WO2001065400A2

WO2001065400A2 - Design and estimating tools for the design of communication infrastructure in a structure

Info

Publication number: WO2001065400A2
Application number: PCT/US2001/006441
Authority: WO
Inventors: Thomas C. Rauscher
Original assignee: Adc Telecommunications, Inc.
Priority date: 2000-03-01
Filing date: 2001-02-28
Publication date: 2001-09-07
Also published as: WO2001065400A3; WO2001065400A8; AU2001241857A1; PE20011331A1

Abstract

The invention is directed to an integrated tool that allows drawings, estimates and specifications to be generated for communication equipment that are consistent with industy standards. Information about products incorporated into a drawing one exported to estimating and specification tools that allow he generation of specifications and estimates based on those products.

Description

Design and Estimating Tools for the Design of Communication Infrastructure

In a Structure

This application is being filed as a PCT International Patent application in the name of ADC Telecommunications, Inc., a U.S. national corporation, designating all countries except the US, on 27 February 2001.

Background of the Invention

Construction of a building or complex requires lots of planning, design and forethought. To make sure construction is performed in a standardized way, the Construction Specifications Institute (CSI), jointly with Construction

Specifications Canada (CSC) developed a MasterFormat™. The MasterFormat™ is a master list of numbers and titles for organizing information about construction requirements, products and activities into a standard sequence. The MasterFormat™ was introduced in 1963. The MasterFormat™ includes a front end and sixteen divisions directed to everything from masonry to furnishings. Currently there is no division relating to the design of communications infrastructure to accommodate communication equipment in a structure. CSI also developed a SectionFormat™ and PageFormat™ that provide standard formats for organizing the sections and individual pages of a specification. In the design and construction process, architects typically use the

MasterFormat™ to organize the requirements for a new building or renovation. The architect is typically the lead design professional for a project. The design phase generally proceeds as follows. First, a customer identifies a need and hires a lead design professional to establish a project scope and budget. Typically this is an architect, but does not always need to be. The lead design professional then assembles a design team of engineers and consultants who work together to create a schematic design and estimate. Once the schematic design is reviewed, modified as required and approved, which includes making sure the design can be built within budget, the design team then begins detailed design efforts. The detailed design is typically reviewed at 50% and 90% along with a revised estimate. This review often includes individuals from the facilities' Operations and Maintenance group for a given facility.

The design team prepares the construction documents and the project is put out to bid. Addenda are issued as required to clarify the bid documents. Bids are received and a contract(s) is awarded to the successful bidder(s) and construction begins. It is typically at this time when it becomes obvious that communication technology has not been adequately addressed and now there may be no space or money in the budget for the required technology requirements. This results in design changes and change orders to the contracts and disruptions to the construction timelines and plans.

Eventually the project is completed and the contractors turn over the record copy drawings and manuals to the operations and maintenance department for the facility. As-built drawings usually arrive 3-6 months later as hard copy prints, if at all. Meanwhile, the communications technology systems managers wade through what they were given and often need to rework, enhance or otherwise modify the results. Thus, communication technology requirements are not currently being addressed adequately under the current CSI model.

Historically, the communications industry communicates in system specific Request for Proposals and hand sketches while the construction industry communicates with performance specifications and CAD drawings. Because of this, technology system(s) requirements end up being addressed late in the construction cycle, typically by the owner of a facility, on a system by system basis. In fact, technology planning often begins after the rest of the project has gone out to bid. This results in construction projects that go out to bid with little or no coordination for communications technology, other than a few outlet boxes, conduit stubs and an occasional note to "coordinate in field with owner". This lack of planning results in little or no space allocated in the building for communication technology or any money in the capital budget for the required infrastructure and typically not much time left to resolve the issues.

Thus, it is desirable to establish an effective and comprehensive model that can be used to better plan, build and also manage communication technology infrastructures in a manner that is consistent with the established design and construction industry. It is also desirable to provide a system and method that can streamline the generation of drawings, estimates and specifications of communication infrastructure that us consistent with the established design and construction industry.

Summary of the Invention

According to a first aspect of the invention, there is provided a method for generating drawings, estimates and specifications for design of communication equipment in a structure. The method includes the steps of:

(a) specifying communication equipment for design in a structure using a drawing tool program; (b) exporting information about the communication equipment specified in step (a) to an estimating tool program which allows an estimate based on the communication equipment specified in step (a) to be created; and

(c) exporting information about the communication equipment specified in step (a) to a specification tool program which allows specifications of the communication equipment specified in step (a) to be created.

According to a second aspect of the invention, there is provided a computer for generating drawings, estimates and specification for design of communication equipment in a structure. The computer includes a drawing tool program, an estimating tool program, a specification tool program and a processor for running these programs. The drawing tool 1 program is used for selecting communication equipment to be designed in a structure and generating drawings of the selected communication equipment located in the structure. The estimation tool program communicates with the drawing tool program wherein the estimation tool program generates an estimate for the communication equipment selected. The specification tool program communicates with the drawing tool program and generates a specification of the communication equipment selected.

According to a third aspect of the invention, three is provided a system for generating drawings, estimates and specifications for design of communication equipment for design of communication equipment in a structure, The system includes: a general purpose computing device; a computer program comprising one or more program modules executable by the computing device wherein the program module comprise a drawing tool module for selecting communication equipment to be designed in a structure and generating drawings of the selected communication equipment located in the structure; an estimating tool module communicating with the drawing tool module wherein the estimating tool module generates an estimate for the communication equipment selected using the drawing tool module; and a specification tool module communicating with the drawing tool module for generating specifications of the communication equipment selected using the drawing tool module.

According to a fourth aspect of the invention, there is provided a method for generating estimates for a design of communication equipment in a structure. The method includes the steps of: (a) exporting information from a drawing tool concerning communication equipment selected by the drawing tool to be designed in the structure; and

(b) generating an estimation report based on the information exported in step (a).

According to a fifth aspect of the invention, there is provided a method for generating specifications for a design of communication equipment in a structure. The method includes the steps of:

(a) exporting information from a drawing tool concerning communication equipment selected by the drawing tool to be designed in the structure; and

(b) generating a specification based on the information exported in step (a).

According to a sixth aspect of the invention, there is provided a method for generating drawings for design of communication equipment in a structure. The method includes the steps of:

(a) providing a plurality of levels of technology-based drawings wherein each level represents a distinct level of detail of communication equipment;

(b) providing a library of templates wherein the library of templates include graphical symbols representing communication equipment; and

(c) responding to user interaction to place a graphical symbol selected by a user in a level selected by the user.

Brief Description of the Drawings

FIG. 1 is a logical schematic of a system according to a preferred embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a screen shot of an Al drawing. FIG. 3 is a screen shot of a Tl drawing according to a preferred embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 4 is a screen shot of a T2 drawing according to a preferred embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 5 is a screen shot of a T3 drawing according to a preferred embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 6 is a screen shot of an equipment room drawing of a preferred embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 7 is a screen shot of a communication room drawing of a preferred embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 8 is a screen shot of the main page presented by the drawing tool according to a preferred embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 9 is a screen shot of a start-up dialog box according to a preferred embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 10 is a screen shot of a Tl drawing menu according to a preferred embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 11 is a screen shot of an Insert Legend dialog box according to a preferred embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 12 is a screen shot of an Insert Border dialog box according to a preferred embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 13 is a screen shot of a purge and misc menu according to a preferred embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 14 is a screen shot of the technology information that can be added to a T2 drawing according to a preferred embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 15 is a screen slot of a customized menu added to AutoCAD^® to create "T" based drawings according to a preferred embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 16 is a screen shot of an equipment room selection dialog box according to a preferred embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 17 is a screen shot of elevational views of a selected product according to a preferred embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 18 is a screen shot of the estimating tool dialog box according to a preferred embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 19 is a screen shot of an adjust product quantity dialog box according to a preferred embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 20 is a screen shot of a modify database information dialog box according to a preferred embodiment of the present invention..

FIG. 21 is a screen shot of a generated estimate report according to a preferred embodiment of the present invention.

Detailed Description of the Presently Preferred Embodiments

The present invention can be used to organize a comprehensive set of performance specifications, estimates and series of Technology drawings that assist a designer or architect incorporate communication infrastructure in a structure.

As already discussed, it is desirable that an architect incorporate communication technology requirements from the earliest stages of planning through the design and construction stages by including a Technology Engineer or Consultant in the process. In order for this to happen, Technology Engineers and Consultants must be able to prepare the project requirements including CAD Drawings, Performance Specifications and Estimates consistent with the existing CSI MasterFormat™, SectionFormat™ and PageFormat™ documents. An organizational model is proposed that breaks down the communication technology infrastructure into logical categories. Using the existing CSI model, a "Division 17" is proposed and organized as follows: Front End Requirements, 17000 General Requirements, 17100 Cable Plant, 17200 LAN, 17300 Voice, 17400 Audio/Video, 17500 WAN, 17600 Architectural, Electrical and Mechanical Systems, 17700 Intra Building Communication Systems, and 17800 Building Automation and Control, 17900 Security , Access and Surveillance.

The present invention is directed to a system that provides a coordinated set of enhancements and templates for industry standard applications, including AutoCAD, Visio, Word and Excel that integrates the process of drawing, estimating and specifying communication infrastructure in formats that are consistent with standard methods used by the design and construction industry.

Fig. 1 is a logical schematic of the system 10 according to a preferred embodiment of the present invention. The system 10 includes three main tools, a drawing tool 12, an estimating tool 14 and a specification tool 16. The tools 12, 14, 16 are software programs that provide certain functionality. The tools are preferably linked via a common database 18 which will be described in detail hereinafter. The tools 12, 14, 16 communicate with the database 18 through an application 20. The tools 12, 14,16 may be software resident on a personal computer (not shown) and database 18 may be stored in a memory of the personal computer. Those skilled in the software arts will appropriate that various configurations are possible depending upon the degree of integration necessary.

In a preferred embodiment of the present invention, the drawing tool 12 is an enhancement of existing drawing software such as AutoCAD or Visio, for example, and, more preferably, the drawing tool 12 is an enhancement of either AutoCAD^® 14 and AutoCAD® LT and in the future AutoCAD® 2000.

The drawing tool 12 includes customized AutoCAD^® menus, technology specific line styles and blocks, as well as drawing setup procedures and templates as will be described in detail hereinafter. The estimating tool 14 preferably includes a master price table linked to vendor web sites for pricing updates and product information. The estimating tool 14 enables the preparation of detailed cost estimates based on standard categories as will be described in detail hereinafter. Detailed cost estimates can be generated on an individual building basis and as a total project. The specification tool 16 produces documents that fit into industry standard CSI, 3 Part format.

Turning to a more detailed description of the various components of the present invention, the drawing tool 12 as previously described includes drawing templates, line styles, pre-drawn blocks and customized menus preferably for AutoCAD 14^® and AutoCAD LT^® software packages although other drawing software may be used. AutoCAD® has been enhanced to allow a user to create detailed Technology ("T") series of drawings, i.e., drawing that show the communication infrastructure. Briefly, when the drawing tool 12 is invoked, an AutoCAD^® Tool Template is selected with preset layering standards and title block. In addition, the menus are loaded with options grouped by drawing type. The CAD blocks are also grouped by drawing type, thereby, reducing the chance of placing information on the wrong drawing. To further simplify the process, detailed drawing set up procedures are included to ensure standardized drawing procedures. Quick scaling, drop detail and block information extraction tools are just a few of the automatic processes that have been built into the menus and button bars of AutoCAD^® as will be described in detail hereinafter.

The estimating tool 14 effectively organizes a detailed report of an estimate for the technology requirements during the design phases of a construction or renovation project. The drawings created using the drawing tool are exported to the estimating tool as a text files and information in the T drawings is linked to appropriate information in the database which is extracted by the estimating tool to generate a report. More particularly, as products are added to a drawing, each product has a unique product identification code. When the drawing is exported to the estimating tool as a text file, the unique product identification code links the product in the drawing to information stored in the database which can then be extracted by the estimating tool. Thus, information concerning price, manufacturer and other relevant information is retrieved from the database and used by the estimating tool to generate a report. The specification tool 16 produces documents/reports that are a set of specifications specifying the technology requirements in a construction project. Like the estimating tool, the specification tool generates specifications based upon the products selected in the drawings. The drawings created using the drawing tool are exported to the specification tool as text files and information in the T drawings is linked to appropriate fields in the specification tool. In a preferred embodiment, Microsoft's Word program is used. More particularly, the database stores specifications for each product that can be selected using the drawing tool. When the drawing is exported to the specification tool as text file, the unique product identification code links the product with a specification for that product stored in the database. Thus, specifications can be generated for each product selected. The specifications are intended to serve as the foundation of a project specification.

Portions of the document that require editing are highlighted and styles have been set to simplify editing and formatting. The specifications are organized to allow for use in industry standard format defined by the CSI SectionFormat™ and PageFormat™ documents.

The specification tools include the following templates:

Front End Cover Page, Bid Forms, Instructions, Agreement, Conditions, etc. 17000 Project Overview

17010 Basic Requirements

17030 Administrative Requirements

17050 Site Specific Requirements

17110 Communication Equipment Rooms 17120 Service Entrances, BDF's Main Closets

17130 Interior Pathways

17140 Exterior Pathways

17150 Backbone Requirements

17160 Horizontal Requirements 17170 Test, Administration and Documentation

17180 Cutover and Training

17190 Support and Warranty

Project specific specification reports are then integrated with these master specifications. Thus, the present invention enables engineers, consultants and contractors to decrease the costs and time associated with designing technology infrastructures for new and existing buildings. The software tools integrate the process of estimating, drawing and specifying using a construction standard organizational model. The specification tools 16 allows engineers, consultants and contractors to get ahead of the curve quickly and easily with this comprehensive set of customizable documents organized by standard categories. The specification tool provides a customizable CSI-compliant project manual with three-part, preformatted specifications. Manufacturer-specific specs can even be cut and paste into a proposal. The drawing tool 12 allows engineers, consultants and contractors to improve drawing efficiency and standardize T Series drawings within minutes of downloading this set of powerful, integrated tools. These CAD tools allow a user to customize AutoCAD 14^® or AutoCAD LT^® menus with technology-specific line styles, blocks and drawing-setup procedures. These integrated, flexible CAD tools work seamlessly with existing AutoCAD software.

Advantages associated with the present invention are a decrease in turnaround times associated with the development of specifications, estimates, and drawings; an increase in productivity and efficiencies using modular, integrated tools that can be easily customized to meet specific project or organizational needs; improved communications between all project team members including technology, communications and construction personnel.

Now a detailed description of the typical use of the system 10 will be described. First, during the design phase, drawings need to be created that specify the communication technology needs of a structure, whether it be a new construction or renovation. The drawing tools 12 allow communication technology drawings to be created in a standardized format with other drawings such as plumbing, mechanical and electrical. The drawing tool 12 is software that, in a preferred embodiment, extends AutoCAD^® to applications of communication technology. As will be seen with a detailed description of the use of the drawing tool 12, an engineer, contractor or consultant can very easily and quickly create communication specific drawings, i.e., "T" drawings.

Perhaps the easiest way to describe the drawing tool 12 is to give a particular example. Drawings for the construction are typically prepared using

AutoCAD^® or some other drawing software. An Al drawing is the complete layout of a building such as shown in FIG. 2. The drawing indicates interior walls from floor to ceiling including doors, room numbers, interior glass and staircases. A completed Al drawing shows the architectural floor plan of a building per floor and is well known to those of ordinary skill in the art and this need not be described in further detail. An Al drawing is needed to complete the technology drawings.

With the present invention, technology-based drawings can now also be drawn. In a preferred embodiment, either CAD LT97 or CAD R14 are used although other drawing packages may be used such as VISIO, for example. The first level of technology-based drawings is a Tl drawing such as that shown in FIG. 3. A Tl drawing is a layout of a complete building per floor. The drawing indicates the location of serving zones, equipment room locations, access points, pathways and other systems that need to be viewed from the complete building perspective. The next level of drawing is the T2 drawing such as that shown in FIG. 4. The T2 drawing shows each serving zone located on a Tl drawing. The drawing indicate drop locations, equipment room locations with call-outs, access points and detail call-outs for other congested areas. The final technology-based drawing is the T3 drawing such as that shown in FIG. 5. The T3 drawing is a detailed look at equipment rooms. The T3 drawing indicates technology layout (racks, ladder racks, etc.), mechanical/electrical layout, rack elevation and backboard elevation. A T3 drawing may also be an enlargement of a congested area of Tl or T2. In addition to the technology-based drawings such as those shown in FIGs. 3-5, equipment and communication room drawings such as that shown in FIGs. 6 and 7 are provided. The communication room drawing shows an enclosed space for housing communications equipment, cable terminations and cross-connects. This room is the recognized cross-connect between the backbone cable and horizontal cabling. The equipment room is a centralized space for communications equipment that serves the occupants of a building. Equipment housed therein is generally considered distinct from a communications room because of its level of complexity. Thus, the present invention enhances existing drawing programs such as AutoCAD to support technology-based drawings.

Next, a detailed description of the use of the drawing tools to generate technology-based drawings will be described. In a preferred embodiment, the present invention will be described using AutoCAD® enhanced by the present invention. FIG. 8 is a screen shot of the main page 100 presented by the drawing tool to the user. Various menu bars are presented. A main menu bar 102 has existing AutoCAD menu items plus enhanced menu items 104-112 that have been added to allow the creation of technology drawings. Other customized menu bars will be described hereinafter. The user boots up the drawing tool software and is presented with a start up dialog box such as that shown in FIG. 9 that appears within the main screen 100 shown in FIG. 8. The user selects "Use a Template" button 202 and selects a template from a list of templates displayed in the "Select a Template" window 204. The user selects a Tl template to create a Tl drawing. The Tl template, as do all the other T drawings already has the correct border, title block, title attributes and all the connect layers with the corresponding colors and line types along with a view port thereby making it consistent with other architectural drawings. The next step is to insert an existing Al drawing. From the main page 100 shown in FIG. 8, the user goes to MODELSPACE (not shown) by using the pull-down DWG SET UP menu item 105, and clicks M SPACE (tiled) (not shown). The user than selects the pull-down INSERT menu item form the main menu bar, and clicks EXTERNAL REFERENCE (not shown). A dialog box is presented and the user clicks ATTACH (not shown) and browses to the original Al architectural drawing that corresponds to the Tl floor number.

Next technology information needs to be added to the Tl drawing. The user selects the T1DWG menu item from the main menu bar 102 which pulls down the menu shown in FIG. 10. From this menu the user can add information concerning serving zone boundary lines, communication equipment room call-outs, pathway information, sleeves, cable trays, conduits, etc., and backbone cable, i.e., fiber, copper, coax, etc.

Next a border is set up. From the T DWG SETUP pull-down, the user clicks PSPACE (not shown) and in PSPACE, the user clicks "Borders..." AND/OR "Legends..." in the Blocks pull-down to insert any other relative blocks into the drawing (north symbol, scale bar, logos, legends, etc.). FIG. 1 1 and 12 illustrates the legend and border dialog boxes respectively which allow the user to select legends and borders. Then, the VIEWPORT is scaled by selecting the pull-down DWG

SETUP, and clicking the "SET VIEWPORT SCALE". Alternatively, a VIEWPORT SCALE toolbar is also available in the main menu bar shown in FIG. 8 to complete this task.

When scaling is complete, the user freezes off viewport layer and purges the drawing by using the purge button toolbar included in the tools as shown in FIG. 13. The PURGE command removes unused named objects, such as blocks or layers, from the drawing.

Next, a T2 drawing is created. From the startup dialog box shown in FIG. 9, the user selects "Use a Template," then in the "select a template" box the user selects the T2 template. When the template is selected the border is automatically inserted into the drawing at coordinates 0,0,0. The user then selects the pull-down FILE, SAVE-AS and save the drawing as Tx-YX. "Y" being the serving zone and "X" being the floor number and saves the drawing.

The user needs to reference the "Tl" drawing and does this by going to MODELSPACE by using the pulldown DWG SETUP, click MSPACE (tiled), selecting the pull-down INSERT, and selecting EXTERNAL REFERENCE as previously described. In the dialog box, the user clicks ATTACH and browses to the Tl-X.dwg that corresponds to the floor number of the current T2 drawing.

Next a clip boundary needs to be created. It is recommended to create T2 and T3 drawings in AutoCAD® R14 because of its clipping feature. In AutoCAD® LT the user must move the PAPERSPACE and adjust the viewport accordingly. Because of this, all call outs should be placed in PAPERSPACE.

Next the user draws a POLYLINE on T-clip layer around the serving zone that corresponds to the drawing name. Making sure the polyline is closed, the user selects from the pull-downs, MODIFY, OBJECT, CLIP, selects the X- reference to clip, and hits return twice then types "S" for SELECT BOUNDARY and hits return. This will "clip out" everything except for the serving zone. Now technology information can be added. FIG. 14 is a screen shot of the technology information that can be added to a T2 drawing.

Then, borders and legends are set up in the same manner as discussed with reference to the Tl drawings. The remaining steps are the same as described with reference to the Tl drawing.

Finally the T3 drawing is created. The template is created in the same manner already described with reference to the T2 drawings. The Tl drawing is again referenced as described with respect to the creation of the T2 drawing as is the clip boundary. Next the Technology information is added such as, Racks, cable managers, FDCs, patch panels, etc., backboards, ground bars, lights, security panels, etc.; cable trays, ladder racks, sleeves, etc., and general call-outs, camera symbols, etc.

FIG. 15 is a screen shot showing that "T3 Drawings," "17100 Cable Plant" ,"17110 Equipment" has been selected. In response to this selection, the screen shot of FIG. 16 is displayed which shows a "17110 Communication Equipment Rooms." From this screen various items may be selected. In this particular example, the "Industry Equipment Elevation" has been chosen and once the "OK" button is activated, the screen shot of elevational views of industry equipment is displayed such as that shown in FIG. 17. From this screen shot the user can select what block to insert in the drawing on the correct layer after a location and rotation is picked. The remaining steps are the same as those described with reference to the Tl and T2 drawings.

The estimating tool will now be described in greater detail. The estimating tool is a series of user interfaces based on the proposed model that effectively organizes a detailed estimate for the technology requirements during the design phase of a construction project. FIG. 18 is a screen shot of the estimating tool dialog box according to a preferred embodiment of the present invention. To utilize the estimating tool one must either open an existing project or create a new project file. To create a new project, one simply selects the first icon on the toolbar or go to File, New. The default location is the Projects folder located within the program directory. Then one enters a name for the project file and presses Save. After a project file has been created, one will see the file location printed across the main dialog box. Next, the drawing text files need to be added to the current project file. Select the Add button and locate the *.txt files. Another dialog box will appear prompting the user for the Building ID. The user enters any alphanumeric characters and selects OK. All products placed in the drawings for the project are exported to this file have been loaded into the project. The estimating reports may now be run. Prior to running a report a user may want to adjust the costs of the products or quantities. To do this, on the Tools menu, the user selects Estimating Tools, Adjust Product Quantities." FIG. 19 is a screen shot of an adjust product quantity dialog box according to a preferred embodiment of the present invention. The user selects the Product ID from the first pull down, enters all of the requested information and selects Add product. The dialog box remains open until the user selects Exit so that multiple adjustments can be entered. When the user is finished adjusting the products, the user goes to the

Tools menu shown in FIG. 18 and selects "Estimating Tools," "Modify Data." The screen shot shown in FIG. 20 will appear. Within this dialog the user can modify database information on a product in a particular project.

After all changes have been made, the user goes to the Tools menu, select Estimating Tools, Reports, and selects either a "Building Detail" or "Building Summary" report. The report window will pop up with all of the project products and all of the product adjustments as shown in FIG. 22.

The estimates and specifications can be reported over any type of network such as LANs, WANs, Internet, Intranet, and inclusive or wireless and satellite transmissions.

The above specification, examples and data provide a complete description of the manufacture and use of the composition of the invention. Since many embodiments of the invention can be made without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention, the invention resides in the claims hereinafter appended.

Claims

WHAT IS CLAIMED IS:

1. A method for generating drawings, estimates and specifications for design of communication equipment in a structure, the method comprising the steps of:

(a) specifying communication equipment for design in a structure using a drawing tool program;

(b) exporting information about the communication equipment specified in step (a) to an estimating tool program which allows an estimate based on the communication equipment specified in step (a) to be created; and

2. A computer for generating drawings, estimates and specification for design of communication equipment in a structure, comprising: (a) a drawing tool program for selecting communication equipment to be designed in a structure and generating drawings of the selected communication equipment located in the structure;

(b) an estimation tool program communicating with the drawing tool program wherein the estimation tool program generated an estimate for the communication equipment selected in step (a);

(c) a specification tool program communicating with the drawing tool program for generating specification of the communication equipment selected in step (a); and

(d) a processor for running the drawing tool program, the estimation tool program and specification tool program.

3. A computer-readable medium having computer-executable instructions for the method recited in claim 1.

4. A computer data signal embodied in a carrier wave readable by a computing system and encoding a computer program of instructions for executing a computer program of instructions for executing a computer program performing the method recited in claim 1.

5. A system for generating drawings, estimates and specifications for design of communication equipment for design of communication equipment in a structure, the system comprising: a general purpose computing device; a computer program comprising one or more program modules executable by the computing device wherein the program module comprise a drawing tool module for selecting communication equipment to be designed in a structure and generating drawings of the selected communication equipment located in the structure; an estimating tool module communicating with the drawing tool module wherein the estimating tool module generates an estimate for the communication equipment selected using the drawing tool module; and a specification tool module communicating with the drawing tool module for generating specifications of the communication equipment selected using the drawing tool module.

6. A method for generating estimates for a design of communication equipment in a structure, the method comprising the steps of:

7. A method according to claim 6 further comprising a step (c) of transmitting the report generated in step (b).

8. A method according to claim 7 wherein step (c) comprises the step of transmitting the report to a printer.

9. A method according to claim 7 wherein step (c) comprises the step of transmitting the report to a display unit.

10. A computer-readable medium having computer-executable instructions for the method recited in claim 6.

11. A computer data signal embodied in a carrier wave readable by a computing system and encoding a computer program of instructions for executing a computer program performing the method recited in claim 6.

12. A method for generating specifications for a design of communication equipment in a structure, the method comprising the steps of: (a) exporting information from a drawing tool concerning communication equipment selected by the drawing tool to be designed in the structure; and

(b) generating a specification based on the information exported in step (a).

13. A method according to claim 12 wherein the step (b) of generating a specification includes a step (c) of displaying a template to a user; (d) allowing a user to select parameter values; and (e) allowing a user to confirm selected parameter values.

14. A computer-readable medium having computer-executable instructions for the method recited in claim 12.

15. A computer data signal readable by a computing system and encoding a computer program of instructions for executing a computer program performing the method recited in claim 12.

16. A method for generating drawings for design of communication equipment in a structure, the method comprising the steps of:

(b) providing a library of templates wherein the library of templates include graphical symbols representing communication equipment; and (c) responding to user interaction to place a graphical symbol selected by a user in a level selected by the user.

17. A computer according to claim 2 further comprising a database for storing information about a plurality of communication products wherein the database is coupled to communicate with the drawing tool program, the estimation tool program and the specification tool program and exchange information with those programs as needed.

18. A computer according to claim 17 wherein the information about a plurality of communication products includes manufacturer and cost.