Design
• Increase throughput . A component library lets you access and reuse the best prebuilt design components from across the firm . Reducing design time from days to hours , resulting in signification time savings . Your firm can do more work with the same number of people .
• Improve quality . Because you are identifying , capturing , and reusing the best components - proven to work - and those that have institutional knowledge baked right in , consistency and quality improve , enabling you to deliver better outcomes to your clients .
Creating a component library
A component library allows you to reuse work you ’ ve already done for other clients . To optimize usage , the library needs to have intuitive searching and flexible hierarchies to easily find the data your designers need . The library should house reusable components and workflows that showcase the best practices from across your organization and portfolio of projects . Library services should also help drive standardization , automation , and ultimately reuse of design objects . Let ’ s say you focus on water treatment plants , then you ’ ll need a components library that houses the best valve , pump , and switch designs . Using these vetted , quality-checked components saves time and ensures quality results .
More than just a library
As with most other digital transformations , the technology is the easy part . The people and processes that support the new tool are equally important to success - and often , harder to get right .
• People considerations . Think about how ( and who ) identifies the components . Who approves the designs ? Who is the librarian ? How will others in the organization find what they need ? Engineers tend to think that every project needs a unique , custom-built solution , and we pride ourselves on creating bespoke solutions . The reality is that we don ’ t have time for one-off solutions every time , nor are they always needed . Overlap and standardization do exist among projects . Once designers and engineers can find and utilize the right component , they ’ ll be able to work on more designs in less time .
• Process considerations . The process side can be equally daunting , but once the library is up and running and everyone understands why it ’ s beneficial , users will begin to rely on it , saving time and money . You ’ ll need to consider how the components will be extracted from the original design and put into the library . How will components be catalogued ? Firms with a successful component library - where components are easy to find , relevant , and stay refreshed - have seen a great return on their investment .
Changing the game
AEC firms need to embrace componentbased design . It ’ s a game changer that maximizes resources , focusing on reusing work to save time and complete more projects . As you reuse what works from successful projects , you ’ ll generate insights and share learnings . By embracing a component-centric approach , you ’ ll be on a path toward creating higher quality and safer designs in less time . ■
Claire Rutkowski www . bentley . com
Claire Rutkowski is SVP and CIO Champion at Bentley Systems . Bentley Systems is the infrastructure engineering software company . It provides innovative software to advance the world ’ s infrastructure – sustaining both the global economy and environment .
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