Bentley Systems Inc. to Create NCS Plug-In
(September 9, 2005)
ALEXANDRIA, VA—Bentley Systems Inc., makers of MicroStation, are getting ready to develop an "NCS plug-in" for their products. Bentley Systems, Inc. is the first CAD vendor to officially accept the July invitation issued by National Institute of Building Sciences (NIBS), the Construction Specifications Institute (CSI), and the American Institute of Architects (AIA), to include the National CAD Standard in their software.
The Plug-in will automatically integrate things like the AIA CAD Layer Guidelines, and CSI's Drawing Symbols, and CSI's Terms and Abbreviations directly into the software. This will make adoption of the National CAD Standard easier for a large group of Bentley customers.
"We're excited about this project. We believe that integrating the NCS into Bentley's software will improve the service we are able to provide for our customers," said Bentley Vice President Brad Workman.
Usability has long been a top priority for AIA, CSI, and NIBS. "The NCS has a wealth of information, but instead of flipping through hundreds of pages of useful terms and abbreviations, we'd love to see a software vendor implement a type of 'spell-check' function that draws from the same database of terms," explained CSI Executive Director Karl Borgstrom, PhD.
Many CAD users are familiar with the AIA CAD Layer Guidelines, which consists roughly 10% of the total NCS, by bulk. An additional 85% of the content is CSI's Uniform Drawing System, which covers topics such as Symbols, Terms and Abbreviations, Drawing Set & Sheet Organization, Schedules, Notations, and other conventions. The remaining 5% is the Plotting Guidelines, and an introduction and appendices by NIBS.
It doesn't take much to imagine templates, wizards, or symbols libraries, which would make NCS information drastically more accessible to CAD users. However, there is currently no CAD software program that truly complies with the entire National CAD Standard. AIA, CSI, and NIBS want to work with the industry to make adoption and compliance easier. Bentley's proposal is a big step in that direction.
Adoption and compliance are already essential for many firms. Dozens of government agencies and large private companies require firms to implement the National CAD Standard when they submit project drawings. In addition, there is also a long list of private firms which have adopted the National CAD Standard—and the list grows daily.
With so many organizations adopting the NCS, AIA, CSI, and NIBS are encouraging all CAD vendors to license the NCS for their products. The three organizations issued a formal invitation to all software and CAD vendors in mid-July, offering terms for a non-exclusive NCS license—with an emphasis on creative licensing terms. "We understand that every company has different needs," said Borgstrom, "one size can't fit all, and so we're very eager to consider creative licensing options."
The NCS organizations anticipate a press release soon, announcing the formal acceptance of Bentley's proposal.
E-mail for more information.