GDM Software

What makes a successful small business?

Commitment? Determination? Old fashioned hard work? Possibly.

But a vital factor is finding that special niche in the market that others have simply not located. GDM Software of Calgary (Geographic Data Management) is a family-owned and operated company which has achieved exactly that.

Owner and President Bert Piepgrass and his sons produce computer software that streamlines the checking process of technical drawings. This brings welcome relief to overworked engineers, designers, planners, architects, cartographers and other users of CADD (computer-assisted design/drafting). The need for this software seems obvious today,but the idea has evolved out of long experience. Bert is a Calgarian who took his engineering degrees at the University of Alberta in Edmonton,and an MBA at McGill University in Montreal. He first encountered computers as an undergraduate, and spent a summer at the IBM data centre in the days when their "Big" computer was a 12 kilobyte machine with less computing capability than a modern digital watch.

Later experiences with mass data retrieval for employers led Bert to decide that much more specialized software would help others who work with data and planning."Historically, quality control of technical drawings has been difficult," Bert explains."With the advent of CADD, there are tremendous advantages in productivity and usefulness. But there are also many new ways to mess up a drawing."

**And that, according to Bert, is where GDM can help,by making it easy to carry out vital corrections. "Something wrong, or missing from a drawing can lead to time loss and extra expense, or it may even cause hazardous situations,like a contractor snagging a gas line which wasn't indicated on the drawing. An element like that can be missing simply because it wasn't coded properly,causing the machine to" misinterpret it, or ignore it altogether."

**GDM Software brings all these incorrectly coded elements to the user's attention, and provides a simple and effective interface for doing the corrections. With the right tools, a little time spent up front can avoid a lot of embarrassing questions a few months down the road.

**More and more,drawings in digital form are being used as a basis for imput into other processes, making completeness and correctness more and more vital.The GDM Software automatically calls attention to mistakes.

For Bert Piepgrass, simplicity and user-friendliness are key criteria when developing a new product. His approach to software is to ensure that it can enforce the customer's own particular standards. Bert makes a point of listening to customers, and trying to fill their needs. A good example of meeting the clients needs is Florida Department of Transportation. GDM got their contract by providing a unique licensing arrangement under which the consultants use the tools purchased by the Florida DOT. "Now the consultants have the very best of tools to ensure the files are to standard", says Bert, "and the Florida DOT doesn't have to worry about compliance."

GDM is constantly improving and upgrading its software. Bert credits Florida DOT and several other clients with suggestions which have made GDM's products stronger. "As the sophistication in the industry and its tools increases, there is a constant need to change our software. All users benefit when we are on top of things."

Bert's sons, Briant and Ammon, also have engineering backgrounds and have proved to be exceptional software developers, while a third son is following in the same footsteps. One of his daughters has an American company which is an outlet for GDM products and services.

GDM Software is a division of GD Geographic Data Management Ltd.