Visualization Technology Keeps Defense Contractor on Fast Track |
Virginia Beach, VA – Imagine being called upon to work on a vessel as complex as America’s newest aircraft carrier, the U.S.S. Ronald Reagan. Or a nuclear submarine that stays submerged for months at a time. Or one of hundreds of other sea- and land-based assets managed by the United States Department of Defense, and that could be called into action at any given moment. That is the daily work of AMSEC LLC, a $300 million services company based in Virginia Beach, Virginia. AMSEC’s world is one of strictly monitored budgets, intractable deadlines, and an almost unimaginable level of product complexity. "Our capabilities," says David Stein, Consulting Systems Analyst / Software Applications, "include advanced engineering and design, prototyping, logistics analysis and implementation, software development, systems engineering, systems integration, training & technical support, and more." To be successful, the company draws upon not only the most talented and resourceful people in the country – many of them retired Navy personnel – but also the most advanced tools and technologies. One of them is a web-based data viewer called AutoVue from Cimmetry Systems, and it has already proven its worth. Business problem: dealing with multiple model, drawing, and file types "The problem we were experiencing here at AMSEC," explains Stein, "is that people in our various offices needed to view files in a wide variety of proprietary formats." The vast majority of AMSEC’s work is done with AutoCAD 2000/2004, but the company also works with other CAD formats including CATIA, SolidWorks, and Pro/ENGINEER… business software such as Visio, PDF, and Microsoft Office… and specialized formats used by the government such as CGM, MIL, and CALS. "Many of our software vendors offer their own proprietary viewers – some of them were free, and some of them we had to pay for," relates Stein. "We suddenly found ourselves trying to maintain half a dozen different viewers with constantly changing revision levels. It became a nightmare to administer, not only because of revision levels, but also because the tool set -– what you could and couldn’t do with the viewer – varied dramatically from vendor to vendor. Each viewer also had a different interface, so there was a learning curve issue as well. Imagine asking an AutoCAD user to suddenly use a CATIA viewer and expect them to start thinking in terms of CATIA. It just wasn’t realistic." Stein continues, "We had to find some alternative that streamlined the set of tools that we were using to view file formats, make sure it was easy to deploy, and ensure that it was updated regularly so that it kept pace with all of the different software packages that we use." Solution: bridge the gap using a single viewing technology The solution, AMSEC concluded, was to standardize on a single viewing technology, and it chose AutoVue Solid Model Professional for Java. "Since this is a web-based technology," says Stein, "we had virtually no client side headaches. Anyone with web access inside AMSEC could make use of this viewer, and it’s most definitely a ‘plug and play’ technology. We haven’t had a single phone call or email from anyone complaining that they couldn’t figure out how to use it. To the contrary, our greatest challenge has been letting as many people within AMSEC as possible know that this viewer is available to them." Why not just standardize on a single CAD package? Someone not familiar with AMSEC’s business model might wonder why the company didn’t just standardize on a single CAD package, rather than use multiple products and have to rely on a viewing technology to link them all. The reality is that different CAD packages predominate at AMSEC’s 20 plus offices. Some of the ties to particular CAD packages are historical, some are driven by the nature of the work done at each location, and some are driven by the preference of the particular customer. So migrating to a single CAD package simply wasn’t an option. Add to that the fact that there would be significant lost productivity as hundreds of people suddenly had to learn a new CAD package. Learning curve for AutoVue: "Almost zero." By making one simple change – introducing the AutoVue product – AMSEC could allow people to continue using their CAD product of choice. There was no disruption in the workflow whatsoever. People learned to use AutoVue on the fly, with no special training. "The learning curve for this product," comments Stein, "is almost zero." Mid-level managers use AutoVue to review status, verify designs So who’s using this AutoVue product at AMSEC, and what are they doing with it? The answer, reports Stein, is that AutoVue has become a widely used tool by middle management and non-technical users. "We’re constantly under time pressure to deliver projects," relates Stein, "so the last thing we wanted to do was interrupt people on the production line by having them answer customers’ questions all the time. By providing access to AutoVue, mid-level management, in particular, is now better able to handle all of the back-and-forth communication with customers. They can quickly and easily open and view any file in virtually any format." Most of the time, Stein reports, managers are using AutoVue to review status or verify a design. Future possibilities: redlining, online collaboration So far, AMSEC has been using AutoVue as a "view only" solution, not taking advantage of the product’s many other capabilities, including redlining and collaboration. That’s not due to any technical limitation, but simply due to the fact that old habits die hard. "Those are certainly capabilities we plan to explore in the future," reports Stein, "but for now, people still prefer to print things out and mark them up on paper. It’s a cultural thing, an ongoing debate about viewing things on the screen versus printing it out. I’ve actually used AutoVue’s redlining tools myself, and I would say they are as good as any that I have seen." Speaking of paper, one AutoVue feature in particular that is widely used at AMSEC is batch printing. We may live in an increasingly electronic world, but Stein reports that paper is still king. "We often have to produce drawing and document sets for customers that run 300 or 400 pages. So being able to batch-print through AutoVue is both convenient and saves us a lot of time." Holding up in real-world production environments While many software products demonstrate well, how they perform in real-world production environments is often a very different story. Not so with AutoVue, says Stein. "We have yet to have a technical problem on the client side that has interrupted production." He continues, "The ability to access AutoVue through a standard web browser from anywhere on our network has been incredibly valuable to our business." Beyond how the product works on a daily basis, AMSEC was concerned about how well AutoVue would be updated and supported over time. Would it really keep pace every time AutoCAD, Pro/ENGINEER, or SolidWorks introduced a new version of software? To AMSEC’s surprise, the answer has been yes. "A surprisingly responsive company that’s eager to deliver on its promises" "Cimmetry doesn’t drive you crazy putting out a new release every month. They put out more substantial releases just a few times a year, and they install and work flawlessly. Each successive release is without question superior to the release that preceded it." Stein continues, "Cimmetry is a surprisingly responsive company that’s eager to deliver on its promises. They’re ready and willing to work with customers to make the product better. They’re doing a very good job of putting new features into each new release." "Based on price versus features, I would have to rate AutoVue as a 10 out of 10 compared to similar products that we evaluated." "Tangible, positive impact on our production and bottom line" So has the move to AutoVue been a good thing for AMSEC? Has it had a positive impact on business? The answer is a resounding yes, according to Stein. "With budgets getting tighter every year, our customers continually expect us to step up to the plate and provide better quality results in less time and within budget. AutoVue helps us to meet and exceed those expectations." Stein continues, "We were able to implement AutoVue quickly and at low cost. The support for so many diverse data formats has greatly expanded our capability to respond to our customers faster and with more flexibility than ever before." "AutoVue," concludes Stein, "has had a tangible, positive impact on production and on AMSEC’s bottom line." AMSEC’s future: widespread use of AutoVue AMSEC introduced the AutoVue product into its production environment two years ago. Today, it’s used by perhaps a hundred staff members spread across more than a dozen different locations. So what does the future hold for the company? More widespread use of AutoVue, Stein believes. "Eventually," says Stein, virtually every AMSEC site will be using this product." |