The CSWD will meet the demand for CAD Standards
CAD is widely employed by the construction industry and has become the "fool of the trade" for drawing production. The communication of drawing information between Government and its consultants, contractors and suppliers will inevitably be in the form of CAD data. Demand for CAD drawings and hence a common CAD standard has increased substantially over recent years.The CSWD will establish a communication platform for CAD data
The CSWD will meet the construction industry's expectation that Government should take the lead in the formulation of CAD standards. The CSWD will establish a communication platform for CAD data, which is in line with the Construction Industry Review Committee's recommendations contained in its report submitted to the Chief Executive in January 2001.The CSWD will prevent data loss
The current situation, whereby many different CAD standards are used, results in information loss when data is transferred between parties. Data loss can typically occur through the use of different fonts and different line-styles. Incorrect transfer of Chinese text is also a common problem. The CSWD will minimise loss of data when transferred.Environmental benefits
In order to avoid the problems that can occur through data loss due to different standards, hardcopy transfers are often used instead. It is the Government policy to promote environmental awareness and growing requirements for departments to minimise hard copies. This can effectively be achieved by asking consultants and contractors to submit drawings in digital form rather than in hardcopy. A common standard will facilitate data consistency and integrity in the exchange process and also enable efficient checking of drawings.Improved Communication will result in better co-ordination
The CSWD will facilitate improved communications between the various parties involved in the construction industry. This increase in the amount of data transferred between disciplines and organisations will result in fewer errors due to poor translations, redraws of others' data or even not having information available. This will all lead to improved co-ordination. When data can be properly structured and easily moved between disciplines then co-ordination will be greatly increased. The savings will not only come in the drawing office but also on site, where abortive work and delays due, for example, to clashes between services and structures, will be greatly reduced. The potential savings here are enormous.CAD Data will be consistent throughout the life-cycle of a project
The ability to readily transfer data between the participating departments and the stakeholders, without effort-consuming post-processing will greatly encourage the re-use of the data throughout the life-cycle of a project. In practical terms, this means that graphic elements created in the early stages of a project will be re-used, without copying or being redrawn, through the whole life-cycle of the project, even through to facility management once the scheme is complete. This will not only provide benefits in terms of efficient drawing production but, more importantly, it will ensure greater accuracy as mistakes made in copying or recreating data will be avoided.Data will be useable in other systems
The structuring of CAD data according to the proposed modified CI/SfB coding system together with an allowance for the addition of attribute data to the graphic elements will significantly increase the usefulness of the data for purposes such as quantities take-off and facility management. Efficiency increases in the work of associated disciplines such as quantity surveyors will result.A Structured library of drawing symbols will be provided
A comprehensive, rationalised and structured set of drawing symbols, covering all construction disciplines will be formed for use with the CSWD. The availability of these standard symbols will save time in users having to search for appropriate symbols or even create new symbols. In addition, confusion caused by the use of the same symbol for different elements or different symbols for the same element will be eradicated.Improved efficiency will result from a common set of standards
While it is recognised that there will be a time and cost penalty in users familiarising themselves with the CSWD, once this initial hurdle is overcome then significant benefits will accrue. Users will not have to learn new standards for each Government project on which they work. Should CAD operators move between Government departments or other organisations then re-training will not be required.Adherence with Standards will be made simple through a Standard interface
It is intended to develop a Standard Interface under a subsequent activity to the CSWD Study. The purpose of the Standard Interface will be to cover all aspects of drawing production to the CSWD and be user-friendly, effective and efficient. The Standard Interface, which will be made available to all Stakeholders, will: