Only the strong (efficient) survive

Hagerman & Company, Inc. Technology Bulletin

Only the strong (efficient) survive

by Matt Lane
Service Manager,
MCSE, CNE, USE

At this point, there is probably no denying the fact that the U.S. and world economies are in a very serious downturn. And as a result, business managers are, of course, in a tough spot in regard to making decisions about how to react going forward. Two possible directions to take are:

	Retrench, eliminate investment, cancel projects and try to ride the storm out as-is using existing tools and technologies
	Continue moving forward on ways to make their companies stronger and more efficient

Should companies choose to pursue the latter course, the Hagerman & Company consulting group offers at least four major high impact options that can tremendously enhance organizational efficiency and thus greatly increase a company’s ability to survive and prosper in these times. These include:

Multi-Site Replication – Hagerman & Company has successfully implemented multi-site replication tools including Autodesk’s Productstream Replicator and BlueCielo’s Global Collaboration Framework that can help companies with multiple locations improve operations so that:

	All locations can function together as a single entity.
	Duplication of effort and constant “re-inventing of the wheel” is eliminated.
	Staffing inefficiencies across locations can be resolved by collaborating and sharing staff.
	Designs can be standardized across the company resulting in reduced inventories and improved purchase pricing.
	Everyone in the company is kept on the same page at all times.
	Check in/check out conflicts are eliminated not just at individual sites, but across all company sites.
	Some or all design or manufacturing work can efficiently be moved to lower-cost locations.

As you can see, these are items that are even more critical and important in tough economic times like these and can benefit organizations of all types including those involved in AEC, facilities engineering and discrete manufacturing.

Design and Proposal Automation – Hagerman & Company has also successfully implemented systems like these for companies in variety of industries that:

	Totally automate 2D and 3D CAD design and drafting tasks.
	Are used by engineering or sales to streamline the generation of proposal drawings and quotes using desktop or laptop computers or the web.
	Allow salespeople to generate mistake free customer design proposals including drawings without bogging down engineering personnel.
	Automate all other related types of project documents such as schedules, material lists/BOMs, routings, cost reports, etc.
	Integrate with other in-house company databases and company business systems.

Systems that Hagerman has implemented for other companies have reduced labor times and turnaround by up to 90 percent. These are the types of productivity gains that you can’t afford to pass up in times like this.

Automated Workflow – Both Autodesk Productstream and BlueCielo’s Meridian software offer automated workflow capabilities that can work in the office and over the web to remote sites and traveling personnel that:

	Ensures everyone is following correct company procedures across all company departments and locations.
	Automatically notifies personnel when a new task is assigned or routed to them.
	Assigns time limits and due dates with e-mail reminders and warnings sent out to appropriate personnel for nearly due and/or overdue work assignments.
	Has automated and secure sign-offs and audit trails for all work tasks performed.
	Generates status reports so managers can easily monitor all open items across all locations for items such as document reviews and approvals, change orders, sales proposals, corrective action procedures, invoice approval and sign off, etc.

With so many employees and managers stretched thin due to staffing cutbacks, automated workflow can allow companies to get more done with fewer people and can be a lifesaver to help ensure that nothing falls through the cracks and all work is performed in a proper manner.

Elimination of Redundant Data Entry – Did you know that in the average manufacturing company the same redundant bill of materials (BOM) information is entered an average of 2.5 times into multiple in-house systems? BOMs are just one example of the type of information that is entered over and over again. The savings and payback achieved by automating the passage of data from one system to the next can be tremendous. For example, if your company:

	Has an average employee cost of $25 per hour (including benefits)
	Inputs or edits 5 bills of material per day
	Spends an average of 1 hour per BOM
	Inputs or edits 20 items per day
	Spends an average of 5 minutes per item entry/change
	Works 250 days per year

You would save more than $40,000 per year in hard dollars by eliminating the re-typing of item and BOM information. This ignores any savings due to manual data input errors. Again, this is the type of potential cost savings that can’t be ignored in times like this.

Hagerman & Company has a track record of success in helping companies successfully implement successful projects in all of the above areas. Anybody can make money in the good times. Isn’t it companies who achieve productivity gains like those offered above who succeed in the tough times?