Visio Technical 5.0

ISSN 1441-5585

Software Catalog

Visio Technical 5.0
Facilities Management Solution

Overview
The new Facilities Management Solution included in Visio Technical 5.0 Plus is an easy-to-use tool developed for facility managers and others who track and manage assets and people in a facility. The solution includes powerful tools for the creation of floorplans and space plans, allows users to track assets across the enterprise, as well as perform "what-if" staffing layouts. Easier to use than CAD programs, Visio Technical allows even non-CAD users to work with facilities data in an intuitive, graphical environment, using a program that integrates with their current desktop and enterprise systems. The short learning curve and low cost make it a broadly deployable tool enabling facilities managers to extend important facilities data out to those who need it (i.e. department managers, etc.) An open object-oriented architecture also allows for extensive customization to meet industry- or company-specific needs.

In short, Visio Technical’s ease-of-use, broadly deployable technology, as well as its integration with standard desktop and enterprise applications enables users to leverage existing files and databases, while its common, readily adopted development platform can be customized to meet nearly any need.

Target Users
Facilities management is a horizontal function that can be found in almost any type of business.

Facility Managers: Work with CAD-based or proprietary CAFM (Computer Aided Facilities Management) tools today that are hard to use, expensive, and require substantial training. With these tools, they create space plans (showing how building spaces are used), work with existing floorplans in CAD format (architectural drawings), and track/manage physical assets. Another type of facility manager, or interior designer, may specify the furnishings for the office space. For the most part, facility managers rarely have CAD experience and would rather not use a CAD system, if possible. For the types of drawings that this audience creates, there is a lot of repetitive symbology such as desks and chairs, so CAD is the wrong tool. These people are struggling in CAD today, or resort to pencil and paper, because of a lack of viable, easy-to-learn Facilities Management software choices.

Non-Facility Managers: These can be managers of any type that need to oversee a staff and their respective assets and/or locations (i.e. a department head who would like to rearrange seating/office arrangements based on seniority, location, etc.). Right now these people have no tool, and therefore no access, to facilities data.

Target Customer Mindset
The two target customers listed above could benefit from a broadly deployable, efficient facility management tool that made them more productive in their everyday work, and are attracted to an easy-to-use tool that is more cost efficient that other solutions. These non-CAD users also want the ability to work with existing CAD drawings (such as existing architectural drawings).

Pricing

US$349 (Upgrades for existing customers US$49)

Availibility

January 1999

Documentation

User Manual, online help, web-based documentation
Includes single-user license (volume/site licenses available)

System Requirements

Microsoft Windows 95, 98 or Windows NT 4.0
486/66 processor (minimum); Pentium processor or higher (recommended)
16 MB of RAM (Windows 95, 98); 24 MB of RAM (Windows NT)
Part of Visio Technical 5.0: 105MB free hard-disk space for complete installation.
CD-ROM drive (for installation only)
Network Ready

Key Features

Library of Facilities-specific Shapes	Visio Technical includes over 1,000 facilities-specific SmartShapes symbols for creating floorplans, space plans, and for specifying manufacturer-specific furniture. Each shape is intelligent and behaves like the real world object that it represents—Chairs behave like chairs (i.e. they can rotate), doors like doors (just right-click a door to change opening direction), and so on. Users may also create their own shapes by leveraging the drawing tools in Visio Technical.
VISIO CAFM Explorer	The Visio CAFM Explorer helps users easily track and manage complex facilities data in a familiar Windows Explorer–type interface. The tree structure approach allows users to sort or view data in different ways—For example, one could easily drill-down to identify computer equipment by department, by building, or by employee. Once users drill-down to a desired level, they can print the list or export it as an HTML-based table. The Visio CAFM Explorer also serves as the interface to the Facilities Management Solution’s powerful database back-end—The Microsoft Repository.
Link to Standard Databases	Users of the Facilities Management solution for Visio Technical can link to and display facilities data from existing, standard databases including Microsoft Access, FoxPro, dBase, Paradox, Oracle, and SQL. Users can also populate a new database on the fly as data or objects are added to a new facility model. For example, as furniture objects are placed in a new facility model (i.e. a floorplan), the underlying data and relationships (i.e. inventory number and what department the desks are part of) are automatically stored in an Access or SQL database.
Support for Microsoft Repository 2.0	The Microsoft Repository serves as an open, customizable, object-oriented storage mechanism for facility management rules and logic, and can be customized to meet specific needs.
Equipment Selector	The Equipment Selector comes with a complete database of shapes representing Steelcase 9000 Series furniture products—the best selling office furniture system in the world. Using the Equipment Selector, interior designers can select and specify desks, cabinets, and other office furniture from a highly detailed list. Properties such as part numbers, price range, size, and material are included so users can generate detailed inventory lists and cost estimates.
CAD Drawing Convertor	Use the included DWG file converter to quickly read existing Autodesk AutoCAD and IntelliCAD architectural drawings and floorplans into Visio Technical. Read and write AutoCAD (v2.5-R14) and IntelliCAD DWG files to create drawings and share work with CAD users. Also import Microstation DGN files as backgrounds for drawings.
Generate Lists & Calculations	Using the Visio CAFM Explorer, users can drill down to very detailed lists of facilities data (details in the CAFM Explorer section above). Users also have the option of using a "Compute Totals" function that can generate cost estimates based on properties associated with furniture and other objects. For example, one could generate a cost estimate for a proposed Steelcase furniture system and save it as a standard .SIF (Standard Interchange Format) file for further specification in a CAP program. A measurement tool also computes the total area for selected spaces or boundaries.
Internet Integration	Users can save drawings and plans as HTML pages or in other popular web-compatible formats and publish them on their corporate intranet. To help reviewers navigate easily, users can simply include hyperlinks between drawings. Visio Technical's ActiveX support also allows users to view Visio Technical drawings from within their Web browser while included ActiveX controls allow users to view properties, locate objects in a floorplan, or use "find" commands via a web-based interface.
Microsoft Windows/Office Compatibility	With Visio Technical, you can work seamlessly with other applications you use on the Windows desktop. For instance, create floorplans in Visio Technical, then simply drag-and-drop them into any report, proposal, presentation, or specification created in Office applications. Users can also edit Visio Technical drawings from within Office applications.
Customizable Platform	Visio Technical’s Facilities Management Solution is based on a completely open architecture that can be customized using a variety of industry-standard programming tools. Microsoft Visual Basic for Applications (VBA) is included with Visio Technical, or developers can use C, C++, or stand-alone Visual Basic. Partners are encouraged to leverage The Facilities Management solution as a platform for further customization.
Legacy File Compatibility	The Visio Technical 5.0 Plus engine supports all files created in previous versions of a Visio product. Visio Technical 5.0 Plus products also allow saving of files in version 4.0 or 4.5 formats to share with users of previous versions of Visio. Includes import and export of existing work in BMP/DIB, CGM, EPS/AI, GIF, IGES,, JPEG, Macintosh PICT, PCX, PNG, TIFF and WMF. Also imports Autodesk AutoCAD DWF, DWG and DXF files, as well as Charisma, Corel CMX, CorelDRAW 3-7, CorelFlow, Micrografx ABC Flowcharter, Micrografx Designer and Windows Draw files. Display Microstation DGN files.