"Civil 3D - Paving the Way" Moving

As many of my friends have noticed, I'm in the process of rebuilding "Civil 3D - Paving the Way" to give me the opportunity to reach a more diverse audience, with a more diverse set of tools.

By moving the blog to a new domain, I'll be able to offer richer content and the opportunity to offer an open FTP site, video blogs (and podcasts), a video database of technical support solutions, and of course, regular posts.

You'll also notice a new name: "Paving the Way." My articles in the past have reached an audience I couldn't have possibly forseen - from NASA, to the DOT's, the Imagineers at Disney, designers, engineers, and technicians learning advanced design tools, students learning to draw for the first time, some of the largest firms in the world, and a guy outside of Oklahoma City starting a business in a trailer he rents by the month. By changing the name to simply "Paving the Way," I hope to continue to reach an audience across the globe, from all walks of life, that have, or are in the process of, Paving their own Way to success through hard work, dedication, and a little help from a guy with a decent blog.

This will be my final post on "Civil 3D - Paving the Way," I look forward to seeing you at our new home!

Cheers!
Scott

SRTM data and Google Earth

I've written about this in the past, but thought it was time to revisit the topic.

SRTM = Shuttle Radar Topography Mission, it's what drives the topo behind Google Earth.

On February 11, 2000, the Shuttle Radar Topography Mission payload onboard Space Shuttle Endeavour launched into space. Leica made the EDM, Daimler Crysler Aerospace made the radars. With its radars sweeping most of the Earth's surfaces, SRTM acquired enough data during its ten days of operation to obtain the most complete near-global high-resolution database of the Earth's topography. A 10 day mission almost 9 years ago. How often is the data updated? It's not... for the most part. While the data may be more accurate than the standard DEM derived from a USGS QUAD, it's simply not practical for design use. The project was aiming to maintain an accuracy of 16 meters vertically.

Keep in mind, the STRM project had no ground control. Up and over every building, every highway, every house, every tree. Several algorithms were used to interpolate data in void areas (as well as other areas), but make no mistake, the areas were interpolated.

Google Earth offers us an incredible resource for downloading topo data, but be advised, while the availability of the data is significant for many reasons, the data has been massaged, interpolated, massaged again, and algorithmed to death.

Feeling rather geeky? Check out this article by Frank Clowes of Penn State University. At the bottom of the page, you'll also find a link to an SRTM kmz file for use in Google Earth that will give you direct access to the SRTM data. Keep in mind the formatting is a recognized USGS format.

Cheers

It's not a secret

That MAP 3D and therefore Civil 3D can run into display issues working with FDO data; this is data you attach, not data you import - data you import is an entirely different story :)



You attach data, adjust transparency, plot, and see a black mass. This may be because the MAPPLOTTRANSPARENCY variable is turned off. To turn it on type MAPPLOTTRANSPARENCY and turn it on.

In some cases, the transparency still won't show, that could be due to your plot settings.

In any case, a service pack was released a short time ago, but the service pack has created another issue in some cases. When you switch to a 3D view, certain FDO based Display Manager layers may fail to display, but this apparently only occurs if you have AutoCAD Map 3D 2009 Update 1 installed. To resolve the issue, visit the page where the hotfix is posted.

Cheers

Change

At the end of last week the firm I've spent the past several years with was forced to make a very difficult decision, and my position was dissolved.

I'm not sure how to begin to thank everyone for your calls, your e-mail, and your concerns; I've made so many friends in this business throughout the years - I feel exceptionally blessed.

Thank you all so much!

The next few weeks will undoubtedly bring change, but if I've learned anything over the years, change is good for the soul, and change can be managed. My e-mail won't change, my blog won't change, I'll still see you at Autodesk University, and I'll continue to do the only work I know how (well... not really, I'm decent with a 90lb. jackhammer and I can slump test concrete, but that's another story)!

Please don't hesitate to contact me - I'll keep you posted!

smceachron@gmail.com

Change is in the air

A wise man once said, "I can't change the direction of the wind. But I can adjust my sails..."

AU Speaker Sessions

My 6th year teaching at Autodesk University, what an honor! The following is a breakdown of my classes:

CV210-1P The Art of Implementing AutoCAD Civil 3D (Power Track)
Wednesday, December 03, 2008 at 1:00pm

Abstract: "Introducing Civil 3D into your production processes may seem like an overwhelming task; it's not. The software is well-documented and surprisingly simple to use. It’s quickly becoming the tool of choice for any land development project. As a direct result of this, the trained user base is growing exponentially. Civil 3D is not difficult to wrap your head around, but change is. Join Scott as he reveals the secrets to successfully implementing Civil 3D in firms of all sizes."


CV314-3 Three Sheets to the Wind: Plan Production Tools in AutoCAD Civil 3D
Thursday, December 04, 2008 at 3:00pm

Abstract: "The Plan Production tools in AutoCAD Civil 3D 2008 were worth the wait! These tools are incredibly powerful, yet easy to use. This class will teach you to unlock the secrets of sheet production, so you can blow your competition away!"

The Art of Implementation

The overall success of a Civil 3D Implementation depends on people quickly discovering for themselves what goals to set and what to do to achieve them. When approached from this standpoint, the work is more rewarding for the people involved.

There are three keys to a rapid results initiative:

1. Must be results oriented
2. Must be vertical
3. Must be fast

Results Oriented
Determine a single goal, and work toward producing a measurable result.

For example: You can’t define your goal as “Implementing Civil 3D.” The goal is too broad, and doesn’t resolve a business issue – don’t make change for change sake. Instead, set your sights on something like: “Increase productivity by 25% over the next 3 months.”

This results oriented approach is important for three reasons. First, it allows project planners to test whether activities in the overall plan will add up to the intended result and allows them to alter the plans as needed. Second, it produces real benefits in the short term. Finally, being able to deliver results is rewarding and energizing. Increasing or maintaining self-esteem and pleasure are strong motivators for engaging in learning experiences.

Vertical
Implementation plans typically unfold as a series of activities represented on a horizontal timeline (Gantt chart). By contrast, rapid-results initiatives encompass vertical slices of several horizontal activities running in tandem in a short timeframe – an effort including people from different teams within an organization (or even different organizations). This vertical approach is more of an exercise in creativity, but is necessary to foster the growth of out of the box thinkers. And when change happens, you’ll need out of the box thinkers.

Fast
Rapid results initiatives are intended to deliver quick wins. The short time frame fosters a sense of personal challenge and accomplishment.