CIMdata PLM Industry Summary Online Archive
12 December 2005
Implementation Investments
Clark Nexsen Standardizes On GiveMePower Mobile and Wireless Field Solution After Completing US Navy Base Project 250% Faster
GiveMePower Corporation announced that Clark Nexsen, a architecture, engineering, planning and interior design firm, has standardized on GiveMePower's new PowerCAD® SiteMasterT 2 laser-based mobile and wireless building surveying solution, after using the system to reduce 'as-built' floor plan creation time by 50%, increase accuracy to 100% and to improve overall job productivity by 250% on the US Navy's 2.1 million square foot Dam Neck Annex naval air station project in Virginia Beach, Virginia.
"We didn't expect to see the first drawing until more than a month after Clark Nexsen delivered the entire project," said Michael Willette, Project Manager, GIS Division, Navy Public Works in Norfolk, VA. "By deploying leading-edge technologies like PowerCAD SiteMaster, they saved the US Navy and US taxpayers a lot of time and money."
Chronicled in a new case study, Clark Nexsen was awarded the US Navy contract to verify existing floor plans and collect new data for 2.1 million square feet at Dam Neck Annex in Virginia Beach, Virginia. Dam Neck is part of Naval Air Station (NAS) Oceana, one of the largest and most advanced air stations in the world, comprising 6,820 acres (including Dam Neck Annex). NAS Oceana's primary mission is to train and deploy the Navy's fighter/attack squadron-the F-14 Tomcats and the F/A-18 Hornets.
With compressed timelines and a long history of using the latest technology to improve customer service, Clark Nexsen took an innovative approach to streamlining the data collection and as-built floor plan creation process by harnessing GiveMePower's new PowerCAD® SiteMasterT 2 "Point-Shoot-Done" laser-based mobile and wireless field solution.
Replacing traditional tape measure and paper methods with PowerCAD SiteMaster 2 on Windows® XP tablet PCs and Leica DISTOT Plus Bluetooth® handheld lasers, Clark Nexsen crews and US Navy supervisors were able to collaboratively assess more than 2 million square feet of building space and create nearly 400,000 square feet of new 'as-built' floor plans for the Dam Neck Annex site more than a month ahead of schedule.
"SiteMaster let us create highly-detailed and amazingly-precise floor plans on site, in real-time and in AutoCAD-ready format 2-3 times faster than we could have using traditional measuring tape and paper methods. Frankly, it's hard to imagine doing building surveys any other way," claims Macklin Smith, AIA, Project Manager for Clark Nexsen.
By simply pointing the wireless handheld lasers, precise measurements within a tolerance of +/-0.1 inch over 650 feet were instantly transferred to PowerCAD SiteMaster where architecturally-rich 'as-built' floor plans, complete with "intelligent" walls, windows, doors, openings, areas, symbols and extended inspection details such as digital photos were added to the drawings in real-time on the tablet PCs.
By using PowerCAD SiteMaster on tablet PCs, Clark Nexsen crews were able to automatically create full-blown as-built AutoCAD drawings on the fly, with laser-generated data completely eliminating transposition errors by providing instant verification of results.
"We are absolutely satisfied with the technology and the amount of quality work that Clark Nexsen was able to deliver in such a short time," says Willette.
Smith concludes, "PowerCAD SiteMaster is our standard field system now. It makes everyone's life so much easier, it integrates with our existing software systems and the training and support offered by GiveMePower was excellent."
The entire case study can be read at http://www.givemepower.com/pdf/Clark_Nexsen_US_Navy_Case_Study_final.pdf .
PowerCAD SiteMaster 2 Product Info
Proven to increase productivity by up to 1,000% on jobs for McDonald's, Cartier, Deutsche Telecom and the US Navy, PowerCAD SiteMaster is revolutionizing the speed and ease by which new or 'as-built' floor plans, area calculations and inspection drawings are created for the design, maintenance, management and re-construction of buildings.
Primary users benefiting from the use of SiteMaster includes architects, appraisers, contractors, estimators, facility managers, inspectors, owners, planners and real estate brokers; as well as public officials who can now computerize the creation of up-to-date digital building plans for instant access by first responders and other public safety and security officials.
PowerCAD SiteMaster is part of GiveMePower's family of CAD AnywhereT 2D and 3D design, viewing and mobile/wireless collaboration solutions-each designed to save time and money in the office, in the field or on the shop floor. Other users benefiting from GiveMePower technologies include; AT&T, General Dynamics, Maytag, Penn State University, the United States Postal Service and other branches of the U.S. Military.
For more information on PowerCAD field and office software solutions, including specially bundled PowerCAD SiteMaster 2 hardware and software configurations, contact a GiveMePower Premier Solutions Provider, call 1-888-97-POWER or visit http://www.givemepower.com/products/powercad_sm.cfm .
Clark Nexsen is a full-service architectural, engineering, planning, and interior design firm headquartered in Norfolk, Virginia with branch offices located in Alexandria, and Roanoke Virginia and Charlotte, and Raleigh North Carolina. Clark Nexsen currently has a staff of over 300. With 85 years of experience, the firm has strived for maximum performance, and works to shape the future worldwide with a focus that remains constant in efforts to make projects work for their clients. For more information, visit http://www.clarknexsen.com .
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