Autodesk customer success story Civil & Environmental Consultants

You can do as many as five plans in the time it used to take to do one or two. AutoCAD Civil 3D helps us use our creativity to explore ideas more fully and in a shorter amount of time. We save time, and are able to devote more energy to adding value. — Dave Diable

CAD Manager Civil & Environmental Consultants, Inc.

Introduction Civil & Environmental Consultants, Inc. (CEC) is a company of professionals who provide comprehensive, industry-focused consulting services that address the unique needs of clients. CEC is organized around multidisciplinary Industry Consulting Groups to provide and share knowledge, design solutions, and expertise in the primary practice areas of civil/site engineering, environmental services, ecological services, waste management, and water resources. From public works agencies and landfill operators to manufacturers and real estate developers, clients in a variety of sectors have long trusted CEC scientists and engineers to deliver integrated and innovative engineering, ecological, and environmental solutions.

Dynamic design drives dynamic growth CEC turns to AutoCAD Civil 3D software to help speed the design process and keep pace with the needs of clients in the booming natural gas industry

COMPANY

Civil & Environmental Consultants, Inc. (CEC)

LOCATION

Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania

SOFTWARE Autodesk® AutoCAD® Civil 3D®

The Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania-based firm has seen an explosion of work in a key sector in recent years: natural gas resource development. Clients in the natural gas industry turn to CEC for help with the site and environmental engineering for gas development at sites across Ohio, Pennsylvania, and West Virginia, states that have seen a huge expansion of gas extraction activities recently. The firm’s ability to deliver projects on time and on budget—even with aggressive schedules—has contributed to its significant level of repeat business. Dynamic design software helps the firm to keep pace. CEC uses Autodesk® AutoCAD® Civil 3D® as its core design tool, and the software is helping the firm to:

• Use intelligent models to accelerate the design

process • Make significant changes to site plans in minutes

instead of hours • Win repeat work and the confidence of clients • Add value for clients by delivering multiple site

plans as much as five times more quickly

Image courtesy of Civil & Environmental Consultants, Inc.

Autodesk customer success story Civil & Environmental Consultants

Autodesk, AutoCAD, and Civil 3D are registered trademarks or trademarks of Autodesk, Inc., and/or its subsidiaries and/or affiliates in the USA and/or other countries. All other brand names, product names, or trademarks belong to their respective holders. Autodesk reserves the right to alter product and services offerings, and specifications and pricing at any time without notice, and is not responsible for typographical or graphical errors that may appear in this document. © 2013 Autodesk, Inc. All rights reserved.

Civil engineers develop site plans for the natural gas industry faster with AutoCAD Civil 3D The challenge

In completing the civil designs for natural gas exploration, production, and midstream facility sites, CEC faces a number of challenges. For instance, some site locations are complex in nature, such as those located on hilltops where accommodating the extraction requirements while minimizing the cutting and filling associated with earth moving can be difficult. In cases like these, the firm must collaborate with the engineers and equipment providers who focus on the actual extraction processes. As on most types of projects, it’s common for clients to want to see a number of site plan options. However, the most pressing challenge is time. Clients need to begin extracting natural gas from wells as quickly as possible to start realizing a return on their initial investment. “Every site is unique, and presents its own set of challenges,” says Dave Diable, CAD manager for CEC. “But on the whole, these are really fairly routine jobs from a civil engineering perspective. It’s the time element that really stands out. We’ll often get a call from a client and start our conceptual site plans the same day. Clients want to see something in days not weeks. AutoCAD Civil 3D helps us to meet, and often exceed, their expectations.”

The solution CEC adopted AutoCAD Civil 3D software soon after it was introduced. The application represented a radical change in the way civil engineers created designs. Instead of being just an improvement on traditional 2D CAD tools, Civil 3D allowed engineers to develop designs using an intelligent 3D model, not a 2D drawing. CEC saw the potential, and the company hired two engineers who were experienced AutoCAD Civil 3D trainers to get the firm up to speed quickly. Diable explains why this was such a radical departure: “The great thing about AutoCAD Civil 3D is not the visual aspects of the 3D design.

The 3D visualization is helpful, but it’s the intelligence of the model that makes the difference. Everything is linked. When you change the profile of a road or the position of a gas extraction pad, the design adjusts automatically. So a change that might have taken a day in 2D can be done in minutes.” “I know it sounds great, but it’s important to acknowledge why some firms chose not to move to Civil 3D too quickly,” adds Diable. “You don’t just start drawing, as you would with a 2D tool. You need to invest some time at the start of projects to set up the models. Jumping into Civil 3D has really paid off for us, though. Working more efficiently allows us to say ‘yes’ to new and fast-paced gas projects even when we’re quite busy. We can also collaborate more effectively with other engineers using applications based on the AutoCAD® platform, such as AutoCAD® Plant 3D and AutoCAD® Map 3D software.” More options—less grading A recent project located in a very hilly area highlights the advantages of using intelligent modeling in the civil design process. A gas industry client initiated the project. Considering the high cost of cutting and filling slopes, it’s not surprising that the client wanted to minimize the amount of earthwork required to complete the project. CEC got started on an initial conceptual design based on light detecting and ranging (LIDAR) data available for the area. They then visited and surveyed the site. After uploading the survey data into AutoCAD Civil 3D, they integrated it with their initial site model. CEC provided several initial versions of the design, each requiring varying degrees of earthwork. While the initial designs included all the needed elements, they also involved more earthwork than the client wanted. So the CEC team went back to the model and explored even more alternatives in Civil 3D. “We ended up providing a fair number of options for the client, and every option brought down the earthwork numbers,” says Diable. “A few years ago, before we started with AutoCAD Civil 3D, we might have done two or three options. There really wasn’t time to refine multiple options for modest construction cost savings. Of course, a large number of design options aren’t required on every project, but it’s not difficult or expensive to do with AutoCAD Civil 3D. Even on simple gas extraction

Image courtesy of Civil & Environmental Consultants, Inc.

A large number of design options aren’t required on every project, but it’s not difficult or expensive to do with AutoCAD Civil 3D. Even on simple gas extraction projects, we can easily show five site options. — Dave Diable

CAD Manager Civil & Environmental Consultants, Inc.

projects, we can easily show five site options. The client can really think about what’s optimal for them in terms of construction cost and time and also operationally.” The result With the gas industry continuing to boom in its service areas, CEC will keep working to make sure it can deliver projects to clients on schedule and on budget. Dustin Kuhlman, CEC vice president and head of the firm’s Natural Gas Industry Consulting Group (ICG), notes that, “It is essential to CEC’s success that we respond quickly and efficiently to opportunities presented by our key clients in this market. At CEC, we are committed to providing our experts with the most progressive design and engineering technology available, and also the professional development opportunities necessary for proper use of these tools. We send a number of people to Autodesk University each year.” Diable adds, “Being creative and proactive about finding solutions is much more practical when every iteration of a site plan doesn’t take days. You can do as many as five plans in the time it used to take to do one or two. AutoCAD Civil 3D helps us use our creativity to explore ideas more fully and in a shorter amount of time. We save time, and are able to devote more energy to adding value.” Learn more AutoCAD Civil 3D software is included in the Autodesk® Infrastructure Design Suite Premium and Ultimate Editions. To learn more visit, www.autodesk.com/infrastructuredesignsuite.