Process Engineering Stats in the UKFrom the December 2002 issue of
 Each issue, CAD Spaghetti provides market intelligence from our database of nearly 20,000 sites in the UK using CAD/CAM. This month, we have analyzed the design solutions used at 859 company sites where process engineering is the sole business activity. To put the statistics below in context, it should be noted that during interviews with managers of design functions in this sector, our researchers are not asking specifically what process engineering design software is used; they are simply finding out what computer-aided design software is used onsite, for any purpose. In addition to the more specialized plant design packages, such as PDMS and Autoplant, many sites also use the more generalist CAD packages, perhaps for purposes such as site layout and facilities management. Furthermore, we have used the term Process Engineering here, in its widest form, thus taking in batch processing, with products like Shoemaster, as well as continuous process engineering. The chart below shows the "top 15" design solutions - the solutions installed at the highest percentage of sites from the sample. This clearly shows the dominant position held by Autodesk products (AutoCAD and AutoCAD LT). 
The next chart shows the top 15 solutions in terms of total number of seats. This introduces a number of different players in the top 15 compared to the above analysis, including PDMS, Visio Technical, PDS and Shoemaster. These new entrants demonstrate a higher ratio of seats per site compared to some of the other solutions listed. 
The final chart below shows the 15 solutions with the highest average number of seats per site. This shows a very different picture, demonstrating that solutions such as Visio Technical and PDMS, although not used in a large number of sites, are used in much larger installations with an average of more than 80 seats. 
CAD Spaghetti is a free monthly newsletter published by the Business Advantage Group Plc
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