Adoption is growing for AutoCAD Utility Design software. Yet many small and mid-size utilities—as well as engineering organizations that provide services to utilities—view deployment as a daunting challenge. This session will break down the core requirements for an AutoCAD Utility Design implementation and walk through a practical process to identify the requirements, plan a phased implementation, develop a test plan, and document use cases and job aids so designers can make practical use of the software.

Anchorage Municipal Light & Power (ML&P) is using a heavily customized AutoCAD Utility Design 2009 software system for electrical engineering design, and this is the story and lessons learned implementing AutoCAD Utility Design 2016 software. This solution currently integrates AutoCAD Utility Design software, AutoCAD Map 3D software, and the utility financial system. Late in 2014 ML&P contracted with Autodesk, Inc., to implement AutoCAD Utility Design 2016 software. ML&P's geographic information system (GIS) software from Autodesk was 3 years old and engineering was unable to upgrade Windows XP PCs until the AutoCAD Utility Design software upgrade was complete. The AutoCAD Utility Design Project Team streamlined engineering construction standards, flattened the GIS data, and rolled up the tracking of assets in the financial system. The most difficult part of the project was coming to terms how these 3 aspects were going to drive the most integral part of AutoCAD Utility Design 2016 software: the industry model. This implementation will integrate AutoCAD Utility Design 2016 software, Vault software, Laserfiche, AutoCAD Map 3D (GIS) software, and PowerPlant/PeopleSoft. AutoCAD Utility Design 2016 software users will see their design in 3D. ReCap 3D software models can be included to help the design process.

At Southern California Edison (SCE), we have standardized and obtained efficiencies in our design and engineering processes by using AutoCAD Utility Design software as our transmission and distribution graphical design tool. This class will present the approach used to unify our design process using AutoCAD Utility Design, beginning with external work management through the workflow and ending with the validation of the design and bills of materials that are being sent to an external work management system. Along the way, we will discuss accessing external mapping/GIS and SAP® asset information within AutoCAD Utility Design and as well as the tool's ability to ensure compliance with regulatory requirements throughout the design process. With an emphasis on realizing the benefits of an IPSEC-based (Initiate, Plan, Schedule, Execute, Close) work order lifecycle, we will also discuss SCE’s solution to transmission and distribution design interactivity through our estimating and material ordering phases and our approach to eliminating the need for manual entry directly into our SAP enterprise resource planning systems (ERP).

A growing number of utilities are adapting AutoCAD Utility Design software as their primary design tool for electrical utilities. Successful implementation and use requires some up-front planning and forethought. This class walks through the five major steps that are involved in most AutoCAD Utility Design projects and ties these steps to a comprehensive checklist of things to consider when using Utility Design. We will cover important concepts behind the model-based, rules-driven design, and you will understand how this powerful new product can be used at your utility. The checklist will go beyond the basics, covering both new and rehabilitation design projects, listing steps to resolve validation issues, defining locations for the material order, creating a staking sheet, and providing some useful tips and tricks. Major workflows will be illustrated with a brief demonstration and references will be made to Autodesk’s new “Trial Experience” videos so that you can go beyond what is presented in the class.

This roundtable session focuses on useful ideas for and the practical aspects of integrating AutoCAD Utility Design software into an Vault Professional software environment. The focus is on integrating the user-defined properties in Vault with related properties within Utility Design, and strategies to capitalize on Vault lifecycle states within the utility design lifecycle. Managing AutoCAD Utility Design template files and producing useful reports is also included. The emphasis is on practical ideas that can benefit any organization considering combining Vault and AutoCAD Utility Design.

This class will discuss and demonstrate the concepts of using AutoCAD Utility Design software's Data Exchange (DX) functionality. Using DX, we can attach to feature data object (FDO) and industry model geographic information system (GIS) data stores to pull as-built data into an AutoCAD Utility Design project to be used as the basis for that design. DX enables us to create mappings between our external data store and the internal AutoCAD Utility Design industry model and this mapping is used when importing and exporting data. During this class we will connect to a job-enabled AutoCAD Map 3D software electric industry model, map its feature classes to our AutoCAD Utility Design feature classes, and import data. We will then edit some of those features, remove some of those features, and create new AutoCAD Utility Design features and export that data back into an AutoCAD Map 3D software job. Finally, we will look at the imported data in AutoCAD Map 3D software.

In this class, we discuss how we implemented AutoCAD Utility Design software at Colorado Springs Utilities (CSU). We cover strategies for implementing the software to include processes, from design to asset realization. We cover AutoCAD Utility Design standardization, uniform processes and data flow, and how we incorporated them into upstream and downstream workflows to produce reliable engineering designs. CSU is also implementing the system for gas distribution design.

The new generation of AutoCAD Utility Design software introduced rules-driven, model-based design to the utility industry. The rules engine within Utility Design provides enormous flexibility within a structured framework to create, edit, and manage the design rules. This hands-on lab provides you with an overview of the rules engine and then focuses on several examples of practical rule definition for styling, material ordering, cost estimation, and feature identifiers. In addition, we discuss practical considerations for defining and managing rules.

Colorado Springs Utilities (CSU) will discuss implementation strategies of AutoCAD Utility Design 2014 software, from gas design to asset realization. Topics that CSU will cover include: AutoCAD Utility Design software's gas configuration when an out-of-the-box template does not exist; uniform process through key functions; data flow; and incorporation into upstream and downstream workflow to produce reliable enterprise engineering designs.

You decide to implement new software into your business process. You define requirements, design, and development, and then you unit test. You hand it over to Quality Assurance. In several months, you will be ready show the business and they can validate through user acceptance testing. Right? Not necessarily! Do it all up front with the agile methodology. NV Energy made the decision to leave the waterfall mindset behind. Listen to a proven success story of implementing a large design tool on time and on budget with the commitment of business, IT, and development.

The first and foremost workflow in utilities is to enable the designers to access as-built information from mapping and/or GIS systems. This roundtable session covers the capabilities of Autodesk Utility Design 2014 software and its data exchange framework for integrating with external as-built data. The complete round-trip workflow enables users to track and merge back information without loss of data fidelity in the translation process.

In this roundtable session, we present the story of Seattle City Light's vision and decision-making in implementing model-based design using AutoCAD® Utility Design software. This case study presents the development of the business case that utilities must consider when moving towards model-based design. In this session, we also describe new workflows and outline challenges of dealing with a downtown meshed network and a looped-radial network together in a single design tool. Come and discuss potential implementation of AutoCAD Utility Design at your utility.

Learn how Southern California Edison uses AutoCAD software-based drafting tools to produce designs in a rapidly changing industry. This class discusses how the Transmission and Distribution groups produce work order packages using the AutoCAD Utility Design tool, resulting in greater consistency, accuracy, standardization, and ability to feed downstream processes in the enterprise. We also discuss how designs are initiated and how engineering tools feed into the final design within a tightly integrated network. All of these processes occur within the context of enterprise-level resource planning, and the downstream systems such as mapping, GIS, and SAP® that consume design data, including design validations, material ordering, scheduling, and construction. This class also examines future design elements in the industry, such as cloud-based computing, 3D renderings, and data point clouds.

In this class, you learn how Southern California Edison (SCE) uses industry standards and the Multi Planar Pulling Tension (MPPT) utility to optimize workflows and the use of materials. We describe how SCE has encapsulated their engineering standards into the design tool to ensure consistency and constructability of designs and to improve knowledge transfer and adoption of standards by new and existing design staff. We then demonstrate how the engineering analysis in AutoCAD® Utility Design 2014 software can be configured to accommodate SCE's specific requirements. You will understand how to configure AutoCAD Utility Design with your own engineering analysis standards that have been used for decades. You will also learn to adjust and optimize your workflows and tools based on the lessons learned at SCE.

Utilizing point clouds from several different reality-capture methods (including photogrammetry, tripod-mounted laser scanners, handheld laser scanners, ground-penetrating radar, aerial LiDAR (light detection and ranging), and 3D underground locates) we will generate 3D designs in AutoCAD Utility Design software. Linework and terrain models generated from point clouds in AutoCAD Civil 3D software will be imported into AutoCAD Utility Design software to automate 3D design and elevations by accurately referencing 3D design elements to the terrain. We will reference in several other point clouds from different reality-capture methods, and generate 3D designs based off of the geometry of these point clouds. This will include aligning proposed underground utilities to existing underground utilities based off of point cloud geometry, and adjusting alignments of underground utility routes based off of 3D alignments of other utilities. This class is a good follow up to "Capturing Reality: Incorporating Reality Capture into AutoCAD Utility Design and Use in SUE" This session features AutoCAD Utility Design, AutoCAD Civil 3D, and ReCap 360.

Hark! The voice of the customer calleth!  Join a highly interactive class focusing on distribution design. This class will focus on AutoCAD® Utility Design software and will provide users the opportunity to collaborate on product capabilities, implementation, and more. We will cover the following topics: new user highlights, capabilities (tools and features, configuration, integration), data exchange (geospatial data, civil surfaces), engineering data management, and breaking down barriers to get from old to new. We will also provide a sneak preview of technology futures, such as 3D design innovations, transmission, and more.

This class shows how after you create an electrical design in AutoCAD® Utility Design software, you also need to create a single-line circuit design using dynamic blocks and linetypes to provide visual connectivity for utility crews to use while installing the equipment associated with the design. A single-line drawing provides the best detail in the energizing/installation process at the equipment level and shows connectivity all the way back to the substation. When an overhead pole is designed with TV/telephone/primary/secondary, you can create the service risers attached to the pole using riser details and dynamically place them in the model space design. These features save time by enabling crews to know in which quadrant the customer or crews are to install the risers.

A common theme in electric utilities is that every process has its own software, and every software has its own process. This makes for time-consuming days and the expense of more software for everyone. In this class, you learn how Northeast Nebraska Public Power District alleviated this very problem with Autodesk® solutions and a little bit of code. What used to be a manual process composed of paper and pencil drawings (you read that right!), Microsoft® Excel® spreadsheets, and lots of tabs in their financial system has been transformed into a simple process that is all done in the AutoCAD® Utility Design software environment. Now work order management, staking, engineering, and material ordering are all achieved in the software the designers know best.

This class will cover data-gathering methods related to utility design. Typical data gathering may include topo survey, photos, and site visits. The future of making things includes using all the available methods to gather previously unreachable data and importing it into design. This is done using current methods, i.e., survey, incorporating 3D models from photogrammetry, LiDAR (light detection and ranging), GPR (ground penetrating radar), and electromagnetic locating. By using some or all of these technologies and harnessing them through Autodesk, Inc., software, we can present a view both above and below the ground, enabling designers to see things in a whole new way. This class will introduce basic capture concepts for LiDAR, GPR, photogrammetry, and electromagnetic locating to create a 3D model using ReCap software. We can import this ReCap software model into InfraWorks software to be incorporated into design. We will briefly go over using Autodesk 360 cloud-computing platform and Memento software as well.

This class covers a typical utility workflow using Autodesk Infrastructure Design Suite, highlighting its top new features and benefits. The workflow uses AutoCAD® Raster Design and AutoCAD® Map 3D software to gather and edit base data, such as aerial images, CAD drawings, and GIS data, including electric industry models. Analysis tools help identify potential areas and corridors for electric assets. Autodesk® Infrastructure Modeler software uses the data for a large-scale 3D model that combines the "What is" situation with "What could be" proposals. Conceptual designs of 3D overhead distribution networks, windmills or solar panels, buildings, and vegetation provide sophisticated visualizations for decision makers. A precise, model-based electric network is designed with AutoCAD® Utility Design based on these proposals. Standards-driven workflows and rules-based analysis tools ensure a network design with consistency and reliability.