ARCHIBUS releases V.19.3 multilingual Web-based green building application

by Ann Withanee — July 15, 2011—ARCHIBUS, Inc., which bills itself as the #1 solution for real estate, infrastructure, and facilities management software, announces the release of ARCHIBUS V.19.3. This release introduces the new Web-based Green Building application as well as expands its Smart Client technology, which supports Web- and Windows-based AutoCAD drawing access and management from any on-site or remote location.

In addition, V.19.3 provides the ability to run ARCHIBUS functionality simultaneously in English, German, Spanish, French, Italian, Dutch, and Simplified Chinese, by connecting to the same application server and project database.

ARCHIBUS Green Building is an extensively enhanced environmental application derived from the ARCHIBUS Total Environmental Asset Management System (TEAMS) product suite. Web-based Green Building has been completely revamped to improve both functionality and scalability and information generated from it seamlessly integrates into the standard ARCHIBUS database.

ARCHIBUS explains that Green Building helps assess net greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions equivalent impact, shows carbon footprint change over time for each building or an entire portfolio, tracks progress through sustainability certification projects—using LEED, BREEAM, or any other certification criterion—and manages data and documents required for requalification.

The application also helps estimate anticipated payback on sustainability investments and correlates environmental data to facility use and operations. It thereby provides the timely and reliable data required for making and defending strategic sustainability decisions.

Unlike existing point solutions, ARCHIBUS Green Building can cost-effectively leverage existing space inventory within the dynamic ARCHIBUS repository and apply this background data against multiple, configurable standards and emissions factors.

ARCHIBUS Web-based Smart Client and the Smart Client Extension for AutoCAD & Revit now include drawing management features accessible from the Drawing List tab of the ARCHIBUS user interface.

The new drawing management features support:

  • Individual or remote site management of drawing changes, while keeping drawings completely synchronized with the full drawing set stored on a centralized server
  • Site outsourcing of ARCHIBUS hosting, while retaining the ability to work on drawings using the building owners copy of AutoCAD or Revit
  • Site outsourcing of CAD drafting to third-parties
  • Architect access to customers drawings for revisions while remaining 100 percent in live synch with the customers standards, such as building and department names, room standards, account codes, and employee lists
  • Error reduction and improved oversight of large drawing sets using ARCHIBUS Web Services to perform real-time validation of entered values
  • Use of AutoCAD or Revit desktop tools by CAD specialists to leverage the full power of the processors in their CAD workstations
  • CAD or BIM workstations that work with existing software using one small plug-in—the ARCHIBUS Smart Client Extension for AutoCAD & Revit

Once an administrator enables the appropriate features, for example, CAD specialists can formally check out and lock drawings on their local machines. When they are done working on them, they check in the drawings and unlock them. The program tracks all drawing changes for review and audit purposes.

The check-out and check-in features use Web Services so that they can deliver drawings over the Internet and not just over a LAN or WAN.

When the drawing management features are enabled, the Enterprise Graphics publishing feature inside of ARCHIBUS also uses Web Services to upload published graphics. This then allows CAD specialists to update, via the Internet, a centralized server with graphics changes that can be used by the rest of the organization.

For more information visit the ARCHIBUS Web site as well as its FMLink ad.