With forward-looking engineering and IT services, RCM Technologies Inc. (RCMT) provides optimization solutions for the power generation, transmission and distribution, aerospace and life science industries. Incorporated in 1975, the EPC employs around 2800 people worldwide, more than 500 of them in the Engineering Division, which has presence in the USA, Canada and Europe. The services offered by this division range from engineering analyses, and design and documentation to technical services.
Significant added value
Some time ago, the long-time ELCAD user took the opportunity to evaluate AUCOTEC‘s data-centered Engineering Base platform (EB). „We tried the system out and immediately realized that its capabilities bring us significant added value,“ says Ostap Dzikh, Electrical Designer at RCMT.
The engineering professionals used EB for the first time in a challenging large-scale project: Around 300 protection and control devices in seven high-voltage plants for direct and alternating current had to be planned, from the overall concept and schematic drawings and bills of materials right down to the wiring diagram. „We have learned to appreciate EB‘s very convenient ability to document the multiple connection logics between different drawings at the same time,“ says Dzikh. EB also offers assistants that easily identify connection errors, for example. „This ensures that all the equipment is wired and follows all the design requirements,“ he adds.
„Productivity greatly increased“
Everyone involved benefits from the gain in time and quality. In addition, EB‘s standardization significantly accelerates RCMT‘s engineering processes due to the easy reusability in new projects of documents already created once.
The Electrical Designer highlights two advantages in particular: First, EB‘s data centered approach, which has greatly increased RCMT‘s productivity. Changes are entered in only one place; they are automatically ‚passed on‘ to all documents on which the changed object occurs. „EB‘s tools have already saved us hundreds of man-hours of laborious, unproductive manual work,“ he says. Second, RCMT appreciates the fact that the ease of handling makes any user familiar with EB quickly and efficiently.
Let customers benefit
However, as a consulting company, RCMT is basically obliged to use the software specified by its client. „But we will try to introduce EB into our projects because we are sure that our customers will benefit from EB‘s impressive advantages as much as we do,“ stresses Ostap Dzikh.
