Topic: Improving the Standard of Work

[jonesy]

I have been the CAD mangager here for little over a year, and until I threatened to leave a short while ago the title was just that... A title.

I have now been told that I will get the backing I need, regarding the standard of work produced. The standand generally produced here was, well, not the best I have seen. Not helped by summer placements (not told/shown where to find information), who have now left. I am spending hours extra on a job to put it right, before having to start working on it.

I am constantly amazed at the lack of quality... "but it looks OK" :pissed:

What I am looking for are ideas to help me push the people here to produce better looking drawings, and adhere to the standards.

One thing I have tried in the past is to give a user an audit form, and ask them to audit someone elses work to see what they pick up, and what they miss (This lets me know where THEY lack their knowledge too).

How do you guys make sure your company sends out good quality work?

Thanks in advance
Tracey

[joseguia]

We have THREE sets of eyes to review each document before the DESIGN makes it out the door, and the last guy is a STICKLER for perfect drawings, his motto is "Make each drawing look as if it were capable of being published in a BOOK of Post-Tension"

[Arizona]

We automate as much of our CAD standards into the menuing system and commands as possible. For example when our users enter a text type command we have a little VBA program to take them to the text layer and returns them when done (same for dimensioning). While not everything can be automated (because of time, lack of resources, etc...) if you make it easier to follow the standards then to do their own thing, then in most cases they will follow the standard.
The path of least resistance...

[David Hall]

... if you make it easier to follow the standards then to do their own thing, then in most cases they will follow the standard.
The path of least resistance...

ditto here

[pmvliet]

I have been the CAD mangager here for little over a year, and until I threatened to leave a short while ago the title was just that... A title.

Most people that you talk with who are CAD Managers are going to agree with your statement that it is just a title. While I had this position, it took a long time and lots of smoozing with management to get their support! W/o that support, you have no power and pretty much talking til you are blue in the face!

You don't hire, you can't fire, you have no budget, your not given the time (you need to stay billable)
but yet you are responsible for the quality of work, quantity or work, upholding the Standards and dealing with all the crisis that may arise at any given time. But you already know that 

There are several things that will help you push fellow employee's to draw better.

1) Make it as simple as possible. Provide everything a drafter will need to do their job. All the drawing tools, blocks, template files, plot setups etc. Some of this information can be placed in a template file, which I believe you use already. Streamline into lisp, macro's etc.
Remember this: it may take you 8 hours to set something up correctly once in a company wide environment, which will make a 15 minute task for a user happen in 1 minute. If you don't do this, the users could possibly spend 8 hrs a week doing the same thing! Also good to document this for management to see that you are saving money....

2) have lunch-n-learns once a month. Get the company to spring for lunch and you'll do some training. This goes a long way and employees are always hungry in more ways then one. They love information.
The problem is, the people who need to attend won't.

3) streamline Autocad so that it gives the user what they need and only when they need it. The layer creator you are working on is a great start.

**disclaimer: Not knowing what types of problems are your biggest culprit, this might be out of line. The lunch-n-learns are good even just for overall unity.

Just some thoughts.

Pieter
and what She said 

We automate as much of our CAD standards into the menuing system and commands as possible. For example when our users enter a text type command we have a little VBA program to take them to the text layer and returns them when done (same for dimensioning). While not everything can be automated (because of time, lack of resources, etc...) if you make it easier to follow the standards then to do their own thing, then in most cases they will follow the standard.
The path of least resistance...

[uncoolperson]

we have one guy check it... until it's right (usually 2+ times), he lives by "It's never right".

I've only gotten one drawing through him without any red.

[PHX cadie]

Is it attitudes or lack of knowledge?

Lack of knowledge/Getting the "word" out:
Perhaps not everyone knows the company standards so three different folks are doing the same thing three different ways. If so, a great idea one company had was monthly, ( or bi-monthly until things run smoother) lunch time training. Get the department together on a regular basis and everyone will know what is expected and that's the time to exchange ideas/procedures/problems. If the company buys lunch it even better from the employees perspective,    (nothing fancy maybe sandwiches)

Attitudes:
 

[Fish]

Our company is easy...............we have no standards.  Okay, maybe I'm being a little harsh.  Things have gotten better in our drafting department but our checker is pretty drafting illiterate.  Hopefully this winter our standards will be in place, (somewhat) and things will improve.

[Atook]

Again, make the right way the easiest way. Path of least resistance is correct.
It will take some customization, but well worth it in the long run.

At the monthly lunch meeting, ask for suggestions on customizations. If you have peeps that are capable, ask them to make some of the customizations. Even a short gripe session (keep it  regarding drawings/software, short, and under control). If your staff takes some ownership in the changes you are trying to implement, it will go a long way.

[craigr]

The way we do it here is...

Our guys have just given up trying to draw to standards. They just 'get it close' then pass it to me to 'fix'. Of course this eats MUCH time. It is sometimes easier for me to start over than to fix theirs.

BTW, I am currently MONTHS behind!

Something is going to have to give, but I am not sure what.

craigr

[grush]

We automate as much of our CAD standards into the menuing system and commands as possible. For example when our users enter a text type command we have a little VBA program to take them to the text layer and returns them when done (same for dimensioning). While not everything can be automated (because of time, lack of resources, etc...) if you make it easier to follow the standards then to do their own thing, then in most cases they will follow the standard.
The path of least resistance...

I concur 100%. My / our standardization is through customization. Mostly pull down menus and some lisps. Text goes on the correct layer(s) as well as blocks, etc. It seems to work for me / us; I've been doing this for 12+ years, and I basically can teach a monkey to get a handle on things.

Pete

[jonesy]

Is it attitudes or lack of knowledge?

I think its mainly lack of knowledge, then not asking questions. We have been getting a lot of "green" caddies in (some are summer placements who are only with us for 6 weeks). It seems like I just get some to a stage of being really on the ball, then they move on. Some, well, I really despair. Entities on layers like "layer 1" kerblines on a text layer, then colour over-ride so they "look OK"

If the company buys lunch it even better from the employees perspective,    (nothing fancy maybe sandwiches)

oh sorry, you were serious.

I simply HAVE to get some semi-automation in there. (again, this will probably have to be done by me, in my own time... I have 2 hours a week I can allocate to cad manager role, (including training!) everything else has to be charged to a job)

The thing that bugs me, is that we are a BIG multi-national company with standards to follow (these standards have been in place for more than 2 years. If someone from head-office came to check our work, we'd be stuffed.

[jonesy]

The way we do it here is...

Our guys have just given up trying to draw to standards. They just 'get it close' then pass it to me to 'fix'. Of course this eats MUCH time. It is sometimes easier for me to start over than to fix theirs.

BTW, I am currently MONTHS behind!

Something is going to have to give, but I am not sure what.

craigr

Craig, this is how I feel I am, but if I carry on tidying their rubbish, they'll never get any different, and I'll get more frustrated... so I am trying to pick on one thing each time, till we eliminate that, then move on to the next thing, but its a painstaking process.

[Fish]

You know what puts a wrench in my shorts :realmad: is when the checker nit picks my stuff to death, but when he draws something (and he checks his own stuff??) all is fine in his world.  Some how he doesn't see the mistakes that are so blatantly clear.  Hmmmmm, interesting.

[LE]

In my previous job I was the CM for a firm with 58 (cad users) - it was difficult and hard to implement any standards - I just stay there for a year and came where I work nowdays (as a janitor)...

Good luck - is all I can say.