Standards, Standards, Standards

I'm starting today a topic in my class which I have always believed is the single most important thing in a CAD environment, standards. Why is it so important? Because it gives us all a common basis to understand drawings and models. If we don't have standards we don't have a common language. While it is true that we have many languages in the world, we also have many people who speak the same language. So when I say Exterior Wall, most people who speak English know what I'm talking about. If I was to show you a drawing with a layer called A-WALL-EXT, most people who work in the building industry with computers should know what that layer is used for. If we don't have standards in our work group, then we don't have a common language. Imagine what would happen in a team of people working on architectural drawings if the CAD operators were each using a different layer for the exterior walls of a building. Standards, once you have learned the basics, this is the next step.