Design Master Electrical Saves the Bacon at D.P. Lund CompanyD.P. Lund Company is a consulting electrical engineering firm focusing on the building industry. Based in Missoula, Montana and serving Montana, Idaho, Washington, Wyoming, California, Colorado, and Utah, D.P. Lund provides a wide range of electrical engineering services.
The company's founder, Dana P. Lund, PE, is also a master electrician with 20+ years of construction experience. "Our plans concentrate on the contractors and what they need for construction," says Mr. Lund. "This helps our projects to flow smoothly, with lower construction costs and fewer surprises."
In a small, service-oriented firm like D.P. Lund, efficiency is paramount. "I had just started using Design Master Electrical at my former place of employment when I went out on my own in 2007," Mr. Lund recalls. "I purchased the software immediately for my new company because I knew it would make me more efficient. It's been an integral part of my business plan ever since."
Mr. Lund continues: "We don't have dedicated IT people, and I'm not in business to spend uncompensated time learning how to use software. The reason I'm so happy with Design Master Electrical is it's simple to understand and use but powerful enough to meet all my needs.
"Design Master makes me much more efficient, so I can complete more projects faster and earn more money. For example, Design Master helps me make design decisions faster, because it makes it so easy to look at multiple 'what-if' scenarios and quickly compare the results of different choices.
"Design Master saves my bacon time and again by enabling me to respond quickly to changes from mechanical contractors or architects that would otherwise slow down the job. At the same time, it allows for a more accurate set of construction drawings because it automatically updates and recalculates everything that relates to a change – so I don't have to remember all that or take time to do it manually.
"With Design Master, I can concentrate on the engineering and trust the software to handle the mundane tasks," relates Mr. Lund.
"Another thing I love about Design Master Electrical is the support – it's outstanding, which is so rare these days," Mr. Lund adds. "When I send in a support request I get an answer very quickly, so I can get right back to being productive.
"The way their support staff can take over your screen and demonstrate concepts or fix problems is the next best thing to having them right in the office... Maybe even better, since I don't have to make them coffee.
"Design Master doesn't just give you 'call center' support. They actually are interested in getting your issue taken care of – and quickly. You're never left hanging," asserts Mr. Lund.
"Design Master is flexible and easy to use, but it's also very intuitive," Mr. Lund clarifies. "Once you understand the basics of how it works, you can do anything with it.
"Often when I find myself in a unique situation or using a special feature for the first time, I think, 'I bet if I do this...' and it works. I can figure things out for myself and keep on engineering, which is what pays the bills.
"For a small business like ours, a shorter learning curve means faster time to value and greater return on investment. Design Master Electrical adds value like that every day," Mr. Lund summarizes.
