Based in Gibsonville, North Carolina since 2002, Sole Source
Engineering, PC provides electrical engineering services to architects
and contractors in the commercial and industrial sectors. This
one-person firm, run by Jim Peacock, PE, offers a wide range of project
experience from manufacturing facilities and warehouse additions to
public use buildings, strip center upfits, medical offices and
laboratories.
Mr. Peacock first purchased a license for Design Master Electrical in
November 2013, but has only actually used the software for about nine
months. “I found Design Master Electrical while researching
design software,” Mr. Peacock explains. “I got a
trial version, loved it and ended up buying a license.
“But being a one-man office and short on time, I figured
I’d wait for the ‘perfect project’ at the
‘perfect time’ to start using the software. That
perfect scenario never came along. Finally, I just chose a project and
said, ‘OK, here we go,’” chuckles Mr.
Peacock. “At this point, I just couldn’t be happier
with the software.”
“Design Master Electrical automates a lot of those mundane design chores that makes the day go really slow,” Mr. Peacock notes. “Work is work, but Design Master makes the design process almost like fun. I thoroughly enjoy using it.”
“The software produces a much better product than AutoCAD alone, in that it structures my designs very nicely and makes them exceptionally readable, accurate and precise,” states Mr. Peacock. “It prevents the kinds of errors that are easy to make even if you’re very thorough. For example, if I change a circuit I don’t have to worry about updating the panel schedule—Design Master ‘automagically’ takes care of all that.”
Mr. Peacock continues: “When my clients want to make revisions it’s so much faster with Design Master than in AutoCAD. If I move a switch, the switch leg automatically moves with it. Anytime I slide a receptacle or other device, the circuit slides with it.
“With AutoCAD alone those tasks take multiple steps. With Design Master it all happens in one step, cutting my time spent in half or better.
“That time savings is very helpful when clients need changes in a hurry, as they frequently do,” Mr. Peacock points out.
“Design Master lends itself very well to all kinds of projects,” observes Mr. Peacock. “The first job I used it on was a 15,000 sq. ft. medical office renovation. The software worked great, the client was ecstatic and there’ve been no issues with the design now that the project is in construction.
“The next one was an 85,000 sq. ft. warehouse addition, and it worked equally well. I just used it on a large industrial laundry facility project, and again it worked great,” Mr. Peacock adds.
“Now I’m at least as efficient as I was before, but I’m producing a better product that’s easier to maintain and revise,” Mr. Peacock clarifies. “I’m saving more time with each project—and I would be even faster if I was using the software out-of-the-box.
“But I want my designs to look like a Jim Peacock product. I want to use the symbols I normally use. Fortunately, Design Master Electrical is flexible enough to allow me to do that.
“So I’m investing time to gradually create a custom library of symbols and fixtures and other devices. For example, I’ll never again have to manually recreate a 2x4 LED recessed indirect fixture with 4,300 lumens or whatever—I’ve already done that, and it’s in the library,” says Mr. Peacock.
According to Mr. Peacock, “Design Master Software’s customer service is the best I’ve ever had on any software product, without a doubt. If I contact them I always get a response immediately or close to it, and they either explain how to fix my problem or send me a bug fix in no time if it’s their problem.
“Whatever the issue, it’s always taken care of, fast. That’s critical because I don’t have time to wait around and maybe in a couple weeks somebody might get back to me, like with most other software companies,” Mr. Peacock stresses.
“I couldn’t be happier with the product,” asserts Mr. Peacock. “Some other products in this space are designed by software people for use by engineers, whereas Design Master is designed by engineers for use by engineers, and they used very skilled software people to implement that design.”
“I do business one way, by a simple philosophy: If I do business with you, I’m going to tell everybody about you. It’s up to you what I tell them.
“I assure you I have nothing but good things to say about Design Master Electrical. It’s an excellent product from an excellent company,” Mr. Peacock confirms.
