Sharing my technological business practices for a small structural engineering firm 5

[milkshakelake]

I'd like to share the things that have helped my firm grow technologically. I own a small structural engineering firm so this advice may not apply to bigger firm. I know this is unsolicited advice, but hopefully it helps someone.

1. Buy a subscription to AutoCAD. I tried a cheaper option (BricsCAD), but it just doesn't work well.

2. Get a 13x19 printer in the Epson WF series. 11x17 format printers are too small and large format plotters are too big for everyday tasks.

3. For site visit photos, use a Sony RX series camera. It's small enough for employees to use and the Wifi connectivity is easier to transfer photos than plugging in the memory card.

4. Use a server to store all your data with a physical backup (USB hard drive), cloud backup (Onedrive or equivalent), and a remote backup (Syncthing). I've never had to use a backup but a previous company I worked for almost went out of business because of a hurricane messing up their hard drives.

5. XP-pen Artist 24 Pro 2K graphics tablet is great for marking up drawings and calculations.

6. PDF-XChange is cheaper than Blubeam Revu and it gets the job done.

7. Use a 2 monitor display for everyone. Any random 1920x1080 display will do.

8. For calculations, use ETABS, SAFE, Tekla Tedds, and Excel. RAM and STAAD are garbage because of their pricing. Enercalc is not as good as Tedds (this is debatable, but I've tried both for years).

9. For in-company communications, use Google Chat. Wechat, Whatsapp, and Yammer are not good. I haven't tried Microsoft Teams, but Google Chat is working well so far.

10. For the website, use Wix. It's cheap and easy. It won't get the best SEO.

11. Make training videos. Use a microphone (use brand Blue, expensive) and OBS Studio (free). For editing the videos, use Powerdirector.

12. For computers using AutoCAD, RAM doesn't matter. 16 GB is enough. Processor speed and GPU are far more important. Don't cheap out on this.

13. iPhones are more reliable for business calls than Android phones.

 

[XR250]

'd like to share the things that have helped my firm grow technologically. I own a small structural engineering firm so this advice may not apply to bigger firm. I know this is unsolicited advice, but hopefully it helps someone.

I have been on the Mac platform since 1991. Works amazingly well for my relatively small projects. It is me and one contract PE (He in on a PC)

1. I use Powercadd. No subscription and is better for 2d drafting than Autocad. My contract employee uses Autocad LT.


2. I am pretty happy with my Brother 11x17

3. iPhone for a camera works fine for me

4. I use a NAD and Google Drive.

5. I don't use a tablet.

6. I don't mark up many PDF's. i have perpetual license fro Acrobat.

7. I have used 2 monitors in the past and one 27" Retina display on my iMac works better for me.

8. Mainly spreadsheets, 25 year old 2D frame and retaining wall programs for the Mac and webtools. The only software that I have a subscription for is office.

9. Email, text and phone are my go to.

10. I use a similar setup as Wix

11. N/A

12. I buy a new Mac every 5 years. They are incredibly fast and reliable. I never need any service or upgrades. I can run PC software full speed under virtualization.

13. iPhones FTW for sure.

 

[LOTE]

This is great! I came upon this post searching for software alternatives and thought I would contribute.

1. I use AutoCAD LT annual subscription. This is what I was use to. I tried a couple open sourced programs that were not adequate. I'll have to try BricsCAD.
2. I have managed without having to print plans. I was recently asked by a client if I could provide originals, but I talked him into accepting electronic. I got down a rabbit hole before that and would have gone to fedex to have them printed and mailed. All my plans are 11x17. I use a basic Brother 8.5x11 printer for checks and paperwork.
3. My Samsung S9 works perfect for pictures, and I don't need to worry about a separate camera.
4. I use OneDrive, which also makes sharing folders easy. It came with my $5/mo Microsoft email subscription which includes online versions of Office programs (I am currently using the first year of Office that came with my computer for desktop versions). Files are also stored on my hard drive. I need to add a physical backup.
5. I don't use a tablet, just my laptop. PDF commenting works fine for me.
6. Microsoft Edge (free) has some markup capabilities and this is what I have been using thus far. I use adobe.com with a free account to combine pdfs. This system works ok for now, but I need to invest in a better program long term.
7. Yes, two monitors plus my laptop screen are a must.
8. I use mostly self-written Excel programs and Vespa (MSE walls), but that is all that is needed for the work I do. I also have Microsoft Office365.
9. It's currently just me and two part time contractors. Email works best for communicating as we all work at different times. I use Trello (free) for keeping track of projects personally. I will use Zoom (free version) for training when needed.
10. I use Bluehost with Wordpress built in. I also use imarkinteractive.com for site security and making updates to the website.
11. Great idea. I am looking into doing more training videos both for my website and my contract workers. I do use the Snip tool for taking screen shots and pasting them into a Word doc for quick training manuals.
12. I have 32 GB of ram on an HP and love it.
13. Love my Android. I use Google Voice for a local number for my business so I don't give out a personal number, and I also don't have to carry around two phones. I have a great set of noise canceling headphones for taking calls while at home.

 

[MTNClimber]

Is the XP-pen Artist 24 Pro only good for PDF markups? Can you use it for marking up the screen on video conference calls?

 

[SteelPE]

Haven't been on this forum in a while.

I read your list quickly and I have already done most of your recommendations. I suspect I started my business before you.

-I have multiple perpetual licenses of AutoCAD LT (wish I bought a few more, but it's just me and I can get by). They have helped my with my less than ambitious CAD guys below.
-I do have drafters that help me part time. It makes dealing with larger projects much easier. However, they are a huge PITA to deal with, so I sometimes draw the smaller stuff myself (why wait 2 weeks and face tons of complaints about how long the job is going to take them to complete when I can do the task in 4 hours and make a few hundred an hour).
-I do use STAAD and RAM. It was a tough nut to swallow at the beginning, but unfortunately it is the software I learned on.
-I have two Epson WF printers (one for 8.5x11 and one for 11x17.... they are both over 10 years old and printing on the 8.5x11 isn't great anymore).... bought the WF 7520 right after it came out. It prints up to 13x19, but only scans up to 11x17.... and 90% of what I print and markup I need to scan back in, so 11x17 is fine for me.
-2-19" monitors and a laptop screen here. The laptop doesn't go anywhere, but it's what I've used for years. The computer is somewhat new, and I didn't skimp when I bought it (does have 32GB RAM).... although I had hoped to hook 3 screens up to the laptop, but the on board graphic card can't handle the extra workload (found that out after purchase).
-I have a backup network drive.... which saved my a$$ a few years ago when my older computer died. It is suppose to backup once a day, and I get nervous that it's not always doing that. I would like a network backup, but haven't bothered to figure that out yet.

What do you do about projects where the architects are using REVIT? I have so far avoided it (as I don't do my own drafting) but I can get a sense that the clients are starting to get annoyed with the lack of REVIT use.

I work on most structures 3 stories or less in height. 95% commercial with only about 5% being residential.

 

[dik]

What version of OS software are you using? Have you tried running with 16GB RAM? Unless you are doing some heavy graphics or mathematics related stuff, 32GB may be overkill.

Rather than think climate change and the corona virus as science, think of it as the wrath of God. Feel any better?

-Dik

 

[CWB1]

I have found that a good IT guy and a SSD are far more important than RAM. Not being a techy I used to think that more RAM usually meant faster, then I met the aforementioned good IT guy who installed a SSD and worked some magic. 16GB and my laptop is smoking fast despite being a heavy (ab)user of large 3d models and CAE.

 

[IRstuff]

One thing I really like with my setup are two 32" 4k monitors, even though I don't do a lot of fine detail work. They allow me to have up to 4 documents open and readable at the same time.

TTFN (ta ta for now)
I can do absolutely anything. I'm an expert!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BKorP55Aqvg

faq731-376 forum1529 Entire Forum list

http://www.eng-tips.com/forumlist.cfm

 

[dik]

That's why I asked the question... all my desktops (3) and laptops (2) have M.2 SSDs and only 16GB of RAM... and are all pretty toasty... If they can, I have an M.2 drive for OS and one for apps. Some of the whimpier versions of Win can not use 32GB.

Rather than think climate change and the corona virus as science, think of it as the wrath of God. Feel any better?

-Dik

 

[VQ]

Thanks for the post. About 3 months ago I got caught up in the federal covid vaccine mandate and let go by my Company after almost 16 years. With not to much early success getting offers as I am a more "senior" engineer, I've decided to go self-employee and provide engineering services on my own. Good post for someone like me.
Thanks,
VQ

 

[dik]

Have you talked to a lawyer? Maybe another iron to put in the fire.

Rather than think climate change and the corona virus as science, think of it as the wrath of God. Feel any better?

-Dik

 

[IRstuff]

Memory, and throughput, is not that useful if your architecture is lame. We once tried to use a quad C80 DSP processing board, with something like 9 GLOPS throughput, for some video processing, but it sucked so bad we exchanged the board for a quad PowerPC, with slightly less throughput, but an architecture designed for dealing with video. Of course, bloat is also a big issue, both with operating systems and application programs.

I used to know this CFO of our division that gleefully received the very first 80386-based computer in our company and waxed on about how his monthly spreadsheet could run in less than 10 minutes when it used to take an hour. About a month later, he was moaning about his spreadsheet taking an hour, but it was because he added a bunch of stuff that he couldn't contemplate processing before. Nature abhors a power vacuum.

TTFN (ta ta for now)
I can do absolutely anything. I'm an expert!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BKorP55Aqvg

faq731-376 forum1529 Entire Forum list

http://www.eng-tips.com/forumlist.cfm

 

[VQ]

There is not much interest by employment attorney's for issues related to covid; at least right now in this pandemic climate.

 

[milkshakelake]

@dik Per your suggestions, I upgraded some of my computers to NVME and it's slightly, but noticeably, better. Never going back to 2.5" SSDs. And my latest computer is liquid cooled, didn't notice a difference but hopefully it increases the lifetime of the components by keeping them cooler.


@MTNClimber Yes. For video calls, I take a screenshot and mark it up. I can share the screen with the markups.


@SteelPE I've struggled with that thing where I can do something faster and better than employees. I had to let go of that notion and let them do it. Otherwise, what are they there for? Things like having strict standards and training helped reduce the errors, but the speed is still not there. I'm still figuring it out.

For network backup, I use Goodsync. I don't know if it's the best program out there, and it has lots of downsides (non-perpetual licensing, high learning curve, terrible interface) but it gets the job done. I have 3 servers (main, older backup one, and home server) and I have it do a 1:1 daily backup on the main server, sync to old server and home server, and weekly /bi-weekly/bi-yearly/yearly backups spread out over the different ones. Maybe it's overkill but I'll still have my data if 2 of them burn down or a rogue employee deletes all my files. I stopped using a previous backup software (Paragon) that did incremental backups into a proprietary format that saves space, because I couldn't really check if it's working without restoring the backup. With a 1:1 backup, it's right there and Goodsync will tell me if some files failed. The downside is that it takes tons of drive space. Also, having a server (or desktop) with a RAID configuration automatically adds a layer of protection to your data because if one drive fails, you can swap it out and it'll automatically rebuild the data without any loss.

I haven't dealt with anyone who uses Revit.

 

[dik]

Two of my desktops and my two laptops all have double M.2 drives in them. One for the OS and drivers, and the other for applications. My one desktop, an ASUS Maximus 7, only has one. It the oldest and has Win 7 installed. At the time M.2 weren't common and I had to order it from Australia. I don't run my machines hot... just not my speed. I do like tekkie stuff and that's the reason for liquid cooling... M.2s run hot and you need a good heat sink. The Sabrent M.2s I use have an excellent heat sink and the heat sinks that come with the ASUS boards are also excellent. I was surprised that my first M.2 had an operating temperature of 100C.

With liquid cooled, my computers typically run slightly less than 40C.

Rather than think climate change and the corona virus as science, think of it as the wrath of God. Feel any better?

-Dik