Solutions for Asset Intensive Industries for Engineering Information Management in SharePoint

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Copyright Lifecycle Technology Ltd 2014

We Deliver Solutions for Asset Intensive Industries to Streamline

Engineering Information Management

Special Report for SharePoint Users in Asset Intensive Industries

Do You Face These Challenges When Working With

Technical/Engineering

Documents in SharePoint?

By Jason Matthews - CEO Lifecycle Technology

SharePoint is a brilliant document management and collaboration tool, especially when

used with Microsoft Word, Excel and PowerPoint...

...yet asset intensive companies (e.g. Oil and Gas, Utilities, Mining, Mills, etc.) who use

SharePoint to collaborate on technical/engineering drawings (i.e 2D and 3D CAD files)

and other non-Microsoft Office documents , struggle to perform even the most basic day-

to-day tasks.

In this report, you’ll learn about the three biggest challenges asset intensive companies face

when using SharePoint with technical/engineering drawings and other non-Microsoft Office

documents — and discover a simple, easy to implement browser-based ‘add-on’ which

allows you to access the full functionality and collaboration capability of SharePoint —

regardless of the type of file you are working on.

http://www.viewerforsharepoint.com/





Introduction

As an asset intensive company, it is very likely you have hundreds of thousands — or more

— engineering documents stored in SharePoint.

Each document will contain essential engineering information about your equipment and

assets... information which is used daily for the construction, management and operations of

your business.

Microsoft SharePoint is an outstanding document management and collaboration tool for

storing and sharing files, and when working with Microsoft Office files such as Word, Excel

and PowerPoint, you are able to access the full collaboration functionality of SharePoint, as

it was designed to be used.

This means you can quickly and easily open a Microsoft Word, Excel or PowerPoint file

(including MS Project, Visio and other Microsoft documents) within SharePoint, edit, mark-up

and save and re-share it with colleagues — helping you get your work done as quickly as

possible.

But once you step outside the world of Microsoft documents, SharePoint loses much of its

competitive edge.

In fact, many of SharePoint’s advantages and time/cost savings are lost when working with

technical/engineering drawings and other non-Microsoft Office documents… making

SharePoint a source of frustration, and turning a tool which is designed to save you time and

money, into one which actually costs you time and money.

This frustration principally occurs when working with documents such as 2D (AutoCAD) or

3D (SolidWorks, CATIA, etc.) CAD drawings, BIM (Revit), PDF or image formats.

In this special report, we explore three of the biggest challenges asset intensive companies

face when working with technical/engineering and other non-Microsoft Office documents with

SharePoint, and we explain how a simple browser-based ‘add-on’ by Lifecycle Technology

can unlock the full benefits of SharePoint regardless of the document file types you are

working on — streamlining your engineering information management and eliminating cost

and inefficiency.






Challenge 1: Users Cannot View

Technical/Engineering Drawings and Other

Non-Microsoft Office Documents in

SharePoint

The single most frustrating challenge for users of SharePoint in asset intensive companies is

viewing technical/engineering drawings and other non-Microsoft documents.

Whilst Microsoft SharePoint has in-built viewing capabilities for Word, Excel and PowerPoint,

no such viewing capability exists for technical/engineering drawings and non-Microsoft Office

documents, including industry formats such as AutoCAD, MicroStation, SolidWorks, Revit,

CATIA, NX, etc.

This causes major problems

across your SharePoint user

community as users require

access to technical documents to

carry out their daily work.

Without in-built viewing capability

for technical/engineering drawings

and non-Microsoft Office documents, users resort to inefficient ‘workarounds’ which include:






Downloading the document to their desktop and using a standalone document viewer

Converting the technical/engineering files to PDF or TIFF

Getting the technical department to print-off documents

Installing expensive software authoring tools on their PCs

Whilst each of these workarounds can ‘get the job done’, they are costly, time consuming

and hugely inefficient. Each work around also introduces a new set of problems and carries

a significant amount of risk with documents being the incorrect version, outdated and out of

the controls of SharePoint.

Let’s examine each of these workarounds in more detail.

Workaround 1: User downloads the document to their desktop and views it using a

standalone document viewer

This ‘two-step’ process is the most frequently used ‘workaround’ for SharePoint users to

view documents.

The two-steps are:

1. Download the technical/engineering drawings or non-Microsoft office documents to

your desktop

2. Download and install a standalone desktop viewer to your PC and view the document

through the standalone viewer.

A quick Google search for the phrase ‘open dwg files on pc’, ‘DWG viewer’ or advice on how

to open any other technical/engineering document will return a whole host of different

standalone ‘software viewers’ which can be downloaded by a user.

Some desktop viewers are free, others carry a charge. However free or paid, downloading a

standalone viewer comes with its own set of challenges such as:

User having ‘out of control’ documents on their desktop

Users having multiple viewers installed for different document types (AutoCAD,

MicroStation, BIM, CATIA, SolidWorks, Siemens NX, Creo etc.)

Users have different viewers installed for the same file type (i.e. there are multiple

viewers available for AutoCAD — meaning users could see different interpretations

of the same document)

Users having unapproved, unlicensed and unsupported software on their PCs

Workaround 2: Converting files to PDF or TIFF

To enable users to view non-Microsoft and technical/engineering documents in SharePoint,

many companies choose to convert the source document to PDF or TIFF formats and

upload these files into SharePoint.






Whilst the PDF/TIFF approach allows users to view a basic interpretation of the

technical/engineering document, by flattening the document down to PDF/TIFF format, much

of the rich ‘behind the scenes’ engineering information which is contained in the original

native file is lost (see Challenge No. 3 further ahead in this document for more details).

Workaround 3: Getting the Technical Department to print-off documents

If a user cannot open a non-Microsoft Office or technical/engineering file (i.e. AutoCAD,

MicroStation, SolidWorks, Revit, CATIA, Creo, Siemens NX) form SharePoint, the user may

request the engineering department to print a copy of the file for them. This is an incredibly

time consuming and inefficient process which distracts highly paid engineers from doing

other important value-added work. Additionally, printing documents on this scale incurs

significant cost.

Workaround 4: Installing expensive software authoring tools on users PCs

In the most extreme cases, companies who want their users to view engineering/techni cal

documents through SharePoint on their own PCs go as far as installing the original software

authoring tool on the user’s desktop.

Installing a full version of AutoCAD or SolidWorks guarantees users can open and view files,

but this is an incredibly expensive approach, as the company now has to pay for additional

software licenses and also give users training on how to use the software authoring

application. These complex software authoring tools do not lend themselves to the

infrequent user.






Solution Using AutoVue for SharePoint by Lifecycle

Technology

AutoVue for SharePoint by Lifecycle Technology is a simple browser-based ‘SharePoint

add-on’ which enables SharePoint users to view over 300 native file types including

AutoCAD, MicroStation, SolidWorks, Wildfire, Siemens NX, Autodesk Inventor, CATIA, BIM,

Pro/Engineer, Creo JT, Solid Edge, , Zuken, Gerber and all major 2D and 3D CAD files.

No longer do SharePoint users experience the frustration of not being able to open and view

critical technical/engineering drawings and waste time on inefficient workarounds.

AutoVue for SharePoint provides seamless native document viewing capabilities (without

downloading the file to the user’s desktop) regardless of the type of file being viewed.

AutoVue for SharePoint allows users to view over 300 different types of

technical/engineering drawings and non-Microsoft Office documents directly from

within SharePoint. Supported document types include: AutoCAD (DWG, DXF, DWF),

MicroStation (DGN), HPGL, CGM, IGES, ME10, CADkey, Visio, Word, Excel,

PowerPoint, PDF, TIFF and many more.






Challenge 2: Users Cannot Mark-Up,

Annotate or Comment on Technical

Documents in SharePoint

One of the major advantages of SharePoint as a collaboration tool is the ability for users to

edit(1), mark-up and annotate MS Office documents directly within SharePoint and

immediately share updates with their colleagues (i.e. collaborate).

1 Unlike Word, Excel and PowerPoint which can be edited or annotated directly in SharePoint, AutoVue for SharePoint does

not allow the user to edit the original file, but simply attach new comments, mark-ups and annotations as a separate ‘layer’ to

the original file, keeping the original master intact and unaltered.

Editing a MS Office document directly within SharePoint ensures the original file is always up

to date and the correct version for all users to access. Having a single ‘master’ file (which

users can edit directly within SharePoint) eliminates the possibility of duplicates files in

circulation and users working off the wrong version.






Whilst editing in Microsoft Word, Excel and PowerPoint is easy to do within SharePoint, the

same in-built editing functionality does not exist for non-Microsoft Office documents and

technical/engineering drawings.

This means users who want to amend, mark-up, comment, annotate(1) and collaborate on

technical/engineering or non-Microsoft documents have to find alternative workarounds and

feed changes back into SharePoint for others to see.

Typical workarounds include:

Printing off technical drawings, marking up by hand, and re-scanning the document

back into SharePoint.

Downloading a desktop viewer, marking-up the document (e.g. in Adobe), creating a

new PDF, re-uploading and check-in.

Installing the full software authoring application (e.g. AutoCAD).

NB. For all of these workarounds users first have to download the file from

SharePoint to their desktop.


Workaround 1: Mark-Up printed documents and re-scan

The most frequent — but time consuming — workaround for SharePoint users who want to

mark-up, comment or annotate non-Microsoft Office documents and engineering/technical

drawings is to print the document, manually make the changes to the document using a red

marker pen, re-scan a new version and upload the new document back into SharePoint.

This is an incredibly time-consuming process which carries a significant amount of risk, including:

Multiple versions of a document may be in existence.

Stakeholders involved in a review process may end up reviewing an older version

The consolidation process is time-consuming and full of risk when multiple users

mark-up and redline shared documents.

Once a document is printed, it is out of control.

Workaround 2: Mark-Up PDF/TIFF documents in Adobe or Bluebeam and save as new

PDF

A common workaround for SharePoint users who want to mark-up, annotate or comment on

an engineering document is to open the document in a desktop application, apply redline

amendments, save the document as a new PDF and then recheck the new document back

into SharePoint.

The challenges with this are very similar to those in workaround No.1 above. Namely:






Multiple versions of the document are in existence.

Future users may use the original version and not the revised version.

It becomes complicated when multiple users want to mark-up and redline the

document

It is not possible for multiple users to mark-up and annotate the same document at

the same time.

Workaround 3: Install the full software authoring tool

The least common workaround for users who want to mark-up, annotate or comment non-

Microsoft Office documents or technical/engineering drawings directly from SharePoint, is for

the company to install the full software authoring tool on the desktop of each user (i.e.

AutoCAD, Microstation, CATIA, SolidWorks).

This is an incredibly expensive proposition, both in terms of software licenses and user

training. Additionally, this process still carries significant risks as the files still have to be

downloaded to the user’s desktop.


Technology

AutoVue for SharePoint by Lifecycle Technology allows users to mark-up, annotate and

comment on technical and engineering documents directly from within SharePoint(1).

Rather than editing, duplicating or converting the source document, AutoVue for SharePoint

adds extra ‘display’ layers on top of the original file, ensuring the original document is never

changed. All comments and markups sit on top of the master file and are stored centrally

and securely in SharePoint.

Each user who marks-up a document will create their own unique layer which can be viewed

by others. For example, a file which has been commented on by 10 different users will have

10 different layers attached to it, and the consolidated view of all 10 layers represents the

total comments to the file.

All file amendments (mark-ups, annotations and comments) can be created directly within

SharePoint, and simultaneously viewed by other users directly from SharePoint.






AutoVue for SharePoint allows users to mark-up, annotate and comment on documents

directly from within SharePoint. Each user’s comments are stored in a separate ‘layer’ file in

secure SharePoint container, ensuring the integrity of the original master file remains

unaltered and intact. New layers can be switched on or off as required.






Challenge 3. Users Cannot Access the

Precise Content and Rich Meta Data of

Technical / Engineering Documents

Unlike traditional MS Office documents (Word, Excel and PowerPoint) which are simple text,

number or graphic based documents, technical/engineering drawings contain layers, precise

geometry, fine tolerances, engineering tags, system references and meta data that describe

your assets, for example P&ID (piping and instrumentation diagrams).

Additionally, many technical/engineering documents need to be viewed as part of a process

such as a drawing review, submittal or variation order where the user needs to navigate

through the various supporting drawing and documents via ‘hot spots, x-references and

continuation tags’. This ability to ‘see through’ a complex network of reference drawings and

documents enables the user to navigate their way to the finest detail.

With each engineering document having had many engineering hours invested in its creation

and definition (and a pack may contain 300 or more documents), it is important that users






can access all the rich and valuable engineering information management and additional

meta data which has been defined by your engineers.

Without quick and easy access to this information, users are unable to efficiently carry out

their work, resulting in delays, increased costs and possible errors.

Sadly, because of SharePoint’s lack of support for technical/engineering drawings (and other

non-Microsoft Office documents), SharePoint users cannot access this rich information

stored within the file, forcing them to find time consuming and wasteful workarounds, such

as:

Printing off thick technical drawing packs (i.e. source documents and attachments).

Going to the engineering department and asking them to access the original files and

data.

Installing expensive software authoring tools on their PCs


Workaround 1: Users print off technical drawings (i.e. source documents and

attachments)

The most common workaround for users who need to access the rich meta data stored

within technical/engineering drawings or non-Microsoft Office documents is to print-off the

required document together with all relevant attachments. The user may then revert to using

engineering rulers to calculate measurements, using a highlighter pen to identify important

metadata and manually navigating across system s and sub-system s.

Typically this process involves downloading all the relevant files from SharePoint to the

users desktop. Before the user can open, view and print the technical/engineering drawings

or non-MS office documents, they will first have had to download a standalone desktop

viewer. This opens them up to all the issues and risks which were explained in Challenge

No.1 earlier in this document.

Additionally, printing technical/engineering drawings (including full size A0 drawings) can

become very expensive over time.

Workaround 2: Users go to the engineering department and ask them to access the

original files and data.

If the user is unable to view a technical/engineering drawing, one option open to them is to

ask the engineering department for help. The engineering department will have access to






the original software authoring tool and will be able to open the native fi le and easily access

the necessary information.

The engineering department could either print the document and attachments, or spend time

with the user as they access the required information.

This is a hugely inefficient approach which interrupts the work of highly paid engineers.

Workaround 3: Install expensive software authoring tools on users PCs

As suggested in both Challenges 1 and 2, the company can install the full software authoring

tool on the users PC. However purchasing licences for software such as AutoCAD,

MicroStation, SolidWorks, Wildfire, Siemens NX, Autodesk Inventor, CATIA, Pro/Engineer,

JT, Solid Edge, Nx, Zuken or Gerber is prohibitively expensive.

Also, each user who accesses the original authoring software is likely to be an infrequent

user which incurs extra training and support costs.


Technology

AutoVue for SharePoint by Lifecycle Technology enables users to view and access all the

rich engineering content and metadata contained within the original file, without converting,

replicating or altering the original document. This can all be delivered through a standard

web browser (accessed from within SharePoint) and without the need to have the original

software authoring tool installed.

In AutoVue for SharePoint, users can see the same level of engineering information and

metadata as if they were in the native authoring application. Also, users can navigate

through an ‘engineering pack’ via hotspots, x-references and asset tags, allowing them to

see the ‘big picture’ as well as the finest detail.

Giving users this top-to-bottom viewing capability directly from within SharePoint eliminates

wasted time and increases productivity.

Additionally by creating relationships with back-end system s such as ERP or Asset

Management software, users are able to order spare parts, create a maintenance work

order, or raise a notification all driven by the rich visual engineering information contained

within drawings.






Technical engineering documents contain precise geometry, fine tolerances,

engineering tags, system references and meta data that describe assets as well as x-

references and hotspots. Using AutoVue for SharePoint, users can now access all the

rich engineering information contained within drawings directly from SharePoint.






Summary: What really sets AutoVue for

SharePoint apart from others?

AutoVue for SharePoint is a simple ‘browser based’ SharePoint add-on, which allows

engineering users to view, mark-up, annotate and comment on technical/engineering

drawings and non-Microsoft Office documents directly from within SharePoint.

With support for over 300 native file types, AutoVue for SharePoint removes the frustrations

users experience when using SharePoint to view and collaborate on technical/engineering

drawings and non-Microsoft Office documents.

Developed by Lifecycle Technology, AutoVue for SharePoint is a proven and robust ‘best in

class industry solution’ which helps asset intensive companies save time and money.

Key benefits of AutoVue for SharePoint include:

Files are never downloaded to the user’s desktop, protecting IP

Original files are never altered, copied or converted removing errors and improved

efficiency

Seamless integration with SharePoint so users find the solution easy to learn and

use

Ability to view, mark-up, annotate and batch print over 300 file types

Rich drill down functionality with support for asset tags, x-references, hot-spots and

continuation tags

Rich, mature and robust SDK for industry specific enhancements and business

process integration with intelligent stamping

Batch processing for stamping, wet signatures, electronic signatures and printing

Advanced hot-spotting linking asset management and ERP system s to engineering

drawings in SharePoint

To learn more about AutoVue for SharePoint, please visit -

www.viewerforsharepoint.com or www.lifecycle-tech.com



http://www.lifecycle-tech.com/





Free 30-Day Trial:

Try Viewer for SharePoint in your own company, department or team with our risk-free 30-

day trial either on-line or in your own SharePoint test environment.

See firsthand how the lives of your SharePoint users are transformed as they are able to

view, print, and mark-up any technical/engineering drawing or non-Microsoft Office

documents directly from within SharePoint.

Discover how hours wasted on inefficient ‘workarounds’ are eliminated, as your users are

able to completed their work faster, easier and more accurately.

Try Now

To try the solution without any installation please go to -

https://www.tryautovueforsharepoint.lifecycle-tech.com - and follow the instructions.

Try on your own system

To get started with your 30-day free trial on your own system, simply visit the link below and

one of our team will send you the installation kits and temporary licenses and if you need

support, one of our team will assist you free of charge -

http://www.viewerforsharepoint.com/free-trial.htm


https://www.tryautovueforsharepoint.lifecycle-tech.com/

http://www.viewerforsharepoint.com/free-trial.htm





About Lifecycle Technology

Lifecycle Technology is a specialist engineering Information Company helping organizations

streamline the way in which technical and engineering information is consumed, managed and

distributed.

Lifecycle Technology have specialist skills and capabilities in supporting asset intensive organizations

and some of our customers include SABIC, Storaenso, RasGas, Transpower, NUCOR Steel…

Contact Us

Tel: (UK) +44 (0) 208 242 4275

Tel: (USA)+1 (727) 493 2838

Email: [email protected]

UK O ffice

Lifecycle Technology Ltd

The Tramshed,

Beehive Yard, Walcot Street,

Bath, BA1 5BB

USA O ffice

Lifecycle Technology LLC

4500 140th Avenue North

Suite 101

Clearwater

FL 33762
