About the CAD standard

Watch this video to learn more about the CAD Standard and why it was created, or read below for some background information about the CAD Standard and why The City created these:

About the CAD Standard

Why are standards important?

The purpose of a CAD drafting standard is to establish a common basis for the classification and organization of electronic CAD data and to improve the management of this data throughout the entire asset's lifecycle from inception through design and construction to operations.

​

Why did the City create this standard?

This standard has been developed and implemented to achieve several goals including the following:
  • Ensure that all CAD drawings created internally or by consultants can be readily used by any City business unit.
  • Provide a standard look and feel to all drawings to make them easier to read.
  • Provide information on the drawings in a standard electronic format so that the asset information can be extracted from the drawings.
  • Make integration of data from the drawings into downstream systems as seamless as possible.
  • Provide consultants with a defined standard for all drawing submissions to The City of Calgary, reducing setup time for projects, and making it easier to collaborate on projects involving multiple consultants.
​​

How were they developed?

The City of Calgary developed this standard by adopting and amending the Master Municipal Construction Documents Association (MMCD) Standard that is used by municipalities in British Columbia and supplementing it with additional information based on the National CAD Standard (NCS). The standard was developed with contributions from representatives of several business units across the corporation in various roles as well as stakeholders from several external consulting companies as recommended by BILD Calgary Region and the Consulting Engineers of Alberta (CEA).

 

​​​​

Does this apply to all drawings submitted to The City of Calgary?

No. This standard only applies to civil engineering projects that impact City of Calgary linear infrastructure that belongs, or will belong, to The City. Additionally the standard only includes limited information relating to architecture and related disciplines and its use for buildings and other vertical infrastructure projects is optional but not required. In the future the standard may be enhanced to provide more comprehensive support for these types of projects.

    ​​​​

    The CAD Standard applies to engineering drawings on capital projects that impact City of Calgary horizontal infrastructure. What is meant by “horizontal infrastructure”?

    Horizontal infrastructure includes assets such as roads, bridges, parks, and water, sewer, and stormwater pipes. This is differentiated from “vertical infrastructure”, which is primarily buildings and is currently out of scope for the CAD Standard.​​

    How is this different from the MMCD standard?

    The City of Calgary's CAD standard was developed based on the Master Municipal Construction Documents Association (MMCD). As some stakeholders may be familiar with that standard, this document highlights the key differences that they will encounter when working with The City's amended standard.

    ​​​​​

    If I’m in the middle of a project, do I need to change all my existing drawings, and update them to conform to this new standard now?

    No. The Standard only applies to projects initiated after January 1, 2019 (January 1, 2020 for subdivision construction projects). If you already had a project in progress at that time, you may continue to finish it using whichever guidelines you have been using.

    ​​​​​


    Disclaimer:     The City of Calgary (the "City") CAD standards and provided tools are intended for information purposes only. No warranty or representation as to the completeness or accuracy of said materials is made. The Contents on this Site and its compilation is protected by Canadian and international copyright, and trademark laws.  The City acknowledges that the CAD Standards were developed by adopting and amending the Master Municipal Construction Documents Association (MMCD) Standard, and supplemented with additional information from the National CAD Standard (NCS). Copyright materials from both organizations incorporated within the City’s CAD Standards is owned by the respective organization. For more information on using the content on this site, please see the City of Calgary Terms of Use.

    This information has no legal status and cannot be used as an official interpretation of the various bylaws, codes and regulations currently in effect. The City of Calgary accepts no responsibility to persons relying solely on this information. Web pages are updated periodically. ​

    undefined/null,undefined/null,undefined/null,undefined/null,undefined/null,undefined/null,undefined/null,undefined/null,undefined/null,undefined/null,undefined/null,undefined/null,undefined/null,undefined/null,undefined/null,undefined/null,undefined/null,undefined/null,undefined/null,undefined/null,undefined/null,undefined/null,undefined/null,undefined/null,undefined/null,undefined/null,undefined/null,undefined/null,undefined/null,undefined/null,undefined/null,undefined/null,undefined/null,undefined/null,undefined/null,undefined/null,undefined/null,undefined/null,undefined/null,undefined/null,undefined/null,undefined/null,undefined/null,undefined/null,undefined/null,undefined/null,undefined/null,undefined/null,undefined/null,undefined/null,undefined/null,undefined/null,undefined/null,undefined/null,undefined/null,undefined/null,undefined/null,undefined/null,undefined/null,undefined/null,undefined/null,undefined/null,undefined/null,undefined/null,undefined/null,undefined/null,undefined/null,undefined/null,undefined/null,undefined/null,undefined/null,undefined/null,undefined/null,undefined/null,undefined/null,undefined/null,undefined/null,undefined/null,undefined/null,undefined/null,undefined/null,undefined/null,undefined/null,undefined/null,undefined/null,undefined/null,undefined/null,undefined/null,undefined/null,undefined/null,undefined/null,undefined/null,undefined/null,undefined/null,undefined/null,undefined/null,undefined/null,undefined/null,undefined/null,undefined/null,undefined/null