Identifying and Quantifying the Company-Wide Benefits of CAD Within the Structure of a Comprehensive Investment Program

This paper discusses the costs and benefits associated with introducing CAD. It is shown that by suitably defining the terms involved, all the so-called 'intangible benefits' can be quantified and used within a rigorous financial evaluation. Because 45 specific factors must be considered if a genuine investment appraisal of CAD is to be performed, a computer program has been specifically written to overcome the difficulties normally associated with the DCF evaluation of major projects. The results from the program demonstrate that not only are the benefits of CAD company-wide, but that when these benefits are quantified, the economic case for CAD is greatly strengthened. The problem of CAD systems being regarded as nothing more than a'drawing office tool to make draftsmen redundant'is overcome. In particular, the use of the program within a number of major companies reveals that CAD systems not only give a much greater potential return on investment than has been suggested by previous authors, but that the greatest benefits accrue in areas outside the drawing office. This is illustrated by a case study