Through
the integration of a Document Management System and the Engineering
Design Software, Croswell Engineers maximises the value of
the design data across the entire organisation. The Design
team collaboration tools increase productivity, saving time
and money through faster information searches, project cycles
with fewer errors, allowing for a more efficient design optimisation
Croswell
Engineers goes one step further by efficiently exchanging
information with outside Consultants and our Customers, through
a Document Management System that allows secure access through
a Web interface. This gives a significant competitive advantage
and increased profitability.
1. Autodesk
Engineering Design Office
Croswell
Engineers have deployed a complete Autodesk Engineering Design
office environment utilising:
AutoCAD
Land
Development Desktop
AutoDesk's
Civil Design
Forms the foundation for collaborative design and allows for
the unlocking of the design data at every step of the way
and with powerful design tools to enhance productivity and
performance. It is a powerful 2D and 3D design and drafting
platform that automates our design tasks, and provides a digital
tool that helps focus on the design. There is total integration
with outside Architects, Engineers, Draughters and other design-related
professionals who use AutoCAD to create, view, manage, plot,
share, and reuse accurate, information-rich drawings.
Map is optimised for precision mapping and geographic information
system (GIS) analysis, with the tools needed to create, produce,
and maintain maps and geographic information.
Land development projects require the skills of numerous design
professionals: land and urban planners, surveyors, civil engineers
etc. Projects move more efficiently from the initial design
phase all the way to final documentation as we not only have
drawings on which to explore design scenarios, but we also
work within centralised project structure, which streamlines
the process. All critical data points, terrain models, parcels,
and alignments are stored in a central location where others
can access them to create drawings. So if a project changes,
the entire project team can react quickly, all working from
the same data.
Land
Desktop provides a land-based design solution with;
Topographic
analysis functionality
-
Powerful, intuitive tools for mapping, planning, editing,
and visualization.
-
Real-world coordinate systems
Digital
Terrain Models
- Create,
analyse, and visualize terrain models.
-
Calculate volumes and contours
Powerful
Land Planning Tools
- Define
and edit Land sub-divisions.
Roadway
geometry
- Create
and label COGO points
-
Define plan alignments that represent roads, rails, and channels.
Seamlessly integrates with Autodesk Land Desktop software,
and provides over and above the point management, terrain
modelling and contouring, and alignments etc. with the ability
to;
Earthworks
- Automate
cut / fill balancing.
-
Automate design of ponds, parking lots, building pads, and
more with grading objects.
-
Calculate daylight lines automatically with user-defined slopes,
targets, and footprint
criteria.
Specify grading of various target regions, including match
surface, relative
elevation,
and horizontal offsets.
-
Derive terrain models, break-lines, and cut/fill volumes automatically.
- Evaluate
and refine complex grading scenarios using powerful objects
that react
automatically
to design changes.
Roadway
geometry
- Work interactively
between plan, profile, and sectional designs to solve road
engineering
challenges
-
Design roads more quickly and intelligently, using the new
Vertical Alignment Editor
and
superimpose profile functions
-
Apply design rules, complex super-elevation control, transitional
strings, and
sectional
criteria when designing all details of a road.
Runoff
Analysis
- Calculate
surface-water runoff with a variety of standard methodologies,
including
TR-55,
TR-20, SCS unit hydrograph, and rational.
-
Retrieve critical data, such as slopes and key elevations,
directly from the terrain
model.
-
Customize rainfall-frequency and runoff-curve number editors
to match local or
project
standards.
-
Import and export hydrographs across systems. Extract, import,
export, and plot
HEC2
cross-sections and profiles.
Pipe-work
- Design,
analyse, and draft sanitary and storm drain systems
-
Manipulate designs graphically, using database edits, or within
tabular editor.
-
Retrieve contributing flow values from calculated run-off
values.
-
Draw both conceptual and finished drafted systems in plan,
profile, and section
modes.
-
Calculate critical design data including hydraulic and energy
grade-lines, system
capacity,
and minimum and maximum coverage and slopes.
Ponds
and Drainage Structures
- Create
storage ponds based on defined profile, slopes, and required
volume.
-
Calculate stage-storage curves and detention-basin storage.
-
Use storage-indication method to analyse pre-curves and post-curves,
as well as
stage-storage
and stage-discharge curves.
-
Attach outflow structures to ponds.
-
Size and analyse pipes, culverts, channels, wires, and more
within graphical editor.
2. HEC-RAS
Hydraulic Analysis
As
evidenced by the development of tools that enable proper analysis
of river systems,
floodplain
modeling is more important than ever before. Current regulations
require a
hydraulic
analysis prior to development or construction in a floodplain.
To aid in accurate
floodplain
modeling we use the Hydrologic Engineering Center-River Analysis
System
(HEC-RAS).
HEC-RAS is considered the standard
by most engineers routinely involved in river hydraulics
modeling.
3. Haestad
Methods WaterCAD
WaterCAD
is a sophisticated tool that enables engineers to analyse
and manage distribution
networks
with unprecedented accuracy and efficiency with a complete
geographic information management
system for water network analysis.
- Full,
seamless integration with AutoCAD means that the combined
functionality of each
program
is available from within the AutoCAD interface.
-
WaterCAD elements are fully accessible to all AutoCAD tools
and commands to analyse
water
quality, determine fire flow requirements and calibrate large
distribution networks.
-
It also provides the data management tools necessary for handling
the enormous
amount
of data required for hydraulic modelling.
SewerCAD is a sophisticated tool
that enables engineers to analyse and manage distribution
networks with unprecedented accuracy
and efficiency with a complete geographic information management
system for sewer network analysis.
- Full,
seamless integration with AutoCAD means that the combined
functionality of each
program
is available from within the AutoCAD interface.
-
WaterCAD elements are fully accessible to all AutoCAD tools
and commands to analyse
water
quality, determine fire flow requirements and calibrate large
distribution networks.
-
It also provides the data management tools necessary for handling
the enormous amount
of
data required for hydraulic modelling.
4.
Microsoft's Office Professional
This powerful suite allows our documents
to be compatible on any workstation.
5.
Reticmaster
Advanced Electrical
Design
The electrical department uses an
advanced software application for Radial Electrical Network
Analysis, called Reticmaster, which
calculates load flows (current and voltage) and fault levels,
amongst others, for high voltage
(132kV) down to low voltage (400/230V) networks.
This program
is
used for all Croswell Engineers’ new residential, commercial
and industrial developments.
We
are
presently using the “unlimited busbar/node” version
of the program, which allows
for planning
and
analysis of extensive new estates and other development schemes.
