Autodesk announced the availability of the AutoCAD P&ID Productivity Study, conducted by the U.K. research firm Cambashi Limited, to demonstrate the benefits of using AutoCAD P&ID (piping and instrumentation diagram) software to AutoCAD software users working in process-plant design and engineering. The study tested Autodesk’s hypothesis that AutoCAD P&ID software offers significant productivity advantages over standard AutoCAD for work on P&ID.
The study focused on testing a variety of real-world P&ID tasks, including those involving the manipulation of graphics, data-driven creation and updating of graphics, and data management.
Study participants included a representative groups of users of AutoCAD and AutoCAD P&ID software from around the world. In addition to the quantitative data, qualitative feedback from users on their impressions and experiences of using the software was collected.
The test methodology chosen was to construct a small design project together with a set of tasks that represented the work typically undertaken by P&ID drafters and process engineers. The tasks involved accessing a P&ID typical of those used for Autodesk’s P&ID training programs and making specified additions and modifications. The whole exercise was designed to be completed in one hour.
Among the study results are these findings:
- On graphical tasks, users of both AutoCAD and AutoCAD P&ID software performed well. The absence of a significant difference in drawing productivity indicates a quick and easy transition to AutoCAD P&ID for AutoCAD users.
- On data-driven, graphical tasks, participants using AutoCAD P&ID, on average, achieved a 50% increase in productivity over those participants using AutoCAD.
- Overall P&ID productivity was 42% higher, on average, for participants using AutoCAD P&ID over participants using AutoCAD.
According to Autodesk, the results of the study conclude that for those who perform P&ID work, AutoCAD P&ID software offers significant productivity advantages over standard AutoCAD software and can help users be more productive and efficient.
The Autodesk Productivity Study is available free for download.
