Automated Utility Design™ (AUD) combines design and documentation with rules-driven workflows and analysis for utility, telecommunications, and electrical distribution design—all based on the power of AutoCAD®.
Improve design accuracy, analyze, and optimize network designs for greater performance and reliability, and deliver more consistent and coordinated documentation—all integrated with the utility enterprise.
AUD is an extension to AutoCAD®, the world’s number-one computer-aided utility design software. With over 500,000 users in the utility industry alone, AutoCAD® offers an established platform with an extensive base of skilled users who can quickly become even more highly productive with AUD. The use of AUD minimizes costly change management, training, and support expenses.
The power of AutoCAD® allows AUD users native access to 3D models, other design information from AutoCAD Map 3D, AutoCAD Civil 3D, AutoCAD Electrical, and a wide variety of common GIS and web-based data sources. External developers and contractors can readily exchange important documentation to support intelligent design and construction workflows.
From basic job sketches to major capital projects, AUD provides the purpose-built tools necessary to perform designs for electric, gas, water, and communications organizations.
AUD utilizes an intelligent, model-based design. Utility assets are created in AUD as intelligent, 3D models that include engineering properties and other physical and topological attributes. Using a model-based design allows AUD users to perform engineering analysis for properties such as flicker, cable sag, cable pulling tension and direction, voltage drop, clearances, and guying. The model-based design also supports business modeling for important properties such as joint trench allocation and specialized job conditions.
AUD automates the design process. Designs can be swiftly laid out based on an organization’s design standards and business rules. Common standards such as pole spacing, guying, and equipment sizing can be defined for an entire organization or a specific job. AUD supports projects ranging from simple maintenance work orders to large, highly engineered capital projects.
AUD’s extensive features enable the automation of
Automating these common design processes ensures consistent, accurate, and efficient designs.
AUD and SBS Utility DataHub™ work together to integrate utility workflows. Integrated workflows ensure that designs are efficient, accurate, and subject to proper governance. Users can work within the AUD application while seamlessly accessing information from common business systems, including:
AUD integration is configurable, vendor-independent, and provided as a supported product via Utility DataHub™. For more information about Utility DataHub™ and how it supports AUD, please visit the SBS Utility DataHub™ page.
