July BAATUG

RSC is excited to collaborate with Samsung on another amazing and free ARCHIBUS User Group training Thursday July 21st. Come join us for an in-depth training on ARCHIBUS' Building Operations Application with location, dinner, and refreshments provided by Samsung!

The Bay Area Archibus User Group (BAATUG) was started by Bob Stephen of Robert Stephen Consulting, LLC in April of 2006. The underlying purpose for the group was to provide answers to common questions asked by Bob's clients.

The monthly training group now consists of current clients and interested individuals wanting to learn more about ARCHIBUS, AutoCAD and report writing. The quarterly two hour collaborative forum consists of one hour of training on a previously announced topic, and a second hour in a round table discussion of any topic suggested by the group.

If you'd like to learn more about the event, check out our evite.

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What is BAATUG?

What is “BAATUG”?
BAATUG is short for Bay Area ARCHIBUS Training and User Group. It is a FREE on-site, collaborative forum with one hour of free training on a set topic and a second hour of round-table discussion for any topic(s) suggested by the group.

Who will be training us?
Our BAATUGs are led by Bob Stephen, CEO & Managing Director of RSC and is hosted by our clients.

Who attends a BAATUG?
The training consists of current clients and interested individuals wanted to learn more about ARCHIBUS, AutoCAD, and report writing.

Where are BAATUGs?
Our free on-site trainings are hosted by various clients located in the Silicon Valley and San Francisco Bay Area.

When are BAATUGs?
With the help of our clients, we host one BAATUG per quarter. They are generally on the 3rd Thursday of the month from 5/5:30PM – 7/7:30PM

Where have BAATUGs been held in the past?
Past BAATUGs have been hosted by a variety of our clients including, but not limited to: Lucas Film, Stanford, eBay, Monterey Bay Aquarium, and many more!

What else can you tell me?
Not only do attendees get a free training from an ARCHIBUS master, but it is also a phenomenal opportunity to meet with other ARCHIBUS users who are going through similar challenges and triumphs. Our attendees love the chance to discuss with other like-minded ARCHIBUS users and see how different companies are benefiting from their IWMS.

How can I get involved?
Are you ready for this? Pinterest is hosting a BAATUG at their brand new facility in San Francisco THIS MONTH! Check out our evite for more information and to RSVP to this one-of-a-kind free ARCHIBUS training.

Who do I contact if I’m interested in hosting?
If you would like to bring a BAATUG to your facility, please don’t hesitate to contact us at training@rsc2lc.com

Don't forget to check out our evite and RSVP to this month's BAATUG!

Like what you read?  Subscribe to the blog and follow us on Twitter, Facebook, Linkedin and Pinterest to keep up to date with the latest news from Robert Stephen Consulting, LLC.

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Friday Training Follow Up: Reports - RSC 12 Reports

Robert Stephen Consulting, LLC provides free 30-minute Client Training session every Friday at 10:00 AM PST.  RSC prides itself in providing learning opportunities for our clients.  We feel that if our clients know the system better, we will able to work better with them to discover and implement the solutions that they need.

Last week's topic was Reports: RSC 12 Reports.  Bob Stephen, our CEO, highlighted seven reports – the other five are in the works.  RSC has created a number of reports to help our clients manage their space and personnel at a high level.  These reports contain useful information that can be presented to Chiefs and VPs to quickly get a sense of where the current workforce is located, how much their portfolio costs, and how often moves are taking place.  These reports are available to all our clients using Web Central.

THE RSC DOMAIN

RSC has created its own domain in Web Central.

Clients can create their own domains as well.

There are two processes, the RSC Reports and RSC SQL Automation Engine

THE RSC STANDARD REPORTS

Geography drill down for several views allows the user to use one type of report at a variety of locations.

Space Occupancy

This chart shows a variety of ways of looking at occupancy.

It draws a distinction between Occupied Seats and Seated Headcount.

Division Report

This is a summary report showing the headcount of divisions at various locations.

Additional detail is available to justify the totals.

Building Summary

8 summary views of building area allocations by category, type, occupancy and others.

Site Summary

Similar to the building summary applied to sites.

Churn

Number of moves completed by month, comparing employee moves and new hire moves.

Employee Scatter Chart

Thematic geography map view showing location of buildings with icons indicating the number of workers at each place.

Global Workforce Report

A dashboard showing several datapoints:

• Number of buildings
• Rentable area
• Seated headcount
• Total Cost of Ownership

Combined with drill downs that help further dissect the information

If you'd like to know more about this particular training, email us at training@rsc2lc.com

We’d love to have you join us for this week's training on AutoCAD, specifically BOMA Polylining, this Friday, Dec. 18. 

Please register by clicking on this link and follow the instructions:

https://attendee.gototraining.com/r/3796052170109670145

Registering is required to receive a confirmation email and a link to the training.

Our weekly client trainings are held Fridays from 10:00 AM to 10:30 AM PST.  This is an opportunity to learn more about an area of ARCHIBUS that you may not be familiar with.  

We look forward to seeing you there!

Like what you read?  Subscribe to the blog and follow us on Twitter, Facebook, Linkedin and Pinterest to keep up to date with the latest news from Robert Stephen Consulting, LLC.

Thoughts? Questions?  Comment below and let us know what you think!  We'd love to hear your insights.

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Friday Training Follow up: Roles and Users

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Robert Stephen Consulting, LLC provides free 30-minute Client Training session every Friday at 10:00AM PST!  RSC prides itself in providing learning opportunities for our clients.  We feel that if our clients know the system better, we will able to work better with them to discover and implement the solutions that they need. 

Last week Carly Tortorelli, our Project Manager, discussed System Administration, specifically Roles and Users.

The training outline consisted of the following:

    1.  System Administration - Roles and Users
          a. What is the Purpose of a Role?
          b. Defining Roles
          c. Defining Users
                i. Using Synchronization
          d. Manage Users, Passwords, Roles and Taskes
          e. Goal: Users can do their job with the least amount of clicks
                i. Role Based Home Pages
          f. Common Challenges in Creating Roles

If you'd like to know more about this particular training, email us at training@rsc2lc.com

We’d love to have you join us for this week's training on Reports, specifically RSC 12 
Reports this Friday, Dec. 11. 

Please register by clicking on this link and follow the instructions:

https://attendee.gototraining.com/r/8940461467799161601

Registering is required to receive a confirmation email and a link to the training.

Our weekly client trainings are held Fridays from 10:00 AM to 10:30 AM PST.  This is an opportunity to learn more about an area of ARCHIBUS that you may not be familiar with.  

We look forward to seeing you there!

Like what you read?  Subscribe to the blog and follow us on Twitter, Facebook, Linkedin and Pinterest to keep up to date with the latest news from Robert Stephen Consulting, LLC.

Thoughts? Questions?  Comment below and let us know what you think!  We'd love to hear your insights.

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Friday Training Follow Up: AutoCAD Basics

Robert Stephen Consulting, LLC provides free 30-minute Client Training session every Friday at 10:00AM PST!  RSC prides itself in providing learning opportunities for our clients.  We feel that if our clients know the system better, we will able to work better with them to discover and implement the solutions that they need.

Last week Matt Ritzman, our AutoCAD expert, discussed the basics of AutoCAD.  In the training, Matt set 3 goals:

1.  Learn how to get around AutoCAD
2. Learn how to find out more
3. Learn how to do specific tasks that relate to ARCHIBUS

Below you can find a basic outline for the bulk of the training.

GETTING STARTED

When you open AutoCAD (and I encourage you to do so)  You’ll find an interface that is much like many Windows interfaces.  Standard Menus, buttons, status items.  One big thing that sticks out is the Command Line interface.  This element has a long history that goes back to a time before Windows.  Although you can get by without considering the command line, I highly, highly, highly recommend that you give it some priority.

Command Line

Even when you aren’t using the command line directly, you are using it.  So you might as well embrace it.  Always trust the Command Line.  The command line gives a history of what has happened.  Press F2 – to see an expanded view of the command line

Elements

• Prompt – Command:
• Enter to submit command
• ESC Escape key to get out of a command (sometime you have to use escape multiple times)
• Available options: Specify other corner point or [Chamfer/Elevation/Fillet/Thickness/Width]
• The capitalized letter is a short cut

Buttons, Menu, Ribbon

• Buttons 
• Click to engage a command 
• Menu 
• Tree structure access to commands and tools
• “A” 
• Ribbon 
• “New” access to tools
• Context sensitive
• Potentially more dense 
• Quick Access Toolbar 
• Customization 
• EVERY element in AutoCAD can be customized

Mouse

• Point Click
• Middle Mouse Button
• Right-click
•  Enter 
• Click-hold = Context menu
• Available everywhere
• Context sensitive
• Even in the command line 
• Shift-right click
• Ctrl/shift right click

Grips

• Click to move, stretch, add vertex
• Shift Click to select multiple
• Ctrl click to duplicate object

Palettes

• Tool Palettes ctrl+3
• Properties Palette ctrl+1
• Design Center ctrl+2
• Layers, Xref and others

Status Bar Tray

• Crosshair location
• Snaps
• Interface elements
• Model Space

Modify

• Turn Palettes on and off
• Add and remove toolbars

Intro to Options

• Most of the program preferences are held here 
• Profiles 
• Setup for different tasks
• Support File Search Paths 
• Display 
• It may be worth changing the background for various profiles
• Crosshair size (CURSORSIZE)
• Drafting
• Aperature size (cursor size when selecting an object)
• Selection
• Pickbox size (PICKBOX)

Workspaces

• Save your interface

As a reminder, we will not have training on Friday 11/28 due to the Thanksgiving Holiday.  We are excited, however, to announce our next training on Friday 12/04.  Below are some details on registering.

Please register for RSC's Friday Client Training: TOPIC on Friday, 12/04 10:00 AM - 10:30 AM PST at: https://attendee.gototraining.com/r/3799759723318496001

This week's free 30-Minute training will cover System Administration, specifically Roles & Users

To attend the meeting you must register! After registering you will receive a confirmation email containing information about joining the training.

Like what you read?  Subscribe to the blog and follow us on Twitter, Facebook, Linkedin and Pinterest to keep up to date with the latest news from Robert Stephen Consulting, LLC.

Thoughts? Questions?  Comment below and let us know what you think!  We'd love to hear your insights.

Follow @rsc2lc Tweet

Friday Training Follow Up: Types of Reports in ARCHIBUS

Robert Stephen Consulting, LLC provides free 30-minute Client Training session every Friday at 10:00AM PST!  RSC prides itself in providing learning opportunities for our clients.  We feel that if our clients know the system better, we will able to work better with them to discover and implement the solutions that they need.

Last week Bob Stephen, our CEO & Managing Director discussed Reporting in ARCHIBUS.

Specifically, we covered the Four Types of Reports in ARCHIUBS.  These reports include

1. C & VP Level Reports
2. Director and Manager Reports
3. Individual Contributor Reports
4. Reports for Staff at Large

If you'd like to know more about this particular training, email us at training@rsc2lc.com

We’d love to have you join us for this week's training on Plain AutoCAD Basics this Friday 11/20.  Please register for the training here:
https://attendee.gototraining.com/r/6239139519237186817

Registering is required to receive a confirmation email and a link to the training.

Our weekly client trainings are held Fridays from 10:00 to 10:30am.  This is an opportunity to learn more about an area of ARCHIBUS that you may not be familiar with.  

We look forward to seeing you there!

Like what you read?  Subscribe to the blog and follow us on Twitter, Facebook, Linkedin and Pinterest to keep up to date with the latest news from Robert Stephen Consulting, LLC.

Thoughts? Questions?  Comment below and let us know what you think!  We'd love to hear your insights.

Follow @rsc2lc Tweet

Friday Training Follow Up: System Navigation

Robert Stephen Consulting, LLC provides free 30-minute Client Training session every Friday at 10:00AM PST! RSC prides itself in providing learning opportunities for our clients. We feel that if our clients know the system better, we will able to work better with them to discover and implement the solutions that they need.

Last Friday's training was led by our Tech Lead, Todd.  The topic he covered was System Administration, specifically Page Navigation.  Todd discussed the four basic types of navigation:

1. Accessibility Navigator
2. Process Navigator
3. Dashboard
4. Page Navigator (Home Pages)

Before taking a deeper look at Page Navigator.  During the in depth overview, he covered:

• How to use Page Navigator
• What you can have on your Home Page
• How to toggle between multiple home pages
• Working on Tasks
• The Applications Tab
• The "My Favorites" Panel 
• How to build a Home Page 
• Adding a Navigation Page
• Building the xml Descriptor Page
• Background Shading
• and  of course some Best Practices 

If you'd like to know more about this particular training, email us at training@rsc2lc.com

We are excited to announce this week's Client Training!  It will be held on Friday 11/13.  Below are some details on registering:

Please register for RSC's Friday Client Training: Reports, specifically Basic Report Types, on Friday, November 13, 2015 10:00 AM - 10:30 AM PST at:https://attendee.gototraining.com/r/743991509845256705

After registering you will receive a confirmation email containing information about joining the training.>

Can't wait to see you there!

Like what you read?  Subscribe to the blog and follow us on Twitter, Facebook, Linkedin and Pinterest to keep up to date with the latest news from Robert Stephen Consulting, LLC.

Thoughts? Questions?  Comment below and let us know what you think!  We'd love to hear your insights.

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ARCHIBUS Tips: Adding Records

This week we're sharing with you a quick tip on how to add records in ARCHIBUS.

Hit the insert key on your keyboard which gives you a blank record, allowing you to type in the division code.  If nothing is typed in, the record is not saved in the system.

With a very simple click you can switch from "Data Mode" (allows you to modify data within a view) to "Report Mode" simply by hitting .

Friday Training Follow Up

Robert Stephen Consulting, LLC has begun to provide free 30-minute Client Training session every Friday again!  RSC prides itself in providing learning opportunities for our clients.  We feel that if our clients know the system better, we will able to work better with them to discover and implement the solutions that they need.  

Our first session was 10/9.  Last week we discussed Client/Server vs. Web Central vs. Smart Client.  Here are some highlights from the training, in case you missed it:

Client/Server 

Client/Server has been the go-to program for years. It is a solid work horse, but it is no longer being developed. 21.1 was the last version. If you have Smart Client, I recommend using it as much as possible.

Benefits:

• Pretty much indestructible - Connection to DB can be very direct.
• Bullet proof database update tools
• LOTS of history: *.abs files and *.avw files that may not exist in Web Central

Web Central

Web interface to the ARCHIBUS database, only requires a web browser to run.

Benefits:

• Roles based
• Views based
• "Pretty" Reports/ Dashboards
• Pages interface
• Web server

Smart Client

The new Client/Server.

Benefits:

• On the fly creation of views
• Saved views are easy to develop and instantly available
• Filters are easier to develop
• Views with relationships between tables are easy to produce
• Limited to 3 levels down
• Better integration between application and AutoCAD

We are excited to have another RSC Friday Training on Friday, Oct. 16 from 10:00 AM - 10:30 AM PDT

Please register by clicking on this link and follow the instructions:

https://attendee.gototraining.com/r/6155681089126080257

This week's free 30-Minute training will cover Reports, specifically Smart Client data tools, including import/export, and drawing highlights.

After registering you will receive a confirmation email containing information about joining the training.

Robert Stephen Consulting, LLC Friday Trainings are open to all!  If you'd like to be included in our weekly email list with topics and information about that week's training session, please contact us at info@rsc2lc.com and we will be sure to get you on the list!

Like what you read?  Subscribe to the blog and follow us on Twitter, Facebook, Linkedin and Pinterest to keep up to date with the latest news from Robert Stephen Consulting, LLC.

Thoughts? Questions?  Comment below and let us know what you think!  We'd love to hear your insights.

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Tip of the Month: SpaceView Geography

Ever heard of SpaceView?  It is an amazing tool.

SpaceView is a web based employee locator nestled within the firewall of a corporation.  It's concept is simple - to keep the information about employees simple & accessible.  Completely automated SpaceView requires minimal maintenance.  Automated AutoLisp routines create the Drawing Web Format (DWF) files each night.  The employee data information is retrieved through a lie query to the CAFM database.  This simple yet effective web-based tool provides such information as vacancies, upcoming moves, furniture layout, organization ownership, telecommunication assets, and conference room and lab location.

With the addition of the redlining capabilities, planners can communicate moves, adds, and changes through the web.  Other components include an online work order system with email notification and web-based move requests.

This week we're sharing a brief SpaceView Geography training video, brought to you by our CEO & Managing Director Bob Stephen.

Like what you read?  Subscribe to the blog and follow us on Twitter, Facebook, and Pinterest to keep up to date with the latest news from Robert Stephen Consulting, LLC.

Thoughts? Questions?  Comment below and let us know what you think!  We'd love to hear your insights.

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ARCHIBUS Training Review

Last week Robert Stephen Consulting, LLC and a few of our clients had the amazing opportunity to attend a 5-day ARCHIBUS Training and Certification workshop featuring ARCHIBUS' very own Sean Benson.

RSC, is the only ARCHIBUS partner who allows clients to attend this type of in-depth training.  One client said:

I really appreciate RSC providing us with this opportunity. Like Sean said, none of the other business partners do and I am so grateful that RSC provides us with a full week of ARCHIBUS training. I think we always learn so much and are also grateful to see and interact with each other. I also appreciate the fact the clients and Bob attend. I feel like this brings awareness and appreciation for what we do as ARCHIBUS consultants. Thank you!

Over the course of the week we covered a variety of topics, including:

• Web Central
• Smart Client
• Extension for AutoCAD
• Space Planning & Management
• Environmental & Energy Analysis
• Capital Planning
• Capital Project Management
• Real Estate & Portfolio Management
• System Administration

One of the greatest benefits of attending our Annual ARCHIBUS Training is the opportunity attendees have to certify in different topics.  All exams, must be taken in person with an ARCHIBUS proctor.  All subsequent retake exams may be taken online.  If we didn't invite ARCHIBUS out for this yearly training, obtaining these certifications would be significantly more difficult.

We are beyond thrilled when one of our own increase their knowledge of ARCHIBUS.  We believe the time it takes to adequately study & pass with a 70% or higher more than pays off.  It allows our staff to provide the best possible assistance to our clients.  This year RSC had 9 employees receive new certifications!

• Bob
• Real Estate Portfolio & Lease Management
• Tawn
• Space Management
• Matt
• Space, Building Operations, Real Estate Portfolio & Lease Management
• Carly
• Space, Building Operations
• Todd
• Space, Building Operations, and beta System Administration
• Trent
• ARCHIBUS Fundamentals
• Ryan
• Real Estate Portfolio & Lease Management, Space, Building Operations
• Kerry
• AXVW, Space, and beta System Administration
• Jeff
• Real Estate Portfolio & Lease Management

Here are a few pictures from this year's training.  

 

 

Overall we felt it was a great success!  The pacing was great and the new ARCHIBUS consoles are awesome.  We'd like to give a huge Thank You to DB Catering, we ate like kings and queens!

Next year we hope to help more clients take advantage of this amazing opportunity.  Thank you again Sean Benson for flying out to spend the week training us!

Like what you read?  Subscribe to the blog and follow us on Twitter, Facebook, and Pinterest to keep up to date with the latest news from Robert Stephen Consulting, LLC.

Thoughts? Questions?  Comment below and let us know what you think!  We'd love to hear your insights.

Follow @rsc2lc Tweet