a CAD Draftsman at Brownworth Engineering, and worked there from 1991 to 2008. He was responsible for implementing the use of CAD tools in the company. Mr. Robinson also worked directly with the companys customers, including architects and engineers.

J. Simmons has, for the last three years, worked on electrical and electronic devices for Lockheed Martin IS&GS in Goodyear, Arizona, where he has been able to refresh previous experience obtained in electronic packaging. Mr. Simmons has twenty-seven years experience in aircraft modification design, twenty-one of which were with various Lockheed Martin aircraft facilities. During this time, he was awarded a patent as the sole inventor of a Foreign Object Deflector developed for the belly of a C-130 Special Forces airframe. Much of his career involved installation of avionic systems, a design discipline that can involve creative methods of structural support and spatial utilization to get the shortest electrical lines possible for some applications. Mr. Simmons received a Bachelor of Science Degree from Southern Illinois University in 1971. His major was Mass communications, with a minor in art. He started in the aircraft design field at Evergreen Air Center in Arizona where he started as a draftsman in 1979. By 1985 when he left for another opportunity, he was Department Head of Engineering, and he had composed the drafting room manual, and investigated and chose the computer-aided drafting system in 1984.

H. Fox is an independent CAD consultant, and has a B.Sc. in Interior Design. Her background includes:

1. space planning for corporate interiors (related to facilities management).
2. space planning for high end residential, clubhouse, spa, hotel, office, retail and restaurant
   interiors.
3. production of construction documents for high-end residential, clubhouse, spa, hotel,office,
   retail and restaurant interiors.
4. Design and production of construction documents (for design purposes only) for custom
   millwork.

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K. Hill has been working in the field of architecture since 1995 and has deep experience as a CAD Operator and Project Manager for a variety of architectural projects, including educational/university, business/commercial, telecommunications, industrial and residential. Mr. Hill is familiar with construction document preparation and coordination, field survey, documentation and background preparation, shop drawing preparation and review, building code research and analysis, construction product research, specification preparation a variety of computer applications. Mr Hill has a Masters of Architecture degree.

S. Sebastian is currently an independent CAD consultant, a role she has performed since 2011. Ms. Sebastian was previously the CAD Manager at System Electric Co., an electrical design/build construction company based out of Palm Springs, CA with offices throughout the United States. Ms. Sebastian has worked in the construction field for more than 10 years, and has managed the BIM Coordination on hospitals, universities, data centers, and more. She has also been deeply involved in the design & construction of several high rise condo/hotel buildings. Additionally, she has coordinated with the prefabrication department of System Electric to create layouts, wiring diagrams, build sheets, and more to assist in streamlining the pre-fabrication process. She has experience in converting old drawings in hard copy, TIF, PDF to ACAD.

N. McDonough is an Architectural Draftsmen with experience ranging from 4 story commercial building to residential additions. He has over nine years of professional experience as a draftsmen. He is a LEED Accredited Professional, proficient in the use of Autodesk AutoCAD and Revit 2011. He is also an expert in Adobe Acrobat and Photoshop, Autodesk Impressions, and Sketchup.

T. Mifsud is a CAD consultant providing services to architects, engineers, builders , construction managers, and facility managers. He provides a range of CAD services, including implementation, standards and best practices development, training, project support, CADDBIM management and 3D BIM modeling services. He has extensive experience with Revit Architecture, Revit MEP, Navisworks and AutoCAD. He is based in Southern NH which allows him to provide daily on-site services for clients in all 6 New England states. He has extensive real world experience in AEC-FM and CADDBIM management.

Comments

All project are challenging in different ways but the two main challenges are: unrealistic schedules and trying to meet our clients’ expectations

I use AutoDesk Suite and Revit. Pros and cons are too much detail to go into.

Training is ongoing. I have a program for our staff called “sharpen the saw” days, i.e. for 4 days a year (scheduled as work permits for the individual) each person or group selects a specific topic, researches/studies and develops a presentation for the benefit of the entire staff.

We don’t outsource anything in our skill set but do outsource to IT and web content/development consultants

Interview with Mr. T. Mifsud

1. 1. What kinds of clients do you serve?

   We serve architects, construction managers, facilities manager for CAD, REVIT and BIM and our particular areas of expertise are training, implementing software, support services, library development, standards development.

2. What was the most interesting CAD project that you ever worked on? What made it interesting?
   What challenges did you face?

   I work with and support many clients on their projects so there isnt one stand-out that I could describe as the most interesting.

3. Of the software tools that you use, which is your favorite and why?

   REVIT Architecture is my favorite software and I teach classes in it It makes everything easier than 2D AutoCad.

4. What trends are you observing in the market for CAD services? How have these trends affected you, and how are you responding to them?

   Over the last 5 years the trend in New England has moved totally away from drafting in 2D AutoCad. We anticipated this trend, moved ahead of our clients and now work primarily in 3D BIM.

5. What do you like about working as an interim CAD draftsman or external CAD consultant working on a time-bound project?

   I like not being tied to one desk and the challenge of constantly changing projects.

6. Have you ever provided CAD consulting services remotely, either via phone, the Web or email?
   Do you use any screen sharing tools (like Webex, Skype, or GoToMeeting), and are they effective?
   What kinds of questions and problems could you tackle remotely?
   Are there any issues that you feel are better handled face-to-face?

   Ive been using remote software for 6-7 years. The one I prefer now is TeamViewer because it is good for remote support, training, teamwork whereas others we have tried are not as quick or flexible. Working remotely with clients is good for handling all types of questions. For comprehensive introductory training of 2 hours or more its preferred to have a face-to-face meeting.

A. Trottier is an independent CAD consultant and an experienced draftsman. He has extensive experience in the area of fire alarm systems, and is an expert in AutoCAD 2009-2011 and AutoCAD MEP 2010 along with other office software including Adobe Pro X. Mr. Trottier has designed and planned system layouts, and has also created submittal packages.

S. Childs is an Independent Contractor with over 15 years of drafting experience. He has worked on residential projects, commercial projects, Structural Steel and Joist design. He has a 2-year degree in Mechanical Drafting and Design.

K. Land is currently a design drafter. He has 12 years of experience using various Autodesk, Bentley, and Adobe software like Architecture 2010, Plant 3D, Microstation V8i, Photoshop, and Illustrator. He started his work at an Architectural/Engineering company, and created CAD block and layer standards that are still in use today.

A. Higgs specializes in Injection Mold Design, and Plastic Product Design. He is a contract mold designer with 30 years experience, specializing in quality precision multi-cavity molds for Hot Runner, Cold Runner, Slides, 2 Stage, In Mold Closing, Unscrewing, Stack Molds, 2 Shot Molds, A half Strippers, etc. Certified SolidWorks, Using the latest SolidWorks 2011 for full 3D and 2D designs. He has worked in the cosmetic industry for over 20 years. During that time he developed many solid mold designs ensuring quality molds with extended mold life. Mr. Higgs stared his career as a toolmaker work his way to Engineering Manager in 2002, earning a B. Sc in Mechanical Engineering from Bristol University in England.

Mr. M. Tatum has extensive experience in the design and drafting of PCB fabrication and assembly drawings. He is an expert in Solid Modeling and PCB software, as well as AutoCad (10 to 2011, 2D & 3D), Revit Architecture and Google 3D Sketchup. He is a graduate of the University Of Northern Colorado, Front Range Community College Tech School and the Denver Institute of Technology Architectural Drafting & Design.