CAD Standards

WHAT ARE CAD STANDARDS?
CAD standards help optimize the creation and delivery of CAD drawings made by designers, architects and other engineers. They can be implemented in the working process of all design and engineering professions, such as architecture, construction, land surveying, installations in buildings, etc.
By enabling a more efficient use of CAD software, your company will be a better candidate against the competition!
GENERAL PURPOSE OF CAD STANDARDS
CAD standards strive to implement the next systematizations into the workflow process:
- Automatisation,
- Consistency and
- Coordination.
BENEFITS OF CAD STANDARDS
CAD standards bring benefits to all clients involved in the project: project designers (software users), company management and contractors / investors.
Benefits for project designers:
- Faster and simpler workflow,
- Unified graphic designs,
- Faster and easier data retrieving,
- Less errors on the project,
- Greater efficiency,
- Easier to exchange data with co-workers,
- Less stress following the projects deadline, etc.
Benefits for senior management:
- More profit on the project,
- Adapting workflow to specific company’s needs,
- High quality products or projects,
- More efficient and productive employees,
- Decreased labor costs,
- Shorter project’s deadlines,
- Increased competitiveness, etc. 
Benefits for contractors/investors:
- Shorter project’s deadlines,
- Lower project costs,
- Less errors on the project minimize rebuilding costs and shorten time schedule,
- Clear and readable blueprints and designs,
- Better overview of the whole project,
- Easier communication with designers throughout the project development, etc.
BASIC Vs. STANDARDIZED DRAFTING in AutoCAD
We’ve tested how much time we spent on drawing the same floor plan of a building in AutoCAD® software using a classical approach and just basic knowledge or using CAD standards. We’ve divided drawing process into phases where we thought that more organized, automated and standardized approach would speed up our process. Those phases were divided into: Drawing template, Dynamic blocks with attributes, Block libraries, Extract data and Plotting. The time results were as followed:
BASICS
CAD STANDARDS
Total time factor difference
3-4
1
The time factor difference could in practice reflect in the following situations:
BASICS
CAD STANDARDS
Total time on the project
No. of projects done in the same time
Estimated Labor costs
3-4 months
1 project
6.000 € - 8.000 €
1 month
3-4 projects
2.000 €
Additional information
CAD standards implementation
Success of CAD standards
CAD standards references