Cadtales

Productivity – Personal Skills

by Jim Rogers,
CADreps

Productivity – the quality of being productive, was defined in the first of this series of articles: Productivity – A Primer. In this issue we will explore how personal skills can advance (or, retard) productivity. A company is productive when it provides a product or service, at a profit, that satisfies the customer. An employee is productive when he or she delivers a fair (or better) return on the company’s investment in facilities, materials, equipment and training. In the latter sense, personal skills are a key metric or reference for quality, production and schedule, and the associated rewards/penalties.

Personnel policies are not especially pertinent to this article but we should mention that when a company becomes un-productive employee layoffs and transfers are some of the first corrective actions. And, in the absence of an employment contract, the least productive person could be the first to go; ergo, continually increasing one’s personal skills will lead to better job security, higher pay and greater job satisfaction. (We should never forget for whom we work; the company may provide your paycheck but it’s the customer that provides the money. Job satisfaction is second only to customer satisfaction.)

In many ways our personal skills define us. We are what we do and how well we do it. People are generally identified by their occupations: Artist, Business Person, CAD Designer, Doctor, Nurse, etc. We are deserving of the title when we meet an accepted standard, educational criteria or performance test.

Michael Gerber (mentioned in the first article on Productivity) has long been a respected advisor in the business community. His several books on Entrepreneurship advances the idea that to be an effective (verses efficient) business manager you must start with yourself; Innovate, quantify and orchestrate a system that will define the business. At the personal level this means, in the words of Mr. Gerber, “Develop a process that delivers customer satisfaction on-time, every time.”

Let’s continue with the scenario from our first article on Productivity of a design business where the deliverable product is a set of prints and documents: The first criterion for a “process” is uniformity. If everyone is doing “it” a different way, we obviously don’t have a process. This especially applies to all levels of a CAD operation.

Here is an example, and the benefits, of using a defined process:

Condition: Incoming drawings from contractors, architects, and vendors are delayed, often inoperable and missing key components. Design a process to prove quality, obtain missing components and verify file integrity.

1. Do these operations on all files upon receipt:
2. Start a Log File for each project and/or root file. (1)
3. Virus-scan all incoming files.
4. Open project/sheet files in their native application (2)
5. Check for missing fonts, linetypes and XREFs (3)
6. Run Recovery on all root files and XREFs. (4)
7. Export to AutoCAD if necessary.
8. Deliver files in the proper AutoCAD version. (5)
9. Publish symptoms of corrupted DWG files. (6)

Process Notes:

1. The Log File is a record of operations and results for this process. Any other operator opening this file will know what has been done, what remains to be done and any problems, comments, special instructions and goals for this DWG file.
2. Files created in AutoCAD Arch, MEP or Civil may not be “fixed” with Recover or Audit in AutoCAD since it lacks the ARX application that created the corrupted object.
3. Missing fonts, linetypes and XREFs are the bane of a design business that relies on others for source documents. Check for and obtain missing components immediately. Many documents will not print correctly with substitute Fonts and Linetypes! Request all file transmittals in Etransmit format with settings to provide all the necessary content.
4. AutoCAD has a RECOVERALL command in the File>Drawing utilities menu. In MEP enter the command at the keyboard or add the icon to a Toolbar. This command will open the root file and all the XREFs, run the Recover routine, fix any errors and post a report in the AutoCAD text window. (See Note 2 above).
5. Perform all internal design and drafting functions with the current version of AutoCAD. Deliver files to the client by “saving-down” to earlier AutoCAD releases using the Etransmit command.
6. Symptoms: Slow to load, jerky panning and zooming, visible objects that cannot be selected, XREFs disappear after Bind, any FATAL error that closes AutoCAD. Retain samples of these files for training purposes. (See Note 2 above).

Benefits: Immediate verification of drawing quality and completeness makes all drawings available for constructive work immediately. Avoids costly time delays and production interruptions due to file and program crashes. Avoids costly overtime due to poor process control and looming deadlines.

Summary – There is an important distinction between being efficient (doing the same work more quickly) and being more effective – designing a process that:

1. Insures quality
2. Insures on-time delivery
3. Eliminates rework
4. Is always under budget
5. Delivers greater than average profits

To accomplish the above we start with ourselves, and then build a team to innovate, quantify and orchestrate the system. Here is a list of topics that could be a good starting point in your quest for a more effective CAD operation:

Suggested topics:

1. Project setup – What do we need to know.
2. Project Integrity – (See the discussion example above).
3. Project Templates & Tools.
4. Redlines & Editing guide lines.
5. Production, Scheduling, Revisions, and Sheet Log files.
6. Output, PDF, DWF, ZIP, Etransmit, AutoCAD version.
7. Integrity Check, Final Review, Product Delivery.