I walked into a printery the other day to pick up some plans and had one of those ‘Aha’ moments.
The owner of the business asked me if I would like to have some 3D visualisation work done for any of my clients, before we get to the ‘technical CAD stage.’ Or that they could do the design in 3D and we could turn this into a draughted CAD file with plans for them.I was most interested, this is what I do for a living after all; using SketchUp Pro for 3D modelling and AutoCAD for www.structuralintegrity.co.nz
Sure enough, one of the staff members was working on a joinery item for a local interior designer and not making a bad hash of it. SketchUp is the best modelling software out there for creative types, and it’s not only a joy to use, it’s free! In fact you can download it here:
http://sketchup.google.com/download/
We had offered our services to this designer some time ago and were a little disappointed that we did not get a chance to price the job as we like their work. Our rate for working for a lead designer would have been $70/hour plus GST. However the designer could not justify the cost to the client, so was using an enthusiastic amateur at the printery for $55/hour plus GST.
Please remember that ‘amateur’ in French means someone who does something for the love of it, often at personal sacrifice. The All Blacks and the world rugby players used to be true amateurs, now they just have a job in an 80 minute reality TV show. In this case, it is someone who is doing what they enjoy as an interest, but are asking to be paid as a professional.
And the $15 an hour difference is this:
We are professionals offering advice, and have Professional Indemnity Insurance to safeguard our clients from 1 million dollars worth of our own stupidity. This costs over 3 grand a year and I would be surprised if the printery even knew about this insurance for negligence. We bought a licence of SketchUp well before Google bought @Last Software, who invented SketchUp and made it free for everyone (which is great! Have a go!). We updated to Google SketchUp Pro and have 2 licences, but the printery is using the freeware for financial gain. We convert our SketchUp model into a DWG AutoCAD file for draughting, the printery cannot.
In fact, we would have to audit and repair their model to our standard to get the drawings out, so if a client had paid the printery to do the design, they would need to pay someone else again to have it audited and draughted- an extra cost. I have a recognised NZ qualification, construction experience and am an 8 year veteran in 3D modelling versus an unqualified, inexperienced and uninsured enthusiast. And I can do it far quicker to boot.
Now here is the rub.
A couple of months ago our supermarket installed self serve, self scanning automated checkouts. I don’t use them. Why? I want the local staff to keep their jobs because I like them and they make for a great shopping experience. Also, I pay the wages of the checkout staff and bag packers in the cost of the grocery items. If the staff go, the groceries won’t get any cheaper!
But I digress. The first week they were in use at the market, a young part timer was loafing around; playing the fool at the manual checkout adjacent to the brand new automated one. I’m all for enjoying yourself at work, but the writing was on the wall not 5 feet away- all shiny and new and making inviting electronic chirps and whistles. If you were the owner walking by at that moment – saying to himself, “Aha!” - and looking to recoup expenses from the new checkout robots- how far down your mental list of “Employees I Must Retain At All Costs” would he be?
Now back to the original thread. If the printery is offering amateur 3D modelling services to interior designers, how long will it be before they are offering amateur 3D interior design to the public?
“Aha….”
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