Multi-disciplinary Architectural and Engineering Firm Streamlines Design Process, Increases Collaboration and Reduces Costs

SAN RAFAEL, Calif., Sept. 23 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Autodesk Inc. (Nasdaq: ADSK) today announced that L. Robert Kimball & Associates, a U.S.-based architectural and engineering firm, has standardized on Autodesk's building and collaboration software to create, manage and share building designs and documentation. Autodesk delivered Kimball Associates a comprehensive solution including DWF Composer, Autodesk Architectural Desktop, Autodesk Buzzsaw and Autodesk Building Systems software products to help the firm improve construction documentation, accelerate the design process, facilitate communication with partners and help its clients realize their ideas faster.

"Autodesk is helping us to improve our collaborative design process and increase customer satisfaction," said Kimball Associates Senior Technical Leader Dean Helsel. "By enabling us to complete higher-quality work in less time, this technology provides significant competitive advantage."

Kimball Associates is using Autodesk Architectural Desktop as its primary design platform and Autodesk Building Systems for mechanical, electrical and plumbing (MEP) engineering. Using Architectural Desktop's AutoCAD-based, discipline-specific architectural tools to create construction documents has improved Kimball's bid accuracy and helped its clients sign off on design choices more quickly. The firm has also deployed the Autodesk Buzzsaw service and DWF Composer to collaborate on design and building content with project teams and clients. With the Buzzsaw file-sharing capabilities, Kimball Associates maintains tight schedules and accelerates the decision process by allowing the entire team to work together from any PC at any time.

Using Autodesk solutions, building industry firms such as Kimball Associates can communicate details to subcontractors, and present complex design concepts in a more intuitive way to its clients. To achieve this, Kimball Associates offices have standardized on DWF Composer for sharing designs created in the Architectural Desktop and Building Systems applications. With DWF Composer, project teams and clients can mark up and revise designs digitally without requiring the original design software then send these changes electronically, rather than handwriting changes on paper documents. By standardizing on DWF, Kimball Associates has completed hundreds of complex projects faster and more efficiently, with greater client satisfaction. The firm has also experienced significant business benefits, including reductions in shipping and printing costs and increased productivity due to the shorter lag times between design revisions.

"Because we can capture more detail in lightweight files that are easy to share electronically, Autodesk DWF helps us communicate clearly with our partners and our clients throughout the lifecycle of the project," said Dean Helsel, Kimball Associates Senior Technical Leader. "That capability translates into several major business benefits, including fewer costly design errors and greater responsiveness to clients' requests for better customer service."

For more information on Autodesk Buzzsaw, Autodesk Architectural Desktop, Autodesk Building Systems and DWF Composer, visit www.autodesk.com/building or contact a local Autodesk Authorized Reseller.

The free* Autodesk DWF Viewer can be downloaded at www.autodesk.com/dwfviewer-download.

About Autodesk

Autodesk Inc. is wholly focused on ensuring that great ideas are turned into reality. With six million users, Autodesk is the world's leading software and services company for the building, manufacturing, infrastructure, digital media and wireless data services fields. Autodesk's solutions help customers create, manage and share their data and digital assets more effectively. As a result, customers turn ideas into competitive advantage by becoming more productive, streamlining project efficiency and maximizing profits.

Founded in 1982, Autodesk is headquartered in San Rafael, California. For additional information about Autodesk, please visit www.Autodesk.com.

*This product is subject to the terms and conditions of the end-user license agreement that accompanies download of this software.

NOTE: Autodesk, AutoCAD, Buzzsaw and DWF are registered trademarks or trademarks of Autodesk Inc., in the USA and/or other countries. All other brand names, product names or trademarks belong to their respective holders.

CONTACT: Noah Cole of Autodesk, +1-415-547-2405, or noah.cole@autodesk.com.

SOURCE Autodesk Inc.
09/23/2005
CONTACT: Noah Cole of Autodesk, +1-415-547-2405, or noah.cole@autodesk.com
/Web site: http://www.autodesk.com