Industry’s symbolic gesture: J-STD-710
As the CI industry continues to experience rapid growth, there is an ever increasing need for a universally accepted set of architectural symbols. Jacob Harris takes a look at the J-STD-710.
Until recently, symbols used to identify the position of AV and control devices on architectural drawings varied considerably (most integrators use a set of symbols they designed in-house). The lack of a definitive set of identifiers has hampered communication within the CI industry, and also between partner industries (e.g. builders and architects) and consumers.
According to a recent report published by Transparency Market Research, the home automation industry is growing at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 24.6% and will reach an estimated $A21.3 billion globally by 2019. With these figures in mind, there is an obvious need for a standardised set of architectural floor plan and reflected ceiling plan symbols for AV and control systems to be adopted industry-wide. The implementation of which will help to achieve a fluid, accurate means of communication between industry partners including integrators, architects, builders and designers.
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To this end, the Consumer Electrics Association (CEA), the Custom Electronic Design and Installation Association (CEDIA) and InfoComm International have released the J-STD-710 Audio, Video and Control Architectural Drawing Systems Standard.
“Before we created the Standard, CEDIA, CEA and InfoComm, as well as many integrators, had their own symbols. This created a disjointed experience for all three organisations, which represent the residential, commercial and manufacturing segments of the industry. The new Standard carries a significant amount of weight and credibility. This credibility is strengthened further as the Standard undergoes the American National Standards Institute (ANSI) accreditation,” says CEDIA’s senior director of learning and emerging technologies Dave Pedigo.
The Standard defines a common set of blueprint icons that represent all facets of pre-wire installation for electronic systems, products and devices in residential and commercial environments.
“There has been a need for these symbols for many years, but creating the Standard has been a lengthy process. Gaining consensus in a large group is often difficult and time consuming, however, the process was the right one and has ensured a very solid document that will be used for years to come,” says Dave.
According to CEDIA’s webinar The Future of Design Documents, the project began as an endeavour to merge CEA’s TechHome Symbols for Blueprint Design and CEDIA’s Icon Set to create a definitive set of symbols for residential installations. The CEA/CEDIA R10WG7 Residential Systems Documentation Working Group was formed and before long InfoComm was invited to join and the project expanded to include commercial installations. The working group looked at symbols already in use by the Building Industry Consulting Service International (BICSI), the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE), the Telecommunications Industry Association (TIA) and the Security Industry Association (SIA), before striking a reciprocal agreement with the National Institute of Building Sciences (NIBS) to use existing National CAD Standard (NCS) Symbols as a foundation for the Standard. The working group believes the inclusion of NCS symbols will help those in the AV industry become familiar with symbols commonly used in affiliated industries.
The Standard affords an unambiguous means to indicate the location of CI technologies in architectural drawings and is designed to aid cohesion and inter-industry uniformity. It is made up of eight device or technology specific categories:
- AV Systems
- Communications
- Electronic Safety and Security
- Heating, Ventilating and Air Conditioning (HVAC)/ AIRCON
- Control
- Vacuum Cleaning Systems
- Furnishings
- Electrical
The symbols are created from simple, recognisable shapes that can be easily recreated both by hand and CAD-drawn. With up to four flexible text attributes to enable the creation of limitless device variations and flexible callout tags so extensive installation information can be included (See Figure 1). The symbols are highly modifiable and, as such, have the capacity to remain relevant as new technologies become available.
While the Standard recommends the symbols be used by architects, designers and installation contractors on all appropriate floor plan and reflected ceiling plan documentation, it also acknowledges there may be instances where the pre-defined symbols do not meet the specific requirements of a given job. In these situations the use of alternative symbol representations is deemed adequate, providing guidelines relating to scaling, attributes, tags, legends and schedules are followed (Figure 2).
The symbols are designed to denote the position and characteristics of the device and are not intended to be drawn to scale with the actual device. However, where appropriate, certain symbols can be stretched to be proportionate to the object’s actual size. While this function is not intended to substitute for precise architectural detail, it can help to better represent the area an object will occupy.
Completed floor plans and reflected ceiling plans serve as effective visual tools to aid communication between architects and integrators. So it is hoped that the creation of the Standard will see CI symbols more readily included in architectural drawings and act as a significant step towards qualifying the expertise required to properly design and install custom electronic systems.
The Standard was officially released in January this year. But because many integrators had previously either developed their own symbol libraries, or become accustomed to using existing libraries, it will undoubtedly take some time before the Standard becomes universally accepted.
“We are very optimistic that the symbols will be adopted by the industry; however, as with many things, it will take time,” Dave says.
“We believe usage of the symbols and notation process will only improve efficiency and ultimately client satisfaction.
Integrators and industry partners will no doubt need time to hear the message, download the standard and then implement it into their business processes. Adoption, of course, is very important and so CEA, CEDIA and InfoComm have agreed to make the Standard available free of charge to anyone, regardless of membership status.”
The Standard is widely regarded as a milestone for an industry that remains relatively unregulated. It is hoped the symbols and their corresponding notations will improve the communication process with clients, architects, builders and interior designers and improve efficiency with installers and technicians on the job site in years to come.
Integrators can download the standard for free by visiting: http://www.cedia.net/ProductCatalog/Product.aspx?ID=892
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