A vendor with software that automates calculations as HVAC and electrical systems are designed is finding that customer inertia may be the hardest equation of all.

"Engineers are not very risky people," says Mark Robison, an engineer himself and president of Design Master Software Inc., Shoreline, Wash. "They get into a comfort zone and like to sit there."

Robison says he is having a tough time getting customers to even try the HVAC and electrical design programs his engineering firm developed over seven years. The software company was spun off five months ago. Robison says the software saves time and money. The HVAC package automatically sizes ducts and handles load and CFM calculations. The electrical package does circuiting, wire and breaker sizing, fault, photometric and voltage drop calculations and generates panel schedules.

Versions set for release July 26 pile on new features, including a 3D duct drafting capability that supports sectioning. Information can be found at www.designmaster.biz.