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AUTODESK AUTOCAD USER REVIEW: SUNCOR ENERGY (2 of 2)

When it comes to creating 2D or 3D construction or engineering drawings, there is nothing on the market that compares with AutoCAD by Autodesk -- at least according to Salvador Carlos Hernandez Ramirez of Suncor, an $18 billion oil and gas energy firm.

"At the previous company I worked for, it was never questioned whether or not to use AutoCAD. We just did," he said. "But I, personally, looked at TurboCAD and other tools under the GNU license and found that AutoCAD is far superior in many ways when compared to its competitors. I've always used AutoCAD."

The primary drawback is the software's cost. Currently, Autodesk AutoCAD's published list price is $450 per user. "Maybe they could reduce the price to give access to more people, and have blocks and libraries that are free to share," Hernandez Ramirez suggested. "I believe the price is high, but companies doing design work certainly would benefit from using this software."

Since the application is responsible for halving the time spent creating -- and revising -- drawings, it does pay for itself. Hand-written drawings are time-consuming and error-prone, especially when a draftsman is working on a tight deadline, he noted. "The feature to draw anything in 2D, and later on add a height to each object and instantly get a 3D object, is really useful," said Hernandez Ramirez.

Hernandez Ramirez rated Autodesk AutoCAD a 9 out of 10.

What kinds of construction projects do you mostly work on?
 
How long have you been using this tool?
 
Where did you obtain it?
 
How much did you pay?
 
How are you using this product?
 
Why did you pick this product?
 
Was this product compatible with the software programs you were already using?
 
Did you look at other tools on the market before picking this one? What was it you didn't like about them (or made    this product better)?
 
Before you bought this product, were you using a different one to do the same job? If so, what tool were you using?
 
How many people are using this software?
 
Comparing the way you work now with the way you worked before you bought this tool, what has changed?
 
Can you give us an example of a job where this tool really made a difference?
 
Can you estimate how much time or money you saved or other measurable benefits your firm realized using this    tool?
 
What are the best features (for your business) in this tool?
 
Do you think it's a fair value for the price you paid?
 
What would you change about the product if you could?
 
Are there features that you don't use? Why not?
 
Who would you recommend use this tool?
 
How much computer experience do you think someone needs to use this tool effectively?
 
Did it take much training (or studying) to learn to use this tool?
 
Have you ever called the company's support lines and asked for help? What was your experience like?
 
How would you rate the user documentation? Is it helpful?
 
When the next version of this software comes out, will you upgrade to it?
 
Overall, on a scale of 1 to 10, how would you rate this tool?

What kinds of construction projects do you mostly work on?
Suncor is a major North American energy producer and marketer involved in oil and gas exploration and production. The company generated about $18 billion in revenue last year, and has approximately 6,500 employees.

I've been an AutoCAD user for 12 years.

We bought it through Autodesk.

How much did you pay?
I don't know.

How are you using this product?
In my previous role, we used it for construction projects such as highways, skyscrapers, real estate development, power plants, etc.

Why did you pick this product?
It was chosen by the company's management -- but I would not look elsewhere if I was in charge of choosing a CAD software application for designing and drafting.

Was this product compatible with the software programs you were already using?
Yes. It runs under Microsoft Windows without blue screens or memory errors -- unlike other drawing software programs that rely heavily on a CPU's math processor.

Did you look at other tools on the market before picking this one? What was it you didn't like about them (or made this product better)?
At the previous company I worked for, it was never questioned whether or not to use AutoCAD. We just did. But I, personally, looked at TurboCAD and other tools under the GNU license and found that Autodesk AutoCAD is far superior in many ways when compared to its competitors.

Before you bought this product, were you using a different one to do the same job? If so, what tool were you using?
No, I've always used AutoCAD.

How many people are using this software?
I do not believe this CAD software is heavily used here at Suncor because of the role that this company has as the owner. Drawings are only reviewed, not created, generated or modified.

Comparing the way you work now with the way you worked before you bought this tool, what has changed?
In my years as an engineering student, we had to learn how to draw by hand, and we often made mistakes. But Autodesk AutoCAD allows the user to erase and have a clean sheet with every modification that is requested or allowed. This lets you systematically produce clean and professional drawings.

Can you give us an example of a job where this tool really made a difference? We had to design 400 kilometers of power lines and, by using the Create Block function, we were able to virtually cut and paste the transformer block as many times as we needed. We just had to invoke the block and resize it as we moved on.

Can you estimate how much time or money you saved or other measurable benefits your firm realized using this tool?
I would say it reduces the time at least by half when producing any drawing by completely eliminating the re-working caused by wrong lines that anybody draws on paper when working under pressure.

What are the best features (for your business) in this tool?
The feature to draw anything in 2D, and later on add a height to each object and instantly get a 3D object, is really useful.

Do you think it's a fair value for the price you paid?
I believe the price is high, but companies doing design work certainly would benefit from using this CAD software.

What would you change about the product if you could?
Maybe Autodesk could reduce the price to give access to more people, and have blocks and libraries that are free to share.

Are there features that you don't use? Why not?
I seldom use the application programming interfaces (APIs) for customization and automation.

Who would you recommend use this tool?
Companies doing design work certainly would benefit from using this CAD software.

How much computer experience do you think someone needs to use this tool effectively?
Only a couple months of training are required in order to draw basic objects. But to fully get the software's benefit, I feel that six months to a year of hands-on experience doing diverse drawings would be ideal.

Did it take much training (or studying) to learn to use this tool?
Training is offered worldwide by consulting companies that are licensed by Autodesk, and the timing is usually a week per level.

Have you ever called the company's support lines and asked for help? What was your experience like?
No.

How would you rate the user documentation? Is it helpful?
I have never used the documentation that's provided.

When the next version of this software comes out, will you upgrade to it?
Most likely.

Overall, on a scale of 1 to 10, how would you rate this tool?
9.