AutoSPRINK Testimonial: Control Fire Protection, Inc

In the April issue of the Fire Protection Contractors Mag

What is your favorite software?

The best software by far is AutoSPRINK VR 10: the system is so advanced it actually designs the system for you. I would say it is also the easiest to learn on, for a person just starting out in sprinkler design. Finished plans look great and the calculations are outstanding with several different options. What saves so much time is the listing program, just a couple clicks and an entire project is sent to the fab shop; before this software, hours or eyen days, listing by hand.

-Mike Boyance

Control Fire Protection

Bakersfield, CA

AutoSPRINK Testimonial: Phoenix Fire Protection, Inc

Christopher Chewning, Sales / Operations Manager at Phoenix Fire Protection, Inc.,

AutoSPRINK is a great standalone progam that will allow designers to comply with BIM standards as well as easily perform hydraulic calculations and listing material in a short amount of time. It has consistently increased our design teams productivity since we switched over from SprinkCAD.

AutoSPRINK Testimonials

Here are some more Testiomionals features on the link below.
http://www.mepcad.com/autosprink/astestimonials.aspx


Alex Francese, Owner APF Fire Protection, Inc. of Lagrangeville, NY: "It really is a good feeling when you can sit down and complete a work task having fun with it. I never thought that could possibly happen. The program was the best investment that we have made in the 15 years we have been doing business. It gives us the confidence to be able to bid any job no matter what the size now, knowing the plans we submit to authorities are of the best quality and presence not only we have seen , but them also..."

Kurt Ruchala, PE, with FirePro - Andover, MA: "AutoSPRINK® is very easy to use, very intuitive and easy to understand. Has increased productivity and efficiency. Find the automatic features a great asset and enjoy the ease of the hydraulics and making changes."

Steven A. Thomas, SET, with Cintas Fire Protection - Rhode Island: "I've been using AutoSPRINK® for over a year and I love it; from the hydraulic calculations to the smooth listing process, there's no better computer-aid sprinkler design program. It takes a little getting use to in the beginning, but the training is top notch, and every time I've called or emailed Tech Support, they've either been able to help us right then, or have gotten back to us within 24 hours. It's very easy to export drawings to and from AutoCAD, which is handy when coordinating with other trades."

Ken Gwozdecki, CET, with Diamond Automatic Sprinkler, Inc. - Mt. Holly Springs, PA: "AutoSPRINK® is the greatest tool I've ever seen. We have increased our design time by at least 50% in just 4 months; this is one of the best investments we have made. Training was a lot of fun and the trainer was most helpful. When you need support, it is like nothing I have ever seen."

Bill Schmidt, CET with Fire Design - Ohio: "Greatest thing out there, I've increased my productivity by more than 30% in less than three months. The program is wonderful and fun to use. AutoSPRINK® gave me new drive and made my work fun again."

Steve Richey, Brown Sprinkler Corporation: "Using the VR program I had my first job installed 100% to my drawing. The fitters loved it that they never cut a piece a pipe."

John Graham, M.B.A., Blazemasters Fire Protection: "Based on my year here, I’d say that AutoSPRINK has allowed us to move up to the next level in terms of complexity of jobs, speed of design, and quality of presentation. Consulting engineers, code officials, and others talk about how clean our designs appear. " "I don’t know if these are also contained in your competitors’ products, but the wizards, the pricing function, the interface with suppliers like Gem, and the modeling all seem like great additions to the basic package. "

AutoSPRINK Testimonial: Fire Design Specialties

Paul Basherian, Owner of Fire Design Specialties:

I have used AutoSPRINK exclusively as my fire sprinkler system design tool since 1999. I say exclusively because I do not use AutoCAD, Navis, or Revit. I have 28 years of design experience (seven years by hand, nine years with SprinkCAD, and the rest with AutoSPRINK). I mainly design large projects that require BIM compliance and utilize Integrated Lean Project Delivery. Using AutoSprink has helped my business grow and enabled me to offer 3D modeling services to fire sprinkler, HVAC, electrical, and other contractors that have not yet made the transition to BIM. I can also handle more projects because my efficiency, compared to AutoCAD-based programs, has increased dramatically. I chose this program because the alternatives (AutoCAD and Revit) seem cobbled together to deal with the 3rd dimension. Some of my colleagues use a third-party AutoCAD program to design in 2D and use Navis for collision resolution. They must go back and forth between the two to resolve conflicts. For example, a “hit” is shown in Navis, then the designer must find this hit in 2D, then hope the revision made misses all trades and building components. I’ve never tried designing this way, but it sounds ridiculous and time-consuming. A major project can have hundreds of ongoing conflicts per floor! Many designers do it this way because they don’t like change. As the saying goes, “when all you have is a hammer, everything starts to look like a nail.” The AutoCAD .dwg file format has been the standard plat- form for architecture and dictated how all trades exchange in- formation. Third-party programs use AutoCAD as their “core.” Thus, third-party programs are limited by AutoCAD, which was never intended to be a 3D program. This is why Revit is being forced upon the industry. Revit is anything but user-friendly. I’ll just say that it’s a (pricey) work in progress. There are no third-party fire sprink- ler design programs for Revit. Existing companies must build a program from scratch in order to function in the Revit plat- form. Some fire sprinkler design programs claim to have Revit compatibility. I looked into this and it turns out that the fire sprinkler system can only be viewed and manipulated in Revit, not calculated or listed. Revit must also be purchased on top of AutoCAD. The designer must now navigate among three programs (AutoCAD, Revit, and Navisworks)! I just can’t tell you why some of my colleagues insist on doing it the hard way. Since AutoSPRINK began its life as a stand-alone, Auto- CAD-compatible, 3D program, it’s only limited by Microsoft Windows. I can build a complicated fire pump setup, check for collisions with steel and other trades, verify fitting compatibil- ity, flow water through it, list it, import and export to AutoCAD (.dwg) and Revit (.ifc) — all in one piece of software. No other one program does this. The AutoSPRINK features I use the most are interference checking, voice recognition, design wizards, automatic arm- around, and real-time hydraulic calculations. These tools have saved me countless hours of design time. I would not have been able to meet submittal and POJ dates for two of my most recent projects without this program, period. The jobs are: Sacramento International Airport Expansion and Sutter Medi- cal Center Women & Children’s Hospital, both in Sacramento, California. For the airport, the roof has an undulating wave structure that would have been a nightmare to design correctly in anything but AutoSprink. The pipes follow the roof contour using strategically placed flex couplings, which eliminated the need to bend the pipe, saving the fire sprinkler contractor a significant amount on installation cost. To conclude, there really is no logical reason to design every- thing in 2D. Designers must ask themselves, “is it easier to draw in 2D with lines and symbols, using elevation and slope blocks to describe the 3rd dimension (don’t get me started on the issues with doing this), and letting a piece of software interpret that information, or draw the system in 3D using intelligent objects and simply place them where they’ll be in the real world?” For a designer to be his or her best, they must use the best tools available. If you’re as serious about software as I am, AutoSPRINK is the only way to go.

AutoSPRINK Testimonial: MFP Design, LLC

Travis Mack, SET, MFP Design, LLC:

I have been a designer in the sprinkler industry for just over 18 years. I began on AutoCAD r12, then moved to OmniCADD and eventually to HydraCAD for many years. I felt that HydraCAD was the epitomy of sprinkler system design and nothing could ever surpass the tools and ease of use of HydraCAD. However, in April, 2005, I was introduced to the world of 3D fire sprinkler system design utilizing AutoSprink VR4. I took the beginning training session and was able to start working in AutoSprink the following Monday. I will say that at about 6 - 8 weeks, I was at the same level of production volume as compared to 8+ years on HydraCAD. At about the 12 month mark, I would say that my production has increased 200% from what it was utilizing HydraCAD. I have now been using AutoSprink for nearly 30 months and honestly believe that my production is >200% more than HydraCAD. I am sure about that because I still have some customers that require I do drawings in HydraCAD and it definitely takes a signifcantly longer timeframe to do the drawings.

Some of the great features of the AutoSprink program are its calculations and listing programs. The AutoSprink list is the fastest and most accurate listing program I have seen to date. I recently tagged and listed an 80k sq ft school project in about 20 minutes. The list was 100% in agreement with the drawing. Also, the real time calculations make it very easy to calculate multiple areas if needed. Also, changing the piping with the calculations is seamless.

Additionally, with the move toward 3D coordination in the design phase of larger projects, AutoSprink excels in this area as well. For projects with Navis coordination, I simply take my AutoSprink files and export to AutoCAD to send off to the Navis Coordinator. Since everything is already drawn in 3D, there is no other conversions required. It is as easy as it can be.

As far as the support team goes, I have to say that they are very responsive and go the extra mile to help you with any issue you may encounter. I will say that 99.9% of the issues I have encountered have been resolved with education about how the program operates and is not due to faults in the program. Mr Terry Chapin at MEPCad has even gone so far as to help with questions and answers during "off business" hours. He has also drawn and provided additional blocks and details from his personal library to aid in my projects. I have nothing bad to say about the other company's support teams either, but I will again state that the MEPCad support team is very quick to respond and very helpful with everything.

I will not say that AutoSprink is the perfect fire sprinkler drawing program, but it is as close as one can get from my experience. Anyone that is considering purchasing a fire sprinkler design program should look at all of the others, then view AutoSprink. You will be able to see why it is the best for the money.

Travis Mack, SET

MFP Design, LLC

AutoSPRINK Testimonial: Fire Design, Inc

Cliff Whitfield, President, Fire Design, Inc:

I want to thank you for “selling me” on the idea of trying the AutoSprink design software. I was truly amazed at what I saw and was especially impressed with the hydraulic calculation procedure. Since purchasing the program in September of 2005 it has more than exceeded my expectations. All I can say is that within 3 months of attending class my productivity had almost doubled even though I’m still not using many of the advanced commands that are supposed to increase productivity by another 40%...

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