Drawing Management Best Practice Applications from Caylx Software

Short design times and fast change cycles drive earlier product launches. Manual product release and change processes waste time. Users must identify, locate and copy affected drawings; write, edit and correct the change order, and rely on 'one person at a time' review, using either interoffice mail or an engineer or change analyst walking the change package from office to office.

Drawings are the essential communication method for conveying design data, which in most cases are created using computer-aided design (CAD) software, but may occasionally include paper documents, photographic film, computer binary code on CD, and other physical media. Groups within and outside your company rely entirely on the accuracy and completeness of your engineering drawing package to efficiently realize the project design intent.

Drawing Control Requirements

Since the drawing package forms the foundation of a company's intellectual property, the contents must be cataloged, and changes to each drawing must be identified, reviewed, approved and distributed to affected personnel in a timely manner.

While drawing practice has been defined by older standards, these simply specify the drawing content, not its management and control. However, managing the drawing package throughout a product's life cycle is a major challenge for companies facing rapidly-changing market conditions, supply chain changes, and regulatory requirements. Accurate, up-to-date information is crucial to a correctly manufactured product, be it a building or a bicycle.

A drawing that can't be identified correctly, or has unapproved content, or has simply 'gone missing' can't contribute to the quality of a product. On the other hand, a drawing package that is identifiable, searchable, reviewable, and immediately available significantly reduces product costs by simplifying design, procurement, manufacturing, customer training and field service.

Drawing Management Functions

- A complete drawing management software environment encompasses a combination of capabilities and processes in addition to those required in a Document Management system:

- Efficient, user-friendly methods for creating design document and part data records, managing assembly structures, storing electronic file attachments, and processing change forms.

- Business rules that define which drawing and part types are supported, how item numbers are assigned, how drawings are revised, who approves changes to part and drawing revisions, the conditions under which parts are qualified for use, and a host of other details.

- The complex relationships between drawings and their associated reference files need to be managed in such a way that users can clearly see the relationships between the drawings and any related reference files, and must also provide functions to fix any broken links.

- The definition of multiple workflows based on company processes. Users should be able to route drawings or change processes using a defined workflow and thus bringing the necessary control and discipline within the product development processes.