Table Of ContentS Y S T E M S
GRAPHICS
BREAKTHROUGHS IN DRAWING PRODUCTION AND PROJECT MANAGEMENT
FOR ARCHITECTS, DESIGNERS, AND ENGINEERS
FRED A. STlTT
MCGRAW-HILL BOOK COMPANY
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TO A MAN WHO GAVE EVERY MOMENT OF HIS LIFE TO
HIS BELOVED PROFESSION. A GREAT TEACHER AND
ARCHITECT, BRUCE GOFF. 1904-1 982.
Library of Congress Cataloging in Publication Data
Stitt, Fred A.
Systems graphics.
(McGraw-Hill designing with systems series)
Includes index.
1.Drawing-room practice. 2.Copying processes.
3.Engineering graphics. 1.Title. 1I.Series.
T352.S74 1984 604.2 83-866
ISBN 0-07-061551-9
Copyright O 1984 by McGraw-Hill, Inc. All rights re-
served. Printed in the United States of America. Except as
permitted under the United States Copyright Act of 1976,
no part of this publication may be reproduced or distribut-
ed in any form or by any means, or stored in a data base or
retrieval system, without the prior written permission of
the publisher.
1234567890 HALIHAL 89876543
ISBN 0-07-663553-9
The editors for this book were Joan Zseleczky and William
B. O'Neal, the designer was Mark E. Safran, and the
production supervisor was Sally Fliess. It was set in
Melior by Santype-Byrd.
Printed and bound by Halliday Lithograph.
this text in no way suggest bias on the part of author or
publisher but are a reflection of the current situation in A/E
professions.
CONTENTS
.................................
PART I ADVANCED IN-HOUSE REPROGRAPHICS 1
1. SYSTEMS DRAFTING AND SYSTEMS GRAPHICS: WHERE ARE WE NOW? ... 3
2. EDUCATING YOURSELF AND STAFF MEMBERS IN SYSTEMS ................ 9
3. TRANSLUCENT PASTE-UP DRAFTING ........................................ 15
. ........................
4 INNOVATIONS. ADVANCES. AND HORROR STORIES 35
5. TOOLS AND TECHNIQUECTHEY GET BETTER AND BETTER ............... 41
.................................
PART 11 ADVANCED OVERLAY REPROGRAPHICS 55
6. OVERLAY DRAFTING. NICE AND EASY ....................................... 57
7. OVERLAY PROBLEMS AND BENEFITS ........................................ 69
8. COORDINATING THE CONSULTANTS ......................................... 75
. ............................
9 PLANNING OVERLAY DRAFTING AND GRAPHICS 83
....
PART 111 COMPUTERIZING ARCHITECTURAL AND ENGINEERING PRACTICE 99
. ............................
10 COMPUTERIZATION AND COMPUTER GRAPHICS 101
. ......................
1 1 CHECKLIST OF STEPS IN RESEARCHING COMPUTERS 115
12. COMPUTERIZATION: THE EQUIPMENT. ....................................... 119
13 . IDENTIFYING YOUR COMPUTER NEEDS ...................................... 125
. ...................................................
14 CADD SERVICE BUREAUS 133
CONTENTS
....................
PART IV QUALITY CONTROL AND SYSTEMS MANAGEMENT 137
. .....................................................
15 DISASTER PREVENTION 139
. ...........
16 CONTROL AND COORDINATION WITH SYSTEMS MANAGEMENT 145
. ............................................
17 THE KEY TO QUALITY CONTROL 147
18. How TO USE A MASTER DETAIL SYSTEM .................................. 149
. ...................
19 CHECKLISTS FOR CREATING CONSTRUCTION DETAILS 163
20. STANDARD DETAILS AND IN-HOUSE REPROGRAPHICS .................... 173
.......................................................................
APPENDIXES 185
. .....................................................
A1 THE DETAIL FILE INDEX 187
A 2. THE DETAIL CATALOG DIVISION INDEX .................................... 201
. .......................
B 1 ARCHITECTURAL WORKING-DRAWING CHECKLIST I 209
B2. ARCHITECTURAL WORKING-DRAWING CHECKLIST 11 ...................... 231
PREFACE
Many hundreds, possibly thousands, of archi- lose touch with the rest. All aspects of systems
tects and engineers now routinely do much of are great, but mainly so in relationship with the
their design development and working drawings other aspects. When you hear arguments over
30 to 40 percent faster than is possible with the relative importance of paste-up versus over-
traditional drafting. They not only do it faster, lay, or photographic versus contact printing, or
they do it less expensively, 30 to 40 percent so. reprographics versus computer design, you're
That goes for big firms, one-person offices, archi- hearing expressions of mind lock. The tools are
tects, engineers, interior designers, specialized all vital parts of a totality we call "systems
designers, and drafters in every discipline, both graphics." They all work best when used togeth-
in the United States and abroad. er to augment one another. They all lose value
Many of these people started straight from my quickly for those who use them on the wrong
first book, Systems Drafting-Creative Repro- jobs. They especially lose value in a hurry for
graphics for Architects and Engineers. They those who are slow to respond to change and
'
have used that information as a springboard for who fail to integrate newer tools with what
extraordinary new levels of experimentation and they're already using.
innovation. You'll see some of their comments The in-house paste-up and reproducible print
in the first chapter. methods are great on many jobs, but they have
~ o sotf the major savings come with new, their limits. Some projects use little or no paste-
inexpensive forms of in-house reprographics. up but accrue a major time or cost advantage, or
You'll see these techniques in this book, all both, by using overlays.
clearly illustrated step by step. It is hoped you'll Overlay will save 20 percent or more of pro-
come to use them yourself. And as you do, you'll duction time and costs on some jobs (many
be surprised to meet people who will tell you consulting engineers do even better than that).
that what you are doing can't be done. "You And it is an absolute boon in improving quality
can't make a reproducible of a paste-up sheet for control and coordination among consultants and
only $5. It costs us $50 to $100." "You can't construction trades. But it has its limits too. And
make a screened shadow print without sending it's often used in the wrong ways on the wrong
it out." "You can't make transparencies out of projects not because of inherent limits but be-
opaque originals without using photography." cause of very common human misunderstand-
"You can't run paste-ups or appliques in a diazo ings.
machine without getting ghost shadows." The computer can bring you efficiency ratios
I know you'll hear such things. I hear them all of 20 to 1 in many special applications. But it's
the time, and after I show someone exactly how the most badly used of the new tools. It has to be
it all works, they sometimes will look confused approached with an extremely focused and orga-
and say those things all over again. nized frame of mind, which, if I dare say so,
"Systems," as ever, means an integration of hasn't been all that characteristic of certain of
different elements. People fail with systems or our design professions.
get less than top results when they get a mind In-house reprographics, astonishingly produc-
lock on some particular aspect of systems and tive on some jobs, just isn't that good on others.
PREFACE
Often enough, the out-of-house reprographic ser- said, "It's incredible. We've come this far in just
vice will do wonders for you. Sometimes they five years." It was true; we had come an incredi-
can't. Photo systems, photocopying systems, ble distance. He and I stood in a cavernous room
paste-up systems, overlay systems, computer that showed it all: computer terminals at every
systems-they're all great in their place, and all turn, high-speed plotters, vacuum frames of all
have limits. But when you put them together, kinds, electronic lettering machines, and a seem-
you create a powerhouse. ingly endless display of word processors, micro-
The trick is to combine advanced systems computers, and minicomputers. Ned and I spoke
graphics and the computer so that each is used briefly, verbally patting each other on the back
where most effective. Some computer-aided de- for being a part of this revolutionary change.
sign and drafting (CADD) advocates say the Shortly afterward a young and very earnest-
computer is all you need. That may be so for looking young man came up to me and blurted
certain limited schematic linear work such as in out an introduction about being an architect
electrical engineering and piping diagrams. But concerned about human values. Then he said,
the advice fails totally in the multidisciplined, "Now we have the technology, Mr. Stitt. But
multifaceted world of building design and con- what's it going to do for us? Or to us?"
struction. There are lots of different kinds of Good question, I thought. I hoped to pacify the
tasks, and you need lots of different tools to do rather agitated architect with some platitudes
them properly, tools ranging from pencil and about efficiency and better design and better
sketch paper to the cathode ray tube (CRT) and quality control. He knew, as I did, that those
electric stylus. were canned answers, just stock remarks from
Tools constitute only half of the systems ap- my lectures. When we ended the conversation,
proach. Project management is the other half. we both felt unsatisfied. He was trying to get at a
When you combine advanced graphics with the much larger issue, and I hadn't dealt with it.
computer and then combine them both with The question is: What really is going to hap-
advanced management techniques (systems pen to us by using these systems, and will it
management), you'll experience a level of pro- really be to the good? This book has answers,
ductivity and control over your work that you and some of them add up to a whopping big
may not right now dream possible. surprise.
Some while back I was pleased to run into
systems pioneer Ned Abrams at one of the fam-
ous systems conferences and trade shows. He FRED A. STITT
GRAPHICS
PART 1
ADVANCED
IN-HOUSE
REPROGRAPHICS
Illustration by Lanee La 'shagway.
