NCS Article - Southern Arizona AIA Chapter - Perspective Newsletter

Click on this link http://www.aiasouthernarizona.org/newsletter/documents/Perspective11_2009Printable.pdf to read about an article appearing in the AIA Southern Arizona Chapter Perspective Newsletter - this article was written in response to a request to help promote awareness about the benefits of the NCS and the relationship between BIM and the NCS

Specs on Drawings?

A question posted at the CSI forum recently (http://www.csinet.org/s_csi/sec_forums.asp?CID=11&DID=11&ForumID=6&TopicID=1093asked ) asked for recommendations of adding specifications on actual drawing sheets - I submitted the following response:

When drawings are formatted according the National CAD Standard (and why on earth wouldn't they be?), specifications can be located on sheet type designators 7 or 8 (user defined sheets); an example would be locating the specifications on the G (General) sheets such as G-701, G-702, G-703, etc.
Theoretically, the specs could meet NCS requirements if they were assigned to disciplines within the set - such as some of the following examples:

G-701 General Requirements
C-701 Site Clearing, Grading, Excavation, Fill
S-701 Cast-in-Place Concrete, Structural Steel, Steel Joists, Steel Decking
A-701 Thermal Insulation, Elastomeric Membrane Roofing, Painting and Coating
P-701 Plumbing Piping, Plumbing Fixtures
M-701 HVAC Ducts and Casings, Furnaces
E-701 Conduit, Boxes, Interior Lighting

If there is really a compelling reason to locate specs on the drawings, I would recommend locating all of them on the G sheets (such as G-701) instead of the sheets within the disciplines (C-701, S-701, etc) because they would all be located in the same place.

Drawing Sets for Projects with Multiple Buildings

One issue that comes up often is how to organize a set of drawings for projects with multiple facilities. Generally, there are two approaches:

- Organize sheets according to disciplines
- Organize sheets according to facilities

Organizing sheets according to disciplines is typical for projects with a single facility. However, when two or more facilities are needed it is often advantageous to organize the sheets into subsets containing each discipline's sheets for a specific facility. Organizing sheets according to facilities helps save time because information for each facility is kept together instead of being scattered throughout the drawing set.

Sheets in the drawing set can be organized according to each facility as follows: First, assign a letter to each facility, usually starting with A, followed by B, and so on. Then, assign the same letter as a suffix to the sheet numbers that make up the subset for each facility. The sheets within each facility subset are organized according to the NCS discipline hierarchy.

The following list of sheets is an example for projects containing more than one facility:

OFFICE BUILDING LIST OF SHEETS (Buildng "A")
S-101A: Office Building Structural Foundation Plan
A-101A: Office Building Floor Plan
A-201A: Office Building Exterior Elevations
A-401A: Office Building Enlarged Plans and Elevations
P-101A: Office Building - Waste & Vent Plan
P-103A: Office Building - Domestic Water Plan
M-101A: Office Building - Mechanical HVAC Plan Area 1
E-101A: Office Building Power Plan Area 1
E-103A: Office Building Electrical Lighting Plan Area 1
E-601A: Office Building One-Line Diagram & Panelboard

EAST STORAGE BUILDING LIST OF SHEETS (Building "B")
S-101B: East Storage Building Structural Foundation Plan
A-101B: East Storage Building Floor Plan
A-201B: East Storage Building Exterior Elevations
A-401B: East Storage Building Enlarged Plans & Elevations
P-101B: East Storage Building - Waste & Vent Plan
P-102B: East Storage Building - Domestic Water Plan
M-101B: Building - Domestic HVAC Plan
E-101B: East Storage Building Electrical Power Plan
E-102B: East Storage Building Electrical Lighting Plan
E-601B: Office Building One-Line Diagram & Panelboard

One challenge to organizing drawing sets according to facilities is to find a place for sheets that are not specific to a single facility. These may include: regulatory information, site plans, phasing plans, common details, and schedules. Sheets like site plans and phasing plans should usually be located ahead of the subsets for facilities because they contain information and overall views that apply to entire project. Sheets containing sections, details and schedules that are shared by more than one facility should be located after the facility subsets and are organized according to NCS discipline hierarchy.

Tips for assigning letters to each facility: Avoid the letters I and O because they will get confused with numbers when used as the suffix of the sheet number (i.e., A-101O, S-501I). When possible, assign facility letters according to the actual name of the facility - such as S for storage buildings, P for pump stations, etc., because it will make it more intuitive for users to associate the sheets to the facility.

For an example of a list of sheets for projects with multiple facilities, please send me an email and I will provide one to you (crgreen@wilsonco.com).

Changing NCS Symbols

A co-worker recently asked if there was any way to revise an existing symbol in the National CAD Standard (NCS). The short answer is that existing symbols can be changed by the NCS amendment process – in fact, a handful of existing NCS v3.1 symbols were changed during the last revision cycle (NCS v4.0).

However, some words of advice are worth sharing for anyone thinking about submitting an NCS amendment proposing to revise (or replace) an existing symbol: arbitrary changes have little, if any, chance of being adopted. That is, if we want to change a symbol simply because we don’t like it or because it doesn’t match the symbol being used in our workplace or our community, do not waste your time filling out an NCS amendment form.

Why? Amendments containing arbitrary changes will not make it through the amendment screening process that is used by the NCS Project Committee (NCSPC). This process consists of a preliminary review by the responsible task team of any amendments submitted – in the case of symbols it is the Uniform Drawing System (UDS) Modules Task Team. The UDS Modules Task Team oversees any amendment that would change or alter one or more of the eight UDS modules.

There are some very good reasons that members of the NCS Project Committee (NCSPC) and its task teams do not want to support adoption of arbitrary changes:
- The NCS is maintained by a group of volunteers whose time is precious; their time needs to be prioritized to oversee more important amendments – such as those that would improve the means to measure NCS compliancy or better coordinate the NCS with the National Building Information Modeling Standard (NBIMS).
- Arbitrary changes impact many others who then have to incorporate the revisions into their workplace – which is a strain on the entire industry and results in some very unhappy users
- If there is not a compelling reason for an adopted change it will result in a negative impression of the amendment process, the NCSPC, and task team volunteers; and, ultimately, the NCS itself

However, if we can demonstrate that a change to an existing symbol is necessary because of a more compelling or subjective reason, an NCS amendment will have a much better chance of being supported by the UDS Modules Task Team and then being adopted later by the NCSPC through the ballot process. The following examples demonstrate compelling reasons for changes, such as those that might be needed to adopt a revision to an existing symbol:
- The use of an existing symbol creates drafting conflicts
- The existing symbol conflicts with other NCS formats
- The existing symbol conflicts with a symbol published by a nationally or internationally recognized organization – such as the National Fire Protection Association (NFPA)

The start of the next NCS revision cycle is just a few weeks away. The form that is used for adding new symbols or for revising existing symbols is titled “Ballot Item Submittal Form - UDS Symbols.xls” When members of the NCSPC receive the announcement that the revision cycle has started they will be able to download forms from the NCSPC website and submit their proposed changes for NCS v5.0.

For more information about the NCS, joining the NCS Project Committee, or joining one of the NCS task teams please visit the NCS website.

NCS v4.0 – Summary of Changes

The following list identifies the most significant changes that have included in NCS version 4.0

AIA CAD Layer Guidelines
• New data fields (layer names) added for Annotations, Structural, Architectural, Mechanical, Electrical, Telecommunications, Waterway Structures, Hydraulic Structures, Fire Protection, Sanitary and Storm Sewer, Entertainment, Real Estate, and Landscape
• Civil Works discipline designator eliminated
• Data field names changed to match UDS abbreviations
• Alphabetical index created listing all data fields (discipline designators, major groups, minor groups, and phase/status)

CSI’s Uniform Drawing System
• Civil Works discipline designator eliminated
• Sheet Identification: Hyphen eliminated after Level 2 discipline designator
• Abbreviated sheet identification eliminated
• Model file names: Level 2 discipline designators allowed
• Drawing area coordinates located on left, top, and bottom of sheets; right side is optional.
• Title blocks: Horizontal text format no longer “preferred” format
• Schedules: Users may modify examples in Appendix; Room finish schedule format changed
• North arrow: User-defined; symbol must remain consistent throughout drawing set
• Drawing titles: Locate north arrow in the lower right hand corner of the title
• Dimensions: Arrowheads or slashes allowed for terminators - only one style may be used throughout drawing set; dimension line offsets revised
• Abbreviations changed to match data fields in CAD layer names
• New symbols include fire suppression, security, elevation targets, carpeting
• Revised symbols include masonry, plaster, room name identifier, FF & E identifier
• Reference keynotes: Option to repeat text description with the symbol eliminated
• Sheet keynotes: Numerals may begin with 1, followed by 2, 3, 4, etc. or other sequential order (i.e., 12, 31, 33, 45 etc.)
• References to drawings: Avoid broad references (i.e., “Refer to structural drawings”); Provide more exact location such as “Refer to structural foundation plan” or “Refer to sheet S-101”

Plotting Guidelines
• Color – line width mapping tables eliminated; colors no longer assigned to line widths
• Color is only used to specify screening; and platform specific background color
• New color plotting table added
• New line width added: 0.13 mm

Cost
• v4.0 Single User License: $410; Member discounts and other licensing information will be available in November 2007

Miscellaneous
• NCS v4.0 publication: Released in January 2008; available for purchase at www.nationalcadstandard.org
• Version 4.0 CD includes Excel files for practically all existing tabular information found in the NCS (CAD Layers list, Terms and Abbreviations, schedules, Regulatory Information and the Plotting Guidelines tables).
• NCS v4.0 changes are flagged with a vertical bar in the margin of the document as is commonly provided in Building Code manuals.

BIM and the NCS

If the relationship between the U.S. National CAD Standard (NCS) and the Building Information Model (BIM) was ever in doubt before, it shouldn’t be any longer. Proponents of the NCS have long-maintained that those using AutoDesk Revit, Bentley Architecture, and other CAD platforms geared towards the BIM should implement the NCS. They reason that the NCS provides a single standard for printed output (construction drawings) generated by BIM software. A single standard is certainly a good argument, but many CAD users have been reluctant to adopt a standard like the NCS while trying to incorporate the BIM into their workplace. However, since the recent release of Version 1.0 (Part 1) of the National BIM Standard (NBIMS), motivation to include the NCS as an integral part of the BIM has been dramatically improved.

When the National Institute of Building Sciences (NIBS) released Part 1 of the NBIMS, many NCS users were interested to learn the standard includes a requirement that states, "Graphical Information. Since all drawing[s] should at this point be National CAD Standard compliant we are making this a requirement for a minimum BIM. This demonstrates that standards are being considered when possible."

To reinforce this requirement, the NBIMS also includes a "Capability Maturity Model to Define a Minimum BIM." This model is a workbook that establishes a point system (credits) for various categories in order to determine five levels of BIM compliancy (Minimum, Certified, Silver, Gold, and Platinum). The "Graphical Information" category of the model assigns points according to levels of intelligent graphics and NCS compliancy (the Capability Maturity Model Workbook is a spreadsheet that may be downloaded at http://www.facilityinformationcouncil.org/bim/pdfs/BIM_CMM_v1.8.xls)

In addition to providing benefits for printed output, the NCS also establishes file-naming standards. As stated in the NBIMS, the "NCS contains a great deal of information about file management, location, and naming." The requirements for NCS model file naming are established in Module 01, Drawing Set Organization, of the Construction Specification Institute’s Uniform Drawing System (UDS).

With regard to CAD layers the NBIMS states, "NCS contains the CAD Layer Guidelines. Layers are a way to isolate or differentiate between objects in some packages. Future NCS versions may describe object isolation and differentiation in additional ways." The requirements for NCS CAD layers are established in the American Institute of Architects (AIA) CAD Layer Guidelines.

As architects and engineers incorporate the BIM into their workplace, they should anticipate that many of their future projects will be designed according to criterion established in the NBIMS. They should also be aware that between 2007 and 2009, minimum BIM requirements will increase each year. Therefore, as a tool to help users comply with the NBIMS, adoption of the NCS will become even more critical. Investing time to implement the NCS into the workplace sooner, rather than later, will certainly streamline the process for anyone that intends to pursue BIM.

For more information about the NBIMS, please visit www.facilityinformationcouncil.org/bim. For more information about the NCS, please visit http://www.nationalcadstandard.org/

NCS Version 4.0 Errata

It has been brought to our attention that the Plotting Guidelines portion of NCS version 4.0 erroneously assigns line widths to display colors. Page PG-3 of NCS v4 includes a table with three columns identifying line width assignments to colors. The columns are labled MicroStation Line Width; Line Width mm; and Line Width in. However, members of the National CAD Standard Project Committee (NCSPC) approved an amendment (POP-013M-Taylor-29-Jun-06.xls) that did away with mapping colors to specific line widths. This is supported by text appearing above the table which states, "Since various screen [display] colors can be assigned to color numbers, only color numbers will be addressed." The NCSPC Steering Committee has been informed about the problem and they are reviewing it. We anticipate that an addendum will be issued to remove the columns from the table.

UPDATE: NIBS has agreed that inclusion of the line widths in the table is an error; and they have also acknowledged that text at the bottom of the table that reads, " *Red, Green, Blue (RGB) color values for gray may vary by plus or minus 5" will also be removed.

NCS Version 4.0 Now Available

On 22 January 2008 The National Institute of Building Sciences (NIBS) announced the release of NCS version 4.0. According to their website, the latest edition provides the following improvements on Version 3.1:
-Expanded and reorganized CAD Layer Guidelines make it easier to locate layer names, including new telecommunications and electrical discipline layer names.
-Appendix A added with all groups and fields alphabetized into one easy to read list.
-Disciplines and lists alphabetized.
-Telecommunications discipline contains new items as well as many that were moved from the Electrical discipline.
-Major and Minor group definitions made more generic to allow broader usage.
-Major and Minor group abbreviations coordinated with UDS section of NCS.
-Civil Works discipline deleted.
-Updated Uniform Drawing System includes new and revised symbols for geotech, security, fire suppression, masonry, plaster and other areas. Common drawing practices also have been updated and clarified.
-Abbreviated sheet identification eliminated.
-Dash after Level 2 discipline designator eliminated.
-Level 2 discipline designators for model file names are now allowed.
-Required location for drawing area coordinates revised.
-Clarified user-defined north arrows.
-New symbols—geotech, security, fire suppression, and elevation target.
-Use of arrowheads for dimension terminators if used throughout the drawing set allowed.
-Revised symbols—masonry, plaster, and elevation indicator.
-Option to repeat text description appearing next to reference keynote symbols eliminated.
-Completely re-written Plotting Guidelines reflect that line widths are no longer required to be mapped to color numbers.
-Color to line weight removed
-New tables—gray scale table, color table, line width table.
-Version 4.0 now includes PDF, Excel and .dwg files making it easier to search and integrate the standard into your CAD, BIM, costing, and other software.

NCS version 4.0 may be ordered at www.nationalcadstandard.org or www.csinet.org