The Solution

Since 1992, the SCAS has used AutoCAD to help
it keep up with its facilities management needs.
From parking garages to meeting rooms to retail
lease plans, facilities drawings are managed and
maintained with AutoCAD by SCAS’ staff of two
design technicians. As new projects are initiated,
all existing infrastructure details are provided to
outside consultants with AutoCAD. When outside
consultants create new designs, SCAS’ staff uses
AutoCAD to integrate it with other facilities
information.
“From planning to operation, AutoCAD is our core
design application,” explains Wilson. “We use it
for everything, including new projects, historical
drawings, and planning routine maintenance.
We even use it to create precise ‘You Are Here’
signs to help passengers fi nd their way around
concourses. Additionally, because it’s so widely
used, AutoCAD allows us to work seamlessly with
outside consultants.”
Automated Calculations Save Time
Each year, SCAS must create property plans that
highlight the details of every retail and airline
tenant lease agreement. The plans are then
customized for use by the airport’s property
management, maintenance, and security staff.
Once created, the plans are bundled into sheet
sets for easy reference and printing. Until recently,
the process took an entire month to complete,
but new features included in AutoCAD 2006 have
signifi cantly accelerated the process.
According to Wilson, “With the recent release of
AutoCAD, we can customize the way we format
the display of area calculations by selecting the
appropriate unit of measurement when using fi elds
within a text object or table. That aspect of the
process was far more manual before. Because it
was manual, it was more error-prone. If something
didn’t add up, we had to check our calculations for
hundreds of rooms.”
The Sheet Set Manager, fi rst introduced in
AutoCAD 2005, has also improved the way SCAS
manages and shares sheet sets of leased property.
Wilson says, “Before, our designers had to fi nd and
print property plans when staff without AutoCAD
expertise needed them. Now we can quickly create
pre-defi ned DWF (Design Web Format) sheet sets
so that staff can fi nd and print the information,
allowing us to focus on design rather than
document retrieval.
Continuous Improvements
New releases of AutoCAD have proved so
advantageous to SCAS that it participates in
the Autodesk Subscription program. With its
subscription, SCAS automatically receives the
latest versions of shipping software. Autodesk
Subscription customers are also entitled to any
incremental product enhancements, personalized
web support direct from Autodesk technical
experts, and self-paced online training.
SCAS also participates in the Autodesk Beta
and Feedback Program, which gives SCAS the
opportunity to try new features in a testing
environment, a benefi t that resulted in a huge cost
savings in 2005.
“We were exploring some new measurement
functionality in AutoCAD by recalculating a landuse
mitigation fee,” explains Wilson. “It turns out
the agency that calculated the acreage in question
did so manually and incorrectly. By using AutoCAD
to spot the error, we were able to get the fee
reduced by $1.2 million.”
The Result
SCAS Completes Tenant Leases
25 Percent Faster
Having used AutoCAD for so many years, SCAS
anticipates that the application will continue to
evolve. “In the last year, AutoCAD has helped us
to complete our tenant lease plan processes 25
percent faster, which saved us an entire week,”
says Wilson. “We often suggest improvements
to Autodesk, and they respond. We are already
looking forward to the next release of AutoCAD
and how much more time it may save us.”
For More Information
To learn more, visit:
www.autodesk.com/autocad
Try AutoCAD at:
www.autodesk.com/autocad-trial
Provide feedback and input on the future of
AutoCAD:
http://myfeedback.autodesk.com.
“From planning to operation, AutoCAD is
our core design application. We use it for
everything, including new projects, historical
drawings, and planning routine maintenance.
We even use it to create precise ‘You Are
Here’ signs to help passengers fi nd their way
around concourses.”
Donald Wilson,
Principal Engineering Technician,
The Sacramento County Airport System