2016 SDS/2 USERS GROUP CONFERENCE A SUCCESS
Nearly 250 SDS/2 users, industry partners and Design Data representatives gathered for educational sessions, networking and a first-hand look at the future of the software at the 2016 SDS/2 Users Group Conference. The three-day event was held October 12-14 at The Embassy Suites in downtown Lincoln, Nebraska.
Following the welcome and opening remarks on Wednesday, Alan Kerschen of Kimmel & Associates provided the conference's keynote speech, which focused on the aging workforce in the construction industry. The discussion also covered retaining young employees through mentoring, recruitment and being creative in hiring.
The annual Design Data update touched on the acquisition of the company by Nemetschek, as well as a preview of upcoming features in SDS/2 v2017.
Wednesday also included the business meeting and a series of roundtables, which gave conference attendees the chance to have a voice in future development of the software. Roundtable topics included connection design, templates, custom members/components, install and networking, and model review. The day concluded with the opening of the Partner Pavilion, which hosted partnering companies and served as the venue for Wednesday evening's reception (sponsored by Peddinghaus). Click here to view images from the Partner Pavilion.
The last two days of the conference were dedicated exclusively to breakout sessions, including a first look at SDS/2 v2017 enhancements, SDS/2 v2016 Modeling, SDS/2 v2016 Drawing Editor, SDS/2 Erector, helical stair detailing, and template detailing. Other sessions focused on modeling with parametrics, full status transfer, model transfer facts, custom members and components, and boot camp basics. To view available presentations from the conference, click here.
Design Data's annual Thursday night conference dinner was held at the Nebraska Innovation Campus in downtown Lincoln. The theme for this year was SDS/2016 Olympics, which allowed athletes from four countries — Greece, Italy, Bhutan and Togo — to compete for medals, prizes and pride. Live events included hula hoop, egg race, flip cup and thumb wrestling; prerecorded events included synchronized swimming, rhythmic gymnastics, track, soccer and shooting. Click here to view images from the Thursday night dinner.
To view additional images from the conference, visit our Facebook page.
PROVIDE YOUR FEEDBACK AND BE ENTERED TO WIN FREE REGISTRATION AT NEXT YEAR'S USERS GROUP CONFERENCE
Whether you attended this year's SDS/2 Users Group Conference or were unable to make it, we want your feedback! Take this short survey and be eligible to win free registration for next year's conference, which will be held September 27-29, 2017, in Lincoln, Nebraska.
ONLINE TRAINING DATES FOR 2017 ANNOUNCED
Design Data now offers an online basic training course so you can attend from the comfort of your own office, with less downtime and no travel expenses. This basic training course covers project setup, member input, connection design, material input and more. The course will consist of live training and Q&A sessions with a certified SDS/2 instructor, video training, and application exercises for a hands-on experience. It will take an estimated 30 hours to complete the course, depending on skill level and learning ability. The cost for the four-day online basic training course is $500 per person.
Learn More and Register
To learn more about online training, including training dates and the course schedule, click here.
WINNERS OF 2016 SDS/2 SOLID STEEL COMPETITION
Winners of the 2016 SDS/2 Solid Steel Competition were announced during the Design Data Dinner and Reception at the SDS/2 Users Group Conference.
Awards were given in three categories: Commercial, Industrial and Customers' Choice. This year's winners are:
Commercial
Grand Prize: BV Detailing & Design, Inc., Real Page Lakeside, Richardson, Texas
Second Place: Virtual Steel Technologies, Inc., Richardson Indoor Stadium, Spartanburg, South Carolina
Industrial
Grand Prize: Douglas Steel Fabricating Corporation, Facility for Rare Isotope Beams, East Lansing, Michigan
Second Place: Aarbee Structures Pvt. Ltd., Lehigh Union Bridge, Union Bridge, Maryland
Customers' Choice
Base Line Drafting Services, Daniels Faculty of Architecture, Landscape and Design - University of Toronto, Toronto, Ontario, Canada
To view an image gallery of this year's winners, visit our Facebook page.
DAMON SCAGGS RECEIVES 2016 CONNECTOR CLUB AWARD
Brian Cobb of Structural Detailing, LLC, Luis Torres from The Steel Detailers, Inc. and Design Data's Doug Evans were among the presenters for the annual Connectors Club Award, given during the Design Data Dinner and Reception at the SDS/2 Users Group Conference.
Advisory Board members and past recipients of this award nominate standout individuals who have demonstrated exemplary dedication and commitment to the development and application of SDS/2 during the preceding year.
The recipient for 2016 is Damon Scaggs of Design Data.
To see previous winners of the award, click here.
