For more than a year the technical staff in the main heating power plant of the Munich City Supply Authorities  (SWM) have been gaining benefits from hybrid administration of their legacy drawings. With softelec?s VPraster software these documents (which had already been scanned) could quickly be integrated into the ongoing process of revisions and updates. Hybrid technology, combining CAD and scanned data, proved to be the most accurate method  - and a highly efficient one, too.
 

Mrs Gerlinde Klisa takes up her daily hybrid work in the city supply's documentation office

Before introducing VPraster, drawing administration and documentation was carried out using Autodesk?s AutoCAD R14 and an Autodesk software tool for handling the raster data from scanned drawings. There were a number of major drawbacks; the worst concerned the storage of hybrid drawings. AutoCAD generated two files: a TIF file for the raster data and a standard DWG file for vector information. The DWG file also incorporated the path and file name for the associated TIF file. 

A problem quickly emerged: since SWMs own Plant Administration System (BFS) assigned a file name each time a drawing was registered or revised, hybrid documents could only be retrieved with great difficulty. In some cases the raster originals were even lost. This was unacceptable in a technical documentation department of this size and importance. VPraster offered a most welcome solution, allowing hybrid data to be stored in a single AutoCAD DWG file. 
 

Mrs Susanne Dieringer feels happy with VPraster

Consultants introduce VPraster for hybrid technology

Config GmbH are a Munich based consultancy for computer networks and engineering applications who have many years' experience of working with SWM. Config understood the structures and objectives for SWM's documentation/production workflow; they designed and implemented an extensive trial system. Ultimately they installed 30 seats of softelec?s VPraster and 50 seats of VPview, a softelec viewer which can display any document on the network. 

The new software has become very popular among users since it was finally approved in February 2000. Mrs Gerlinde Klisa says: ?I?ve been working with CAD systems since 1988 and I know all the difficulties that result from switching to new software. However, right from the start I felt very much at home with VPraster. And nobody really misses its predecessor.? 

Rudolf Driessen,  senior manager for the documentation department, confirms:?Investment in VPraster and VPview has a very fast payback. VPraster?s ability to integrate various file formats into one AutoCAD file are contributing considerably to this situation. Now, there is no functional difference  between vector, raster, or hybrid documents. This allows us to make best use of our BFS system. Having to deal with only one file format containing all necessary information gives a very easy and efficient drawing administration and distribution inside BFS. We have also managed to integrate and adapt our entire archive automatically, using some customised software routines. Now, the digital archive is completely available at all AutoCAD and VPraster workstations.?
 

Consultant Harald Haimerl (left) introducing VPraster to city supply's senior documentation manager Rudolf Driessen (right)

Working with Hybrid ? A Working Compromise

At first, the decision to use hybrid technology was a compromise. Most importantly, the conversion of all drawings into vector format was no longer needed. Even for drawing revisions or modifications vectorization became obsolete. However, new information would be added as vectors. As a result, the concept of a uniform data structure was abandoned in favour of a more efficient and convenient work flow.

In the past many legacy drawings had already been scanned. The generated digital raster files, consisting of "pixel? data, could only be converted into vector based CAD drawings with great effort. Now, by eliminating these steps with hybrid technology the question arises: are the advantages of accessing vector drawings neutralised? Is there a need for vectorized drawings in the case of e.g. construction modifications? "There isn?t?, agrees Mrs. Susanne Dieringer, an experienced technical staff member of the department. "It wouldn?t make sense to vectorize all those legacy drawings, since a lot of them are no longer in practical use. For those drawings that are relevant the hybrid technology can be applied perfectly to add new CAD information to the scanned documents.?

Besides adding vector information, VPraster also provides direct editing of the scanned raster drawings - a very convenient way to apply modifications, especially when true scale is a minor issue. In any case, the system offers options, so that users can make their own decisions on the most suitable method. 
 

Munich's main heating power plant

For the documentation staff the softelec software is a great help in their daily work, as they comment: ?We have reached an optimum situation. The system works perfectly.? With currently close to a  quarter million drawings in the SWM distribution system, this is a quite remarkable statement. 

Despite the obvious advantages of accessing digital documents, there is still an archive containing many thousands of drawings on paper. This is for reasons of security - a major aspect when running a power plant. Malfunction of the computer network, or even breakdowns, could be disastrous if there were no analogue information backup. Also, taking a paper copy to a construction site will remain part of the daily routine. 

In cases where drawings are required, but there is no need to edit them, VPview software provides a quick means of viewing and printing drawings on the system.
 

A perfect combination: VPraster and VPview

Once again the myth of a "paperless? office, as forecast years ago, has been overtaken by reality. In many circumstances, paper documents are needed even if a digital information store has already been established. Sometimes the paper just makes sense. And sometimes new software is not  instantly accepted by their users,  as Rudolf Driessen reports: "With every new technology or solution there is internal resistance to change that we have to deal with. Often, a new workflow organization is looked upon quite skeptically by staff members and there is a fear that systems will become more complex and difficult to use. In the past our people lived through five general system changes in this particular field. It wasn?t easy for them. VPraster, however, received immediate approval and everybody actually seems to be almost enthusiastic working with it?. A better acknowledgment for both the software providers and the consultants is hard to imagine.