SMARTDRAW IN ENGINEERING:

Creating a Fire Evacuation Plan

Mark Wilson had his back to the wall. New fire regulations in the United Kingdom mandated that his employer - Charles Wilson Engineers, Ltd. of Harpenden, U.K. - devise a "fire evacuation plan" to hang in the lobbies of its 11 equipment rental depots throughout the country. The plan would need to detail (among other things) escape routes, fire points and fire extinguisher locations. Despite having zero experience as a graphic designer, Wilson was tasked with the assignment, which had to be completed ASAP.

"My first thought was to handwrite the plans, but that would have looked quite unprofessional," said Wilson. "Then I searched online for some type of specialized software to aid me in completing the project. It's there that I stumbled upon Visio and SmartDraw, and downloaded trial versions of both.

"Keep in mind I have never received any kind of training nor used any type of graphics software before, but to me Visio^® looked old-fashioned - colorless and uninspiring. SmartDraw on the other hand, was colourful, clear and very easy to use. All the tools I needed were at my fingertips, the interface was much more inviting, and the images more vivid and useful."

In no time at all Wilson was designing extremely detailed and professional diagrams that eventually secured prominent positions in Charles Wilson's respective depot lobbies.

As a result of Mark's efforts, he has now become the informal company consultant when it comes to business graphics. He is currently working on his third project and his skills are improving with each assignment.

Like many users, Mark is realizing his original need was only the tip of the iceberg when it comes to SmartDraw's capabilities.

"I needed to complete an evacuation plan in a matter of days, which is why I turned to SmartDraw. Since then I've realized how much more I can do with the program."

In the next six months Mark intends on using SmartDraw for a range of projects, like designing floor plan layouts for new buildings, redesigning the layouts of existing ones and diagramming transportation risk assessments.

Concluded Mark, "I'm sure in the meantime I'll think of other ideas as well."