Properly applied, desktop, server, and web-based software applications offer civil engineers and geospatial professionals effective tools for improving designs, increasing efficiency and accuracy, and enhancing project management. Following is a selection of recently released software programs and upgrades.

Adobe Systems, Inc., announced the availability of Adobe Acrobat 3D Version 8, a major upgrade to its desktop application for document-based 3-D design collaboration and CAD data interoperability. Users can convert a 3-D CAD file into a single PDF document that can maintain precise geometry or be compressed more than 100 times smaller than the original file. Three-dimensional CAD data can also be combined with other critical project information into a more secure PDF document. Acrobat 3D Version 8 users can enable extended teams of colleagues, suppliers, partners, and clients to participate in the document review process using the free Adobe Reader software. Adobe Reader users can use commenting, measurement, and cross-section tools directly on 3-D objects in PDF files.
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Autodesk reports a growing number of university civil engineering departments are preparing students with hands-on instruction in application of AutoCAD Civil 3D. For example, Randel Dymond, Ph.D., associate professor at Virginia Tech, recently incorporated the software into four classes, including two sophomore-level courses and two senior-level courses. According to Dymond, classes typically focus on the principles of engineering and design, not how to use a particular type of software. But new, more powerful engineering software such as Civil 3D helps teach engineering. In addition, students begin to think in 3-D.
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Development of an ActiveX interface allows Automation Software for Engineers’ ASE Civil to read Land Desktop 2007 and Civil 3D 2005, 2006, and 2007 databases. According to the company, ASE Civil automates key aspects of residential subdivision design, allowing users to focus on management and standards compliance for a subdivision’s design output, to collaborate remotely in real time, and to integrate seamless design modifications. Software features include automatically defined road alignments, 3-D road modeling, profile generation and display, and production labeling. An interactive design system communicates with both the designer and the Land Desktop or Civil 3D database to control horizontal and vertical relationships of all paving features and pad definitions.
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Bentley Systems, Inc., released Bentley Electric XM and Bentley Expert Designer XM for electric utilities to manage distribution networks throughout the plan, design, build, and operate lifecycle. Bentley Electric XM has core mapping, network documentation, facility mapping, and facility management functions. In addition, it provides feature placement, editing, and viewing; supports directional network trace and highlight; validates feature placement against configurable business rules; and enables simple service delivery. Bentley Expert Designer XM extends Bentley Electric XM to add intelligent and optimized design and integrated estimating. It features rapid rules-based placement of facilities, provides an interactive catalog with drag and drop placement, automatically assigns compatible units (standard materials and labor), and facilitates design version and cost comparisons.
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Carlson Software, Inc., introduced Carlson SurvCE 2.0, a complete data collection system for Real Time (RTK) GPS and total stations. According to the company, Carlson SurvCE 2.0 supports many instruments, file formats, and handheld devices, including GPS network protocols such as NTRIP, TCP, and UDP, plus all major manufacturers’ conventional and robotic total stations and RTK GPS systems. SurvCE 2.0 also "keeps track" of all base stations, rovers, and total stations used and allows users to go from one to another without reconfiguring. New features include support of LandXML points, DTM, graphics, alignments, profiles, and sections; the ability to compute volumes between two surfaces, one surface and an elevation, or simple stockpile volumes; and the option to use a template DXF file for new jobs to create layers and colors automatically per a company standard.
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Deltek’s Costpoint 6 enterprise applications software designed specifically for project-focused government contracting and commercial organizations now offers new billing, forecasting, and cash management capabilities. Capabilities for streamlining billing and providing greater visibility over cash flow include support for Wide Area Work Flow invoice submissions, Accounting Classification Reference Number billing, GSA and other discount schedules, and "what-if" cash forecasting. Costpoint 6 also provides new capabilities that ensure reporting accuracy and compliance with federal regulations such as Sarbanes-Oxley (SOX). A new Segregation of Duties capability detects and prevents employees from committing innocent errors or engaging in fraudulent activity. Additionally, Costpoint offers 165 out-of-the-box SOX reports to streamline compliance requirements.
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Eagle Point Corporation released its Pinnacle Series software for integrating design processes with technology that engineers currently own by cataloging workflow best practices and delivering them electronically to all project members. The Pinnacle Series operates directly with CAD design software and details steps a user needs to accomplish specific tasks. Within the Pinnacle Series, ties to design software and CAD commands, as well as links to other technologies such as project management, e-mail, websites, and any other applications, provides users the ability to execute the correct command at the right step in the process. According to the company, once a workflow is documented correctly, the Pinnacle Series provides a way to streamline training and increase productivity.
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Journyx, Inc.’s Journyx Timesheet allows project-focused companies to manage employee timesheets and expenses for project control, client invoicing, and payroll automation. Optional modules can help automate the time- and expense-approval process, handle employee vacation accruals, or allow users to enter time via e-mail. According to the company, Timesheet is based on open standards to ease integration with a firm’s existing software.
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Leica Geosystems Geospatial Imaging released the Beta version of Leica TITAN and launched the Leica TITAN Network. A 3-D virtual globe and intuitive 3-D navigation tools allow users to share imagery, terrain, 3-D models, and feature data sets while retaining digital ownership rights. Using the free, web-enabled Leica TITAN client, users create a MyWorld, a geographically enabled, personal space to upload data, set permissions, and share content with other users in the network. The Geospatial Instant Messenger provides a communication tool for users to chat within the network. Additionally, with the Leica TITAN P2P Hub, organizations and data providers create their own secure community within the network.
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Newforma says its Project Center Fourth Edition delivers new solutions for the project information management challenges that engineers face as they adopt model-based design. Challenges include proliferation of model views, increasingly collaborative and fast-paced design iterations, access to model "intelligence," and the ripple effect of unintended changes to a model. Newforma Project Center Fourth Edition provides capabilities to find, capture, organize, share, and integrate model views in the same manner as other project information; creates and records markup sessions and links model views to project issues and their associated e-mail decision trails; searches object property descriptions in rich file formats such as DWG, DWF, and IFC; and compares sets of model views, flagging all changes from one iteration to the next.
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PBS&J released a no-cost beta version of Flood Map Desktop (FMD), the newest member of its suite of regional watershed management software products and solutions. An extension for ESRI’s ArcGIS 9.1 desktop software, FMD resides on the user’s desktop and requires no Internet connection, providing users with the flexibility to manage their own data and processes based on their specific requirements. The FMD software extension enables users to create FEMA DFIRM paper maps and Standard DFIRM Databases that are compliant with FEMA Guidelines and Specifications for Flood Hazard Mapping Partners.
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Primavera Systems, Inc.’s Primavera 6.0 (P6) is a new version of its flagship, web-based project management solution. According to the company, P6’s combination of a fully redesigned, intuitive interface with powerful functionality simplifies project management by enabling quick and easy progress updates, while at the same time giving organizations more control and visibility into scheduling, resource optimization, and capacity planning. New features and functionality include collaborative scheduling, interactive Gantt charts and improved graphics, integrated job costing, fully configurable dashboards, and extended reporting and analytics. Web-based charts include features such as drag-and-drop to change timescale, click-to-snap timescale to activity dates, zoom timescale to fit, and options for configuring columns, grouping, filters, and bar formats. Users can review budgets and evaluate the potential impact of change orders on a project’s cost.
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Projity released the public beta version of OpenProj, an open-source desktop replacement of Microsoft Project. Users can download OpenProj for free and use the program on Windows, Linux, Unix, or Mac platforms. Distributed project teams also can access the same documents and collaborate on projects using this open-source alternative. According to the company, OpenProj’s familiar user interface and the ability to open existing native Microsoft files makes migrating free and seamless. The program operates only on desktops, not servers.
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Propex’s Roadways And Civil Engineering (R.A.C.E.) software features two design modules—Unpaved Roads and Flexible Pavement Design—and, according to the company, provides tools and resources to plan and implement proven, cost-effective designs. Users can change and analyze input variables such as subgrade strength or structural materials to develop optimum performance and a cost-effective design. Designs are presented with and without geotextiles for effective cost-benefit analysis. The free software also provides a life-cycle cost analysis that reinforces pavement management choices and enables engineers to project how much additional budget will be freed for other road projects.
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Rapid Design Visualization (RDV) 2007, from RDV Systems, allows designers and engineers to create drive throughs, flyovers, and interactive simulations for proposed roads, subdivisions, commercial site development, and underground infrastructure directly from an AutoCAD Civil 3D project. New features include object animation, support of Google Earth, and physical interaction with and full support of all images inside AutoCAD, including MrSid, ECW, and more. RDV supports all AutoCAD platforms from 2004 and up.
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Synergis Software announced the availability of Adept Explorer, a web-based client designed for people who need to review or consume engineering and business-related information stored in Adept document management. Adept Explorer complements Adept’s full-featured desktop client, offering a simplified interface and allowing users to find, view, print, redline, assign, and copy documents based on their permissions in Adept. Adept Explorer also provides the same viewing capabilities found in the desktop client for AutoCAD, SolidWorks, Microsoft Word and Excel, PDF, TIF, and hundreds of other formats. Additionally, Adept Explorer displays revision information, file relationships, workflow status, and the audit trail of a document throughout its lifecycle.
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According to Transoft Solutions Inc., ParkCAD 3.0, allows engineers to design, test, and edit parking lots in minutes for improved parking needs analysis and to quickly evaluate scenarios to maximize parking yield. ParkCAD 3.0 functions within both AutoCAD and MicroStation platforms. SmartL.O.T (Layout Optimization Technology) provides dynamic lot editing, site setup, and automatic lot parameter updates. Users can test various parking area scenarios and configurations for parking needs analysis before generating and finalizing layouts. This will ensure maximum parking capacity in the available areas while accounting for convenience and safety factors.
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