Professions evolve with ever-changing technology

Local architects and engineers agree that technology drastically has changed the way business is conducted in their connected fields.

Computer-produced documents provide better quality control, more detailed documents and they require fewer changes, according to Charles Hill, principal and architect with Gaskin Hill Norcross Architects.

"Our office looks very different than it did 20 years ago," Hill said.

"I grew up in a world where everything was done by hand," he said. "It was very rewarding, but also time-consuming."

Tools of the trade

Drawing boards and drafting tools have been replaced with autoCAD systems, capable of interfacing all components of structures, from load-bearing walls to pipes and wiring; and three- dimensional systems, are able to portray the finished product in detail, according to Larry Phillips, principal and engineer with Pellham Phillips Hagerman Arch-itects-Engineers.

The 3-D software allows colors or types of finishes to be changed instantly. The final image is no longer an artist's conception, but a representation of what the completed project actually will look like, Phillips said.

But despite the advantages, Phillips still likes to draft by hand on occasion.

"I still have a drawing board," he said.

He added that like many people in his field who are over 50, he still prefers to draw things out to visualize them, then enter the data into the computer.

Younger professionals in the field have learned on computers while in school and during early training. They can sit down in front of a blank screen and start from scratch.

But for architects like Phillips, who didn't learn on computers in the beginning, the conversion to computer-produced drawings has been gradual, he said.

Technological advances

Changes and improvements in hardware and software for architects and en-gineers, as in all areas of technology, have been rapid in the past decade.

And sometimes, according to Windsor Warren, president and engineer with Warren & Goodin Architects/Engineers Inc., it is hard to keep up.

Warren's office started using computers in the early 1980s.

"We have upgraded several times as programs became more complex and equipment became obsolete," Warren said.

Phillips agreed that keeping pace with technological changes can be a challenge.

"You spend a lot of money and think you're on the cutting edge, then you have to upgrade again," he said.

Streamlining communication

Professionals agree that computer-generated documents have streamlined the industry drastically in recent years. Computer generation of documents makes communication and interfacing between groups who share information easier and much faster, according to Edwin C. Waters, vice president and architect with Marshall-Waters-Woody Associates.

In working with other groups from out of state, documents sent electronically can go back and forth a dozen times by noon.

Previously this sharing of documents might have taken a two-week period, Waters said.

Now changes can be made by either group without having to produce a whole new drawing to incorporate alterations.

Client expectations

Waters noted that the trend also has changed the expectations of clients. Architects and engineers are expected to work within tighter time frames. The pace has quickened because changes can be made so fast.

Even administrative documents, project bidding and the way archives are kept have changed, Waters said.

There is still human input and the ad-age, "garbage in, garbage out" applies, but there is less margin for error, he said.

"If there is a mistake, it's going to pop up sometime," he said.

Phillips said that not only are changes much easier to make by computer, but computers also make it possible for architects and engineers to work off of each other's projects.

"We no longer have a engineering set and an architectural set of drawings," he said. With the universally understood au-toCAD language, suggestions move back and forth throughout the world more easily, Phillips said.

Documents can be sent across country or even internationally in seconds, he said.

Hill said the biggest change he expects to see in the near future is the transmission of electronic documents to the contractor at the job site. To date, contractors still rely on paper documents on-site during construction.