September 16, 2003 - The United States Army Corps of Engineers CADD/GIS Technology Center has chosen NetSPEX from Professional Software Solutions (ProSoft) for the management and implementation of its computer-aided design standards for AutoCAD and MicroStation.

The CADD/GIS Technology Center and its federal partners will use NetSPEX to deploy the A/E/C CADD Standard to AutoCAD and MicroStation users nationwide. According to Harold Smith, Chief of the CADD/GIS Technology Center, "The ability to manage, update, and distribute the A/E/C CADD Standard across multiple offices using MicroStation and AutoCAD was a major consideration in the selection of NetSPEX as our CAD standards management solution. We have a large number of offices and projects with a growing need to manage CAD standards and check for compliance." NetSPEX will go a long way to improve the adoption and success of the A/E/C CADD Standard.

The CADD/GIS Technology Center developed the A/E/C CADD Standard in order to reduce redundant CAD standardization efforts among its federal partners. The standard is part of an initiative to consolidate existing CAD drafting standards into a format generic enough to operate under various CAD software packages (such as MicroStation and AutoCAD) and to incorporate existing industry and national standards.

NetSPEX is a database-driven, web-enabled design environment used to facilitate CAD standards enforcement and project collaboration among local, remote, and external design teams. NetSPEX will allow the Center to develop, manage, deploy, and verify CAD standards from a single database. NetSPEX includes the complete A/E/C CADD Standard, developed by the CADD/GIS Technology Center, as well as the ability to create and customize deployments. NetSPEX modifies the user interface automatically to display a different set of CAD standards based on the discipline, drawing type, and CAD standard branded to each particular drawing.

Additional reasons cited for choosing NetSPEX:

1) NetSPEX will allow deployment of the A/E/C CADD Standard inside AutoCAD and MicroStation. The NetSPEX Designer interface looks and acts exactly the same on both CAD platforms, vastly simplifying standards enforcement and compliance checking. Using NetSPEX, all users will have access to the same set of symbols (cells/blocks), line styles, layer names, etc.

2) Each office using NetSPEX will have the ability to use the A/E/C CADD Standard deployed in XML format on a mirror server connected to the CADD/GIS Technology Center, or to work with derivatives of the A/E/C CADD Standard, modified and stored on a local server. Mirror servers (when implemented) are updated automatically by NetSPEX over the WAN or Internet.

3) The NetSPEX Deliverable Workspace option provides access to the correct tools, resources, and standards-compliant drawing components for users who are not connected to the LAN, WAN, or Internet. Users might include CAD operators at remote offices, off-line field workers, project managers, and sub-contractors. Off-line users are able to draw according to standard in both AutoCAD and MicroStation and check for standards compliance before submitting their work.

4) NetSPEX includes a CAD standards documentation wizard, which can be used to create an HTML or hardcopy manual of any CAD standard, a particular drawing discipline, or a drawing type from the NetSPEX CAD standards database. Users will be able to print discipline and drawing type lists, layer schemes, or symbols, using AutoCAD or MicroStation terminology.

5) Users will be able to check drawings for CAD standards compliance in AutoCAD and MicroStation, both internally and as work is received from sub-consultants. The NetSPEX Compliance Checker can also be used for reporting on CAD standards compliance and even to bring legacy drawings into compliance with a given specification. NetSPEX can check a drawing for CAD standards compliance - component-by-component, for individual drawing types or disciplines - without the limitation of checking against one monolithic CAD standard.

According to Mark Anderson, President of ProSoft, "The implementation of NetSPEX offers a good solution for both CAD managers and users. NetSPEX addresses the complex issues of CAD standards development, distribution, compliance checking, and synchronization. Managers of the A/E/C CADD Standard will gain a powerful set of administration tools plus the ability to distribute standards real-time. CAD users will achieve greater productivity and consistency using NetSPEX, while realizing faster turnaround when requesting changes to CAD standards or beginning new projects."

About The CADD/GIS Technology Center

The CADD/GIS Technology Center was established to promote CADD/GIS and FM technology applications. The Center is located at the U.S. Army Engineer Research and Development Center, Information Technology Laboratory, Vicksburg, Mississippi. The Center is responsible for coordinating facilities, infrastructure, and environmental use of Computer-Aided Design and Drafting and Geographic Information Systems (CADD/GIS) activities within the Department of Defense (DoD) and with other participating governmental (federal, state and local) agencies, and the private sector. This includes setting standards, promoting system integration, supporting centralized acquisition, and providing assistance for the installation, training, operation, and maintenance of CADD/GIS and facilities management (FM) systems. Federal partners include: the Army, the Navy, the Air Force, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, the Coast Guard, U.S. Marine Corps, National Imagery and Mapping Agency, the Smithsonian Institution, the National Institute of Building Sciences, U.S. Geological Society, NASA, GSA, DLA, and EPA.

For more information, please contact the Center at (601) 634-4109 or visit http://tsc.wes.army.mil/.

About ProSoft and E3Synergy

Founded in 1985, ProSoft is the developer of NetSPEX, the first system of its kind designed to develop, manage, deploy, and verify multiple CAD standards enterprise-wide. ProSoft distributes NetSPEX through a network of resellers. E3Synergy, founded in 1984 and headquartered in Baltimore, Maryland, is responsible for the marketing, sales, implementation, and support of the NetSPEX technologies in DE, DC, MD, PA, VA, WV, MI, OH, and IN.

For more information, please contact Mark Richards, at 410-594-1500, 800-910-7316 (toll-free), e-mail netspex@e3synergy.com or visit us at www.e3synergy.com.

NetSPEX is a trademark of Professional Software Solutions. SiteMenu is a registered trademark of Professional Software Solutions. MicroStation is a registered trademark of Bentley Systems. AutoCAD is a registered trademark of Autodesk.

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