Web Exclusive: Breaking New Ground with Carlson Software- VIDEO
by Kimberly Jensen
April 8, 2009
At the second annual Carlson Software user conference, attendees came from around the world to Lexington, Kentucky, April 5-7. The crowd included Kentucky locals as well as visitors from as far away as Iceland, Ghana and Syria, and it was a mix of engineers, surveyors, construction contractors and dealers.
Bruce Carlson, president of Carlson Software, kicked off the first full day of the conference. He welcomed the attendees with a message about value and explained that the best value of the conference was that it provided two full days of training. He mentioned additional benefits, such as the chance to discuss the technology with peers and the opportunity to talk to Carlson employees about what features they would like to see included in future versions. He added that he still had some influence over what features are included in Carlson’s software modules and encouraged everyone at the conference to approach him and talk to him directly--especially since the 2010 release “is right around the corner.”
Carlson concluded by promoting the interoperability of his company’s software, noting that it supports AutoCAD, IntelliCAD, ESRI and Microstation software and Magellan, Topcon, John Deere, Hemisphere GPS, Trimble, Sokkia, Leica Geosystems, NavCom, Javad and Septentrio GNSS receivers.
According to Karen Cummings, Carlson’s director of marketing and PR, attendance was down, but there was a better cross section of users who still represented an equal number of firms as the 2008 crowd. She surmised that because of slashed travel budgets, companies cut back on the number of employees they sent to the conference, sending one person instead of three or four to represent the firm.
The conference was packed with two days of courses in tracks for civil, construction, survey and mining. Classes ranged from how to clean up 3D data to prep it for a construction machine control model to how to select a GPS real-time network. Attendees were actively engaged in the sessions and were encouraged to ask their questions. Attendees could also earn CEUs for their participation in the classes.
Mike Hyman, Carlson’s regional director for NY, PA and MI, spoke about the art and science of modeling in his grading course. He said the “art comes in with the interpolation, decision making and engineering process” while the science is evident in the “mathematical component.”
Hyman also said that Carlson’s products are “perfectly aligned to feed machine control deliverables,” adding that “machine control is happening whether engineers like it or not.” He continued, “Contractors want 3D--and they’re going to do it themselves if engineers don’t provide it.”
During lunch on the first full day of the conference, attendees were treated to a presentation from Rob Campbell, president and CEO of Juniper Systems, which has partnered with Carlson to make the Carlson Surveyor handheld data collector. Campbell spoke of his firm’s adherence to the “law of the harvest,” and said that seeds must be planted now to reap the results in the future. “Now is the time to be planting seed for the future,” Campbell said. “This is an opportunity to invest in technology that will give you the edge for when the market comes back--and it will come back.”
The highlight of Campbell’s presentation was a video titled “Fun ways to void your warranty ... but keep your data.” (See video above.) It showed various scenarios of how a Carlson Surveyor handheld could be misused and mistreated, but still continue working. It began with a scene showing the handheld getting run over by a pickup truck, and flashed to other scenes of the handheld being used a tire jack, ping pong paddle, hammer, and--last but not least--bottle opener.
The banquet dinner held on Monday night also featured two dynamic presenters. First up was David Palumbo, PE, of Dewberry, a full-service design and engineering firm headquartered in Fairfax, Virginia. He described his firm’s goal to streamline operations and have everyone working in its Site Civil Group at Dewberry’s 40 different locations to convert to a uniform workflow and modernize to an integrated 3D workflow.
According to Palumbo, Dewberry invited three software vendors to their offices for an extensive evaluation and selection process. Ultimately, Dewberry chose to purchase Carlson Civil Suite and has successfully implemented an extensive training program to bring all of its employees up to speed on this platform.
Palumbo was followed by Brent Jones, PE, PLS, the survey, cadastre and engineering manager for ESRI, the GIS software firm based in Redlands, California. Jones spoke to the surveyors in the audience and encouraged them to georeference their data. He also announced that ESRI has partnered with Carlson Software to begin a special grant program exclusively for Carlson/IntelliCAD users that will enable them to access GIS technology.
Kimberly Jensen
jensenk@bnpmedia.com
Kimberly Jensen is editor of Site Prep.
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