The NLCS has only advantages

Alexandra Dobrzynski (Qirion) on the Dutch CAD Standard

When Alexandra Dobrzynski learned about the NLCS more than ten years ago, she soon knew enough. Since then, the Dutch CAD Standard has been an integral part of her daily practice. "It may have taken some searching in the beginning, but now we save an enormous amount of time," said Dobrzynski, chief draftsman/constructor at Qirion.

"The introduction of the NLCS was good news," Dobrzynski looks back more than a decade. "One uniform standard for all drawing work, all speaking the same language ... That meant a big efficiency gain. We no longer had to convert drawings to our own standard, an operation that normally takes a lot of time. Thanks to the NLCS we save many hours of time and reduce the chance of making mistakes."

Rapid intervention
Qirion is a subsidiary of network company Alliander and specializes in designing, building and managing high- and medium-voltage networks. Dobrzynski: "We are active in new construction projects as well as maintenance and renovation projects with cable voltages from 20kV to 380kV. Clear, uniform designs are very important to us. Especially if you are faced with a breakdown, haste is of the essence. Clear drawings help us to complete repairs quickly."

Custom
At her previous employer, Royal BAM Group, Dobrzynski already gained a lot of experience with the NLCS. Meanwhile, her colleagues at Qirion are also reaping the benefits. "Of course, it took some time to get used to a new drawing standard, but we quickly earned that time back. For me, the biggest advantage is the unambiguous, structured structure of the drawings." Dobrzynski also mentions the library in InfraCAD. "The NLCS base library is large, but in our specific field we needed more. For example, the NLCS library has standard items for electrics. For example, we created additional line types for the different voltages we work with. Think also about shading, tessellations and specific items, such as for business law: our own library is now very extensive. We often share our project library with partners, so that they too can easily work with our specifications. Custom work, in other words, but all in accordance with the NLCS."

Transferable
A third advantage of the NLCS is the portability of drawings. Dobrzynski: "Both externally and internally. For example, you can easily take over a project from a colleague. He may be using his own style, but the uniformity of the NLCS is not compromised because the metadata behind it remains the same. Whether there was any resistance in our implementation? I think you always have to deal with that to a greater or lesser extent in this type of situation. In our case, it may have taken some searching in the beginning, but soon everyone saw the benefits. I myself acted as a help desk in that initial phase. By working well together, our draftsmen quickly adopted the NLCS one by one. By now I hardly get any questions. Everyone is very satisfied with it."

Alexandra Dobrzynski, Chief draftsman-constructor, Cable team, Qirion.

NLCS as the centerpiece
Dobrzynski views the future of the NLCS positively. "Especially since governments made the NLCS mandatory in mid-2018. Moreover, I also like to place the NLCS in a BIM framework. For certain projects, we merge our 2D NLCS drawings with the designs from AutoCAD Civil 3D and Revit, for example. The result is a 3D BIM model. Cables, buildings, components such as transformers ... everything is in it. Unfortunately, we cannot yet cast architectural drawings in that same model. Therefore, I hope that the NLCS will continue to expand in the future, so that we can collaborate with other departments in an ever better and more efficient way. With the NLCS as the centerpiece."

Multilingual versions?
What Dobrzynski would still like to see is a multilingual application of the software. At CAD Accent (supplier of InfraCAD and various AutoCAD licenses), she has already expressed that wish. "One of our partners is TenneT, a transmission system operator with both Dutch and German employees. TenneT still works with its own drawing standard. The reason: the NLCS is a Dutch standard, developed for the Dutch market and thus not available in another language. Still, the NLCS could be an enrichment for them as well. The same goes for other companies and countries. It would be nice if there is a standard with which you can also communicate across the border."

BIM Model of new Heerhugowaard Noord substation.

Valuable efficiency
Dobrzynski enjoys discussing the NLCS with peers, even if they do not yet work in accordance with the NLCS. "The advantages are obvious. Organizations that doubt whether they should switch to the NLCS, I would like to invite them to try, discover, investigate with us. My estimation is that they will soon be convinced of the benefits. In a world where time is money, the NLCS provides valuable efficiency. A uniform standard, in which you can create clear, unambiguous drawings and collaborate optimally with partners - in the end, everyone benefits." 

Qirion
Qirion is a subsidiary of network company Alliander. Qirion maintains high and medium voltage networks and creates sustainable and innovative solutions for new and existing energy networks. About 1,100 employees work at Qirion, spread over three locations: in Duiven, Amsterdam and Leeuwarden.

NLCS
The NLCS (Dutch CAD Standard) is a uniform drawing standard for civil engineering. The information in an NLCS drawing is unambiguous, complete and clearly structured. As a result, drawings can be exchanged easily, the chance of errors is smaller and the entire GWW chain can save on costs. The NLCS is a BIM level 1 standard and is managed by the BIM Loket.