Yes, it's GIS; however AutoCAD is the platform used by another program. It is not inserted, it is scraped in and just LOOKS like it's AutoCAD, but it's not...it's all vertices and points and coordinates and lines.
The two-layer system is interesting. One I brought up was to use a layer/single color for DESIGNED equipment, then change it to the "correct" layers/colors after the construction asbuilt for AS-BUILT equipment. This is really going outside of the way it has been done for probably decades, so I'm not sure how it will be received. Thank you for the suggestion!