Cad Committees....??

[Anonymous]

I am Cad Manager for a fairly large firm, I support 66 seats of ADT2006.
There has been a Cad Committee of 5 additional people setup from before I
first started 9 months ago. Personally, I do not see a need for the cad
committee as I know what I want to do and what needs to be done. The
committee has been established to apparently develop procedures and
processes but all it has been is a free lunch and BS session. I delegate
tasks but everyone is too busy. It is senseless to me and a waste of time.

How many people do you support and do you have a committee? If so, how do
you use the committee?

[jlspartz]

CAD committees can be a waste of time if they are not handled right. There was 4 tries at a CAD committee that I was part of before I became CAD manager where I work. I support 100 users of ADT2006. Personally the procedure and process development is all a bunch of BS itself. As soon as the word procedure comes up, people's ears shut off. As soon as one is written down and handed out, it is thrown out. No one is going to do that. It is boring with no sense of accomplishment thereafter.

If you want everyone to be a part, first you have to listen to everyone in the committee. Let others in the committee shoot a bad idea down. Never do it yourself. Only offer better suggestions. You will gain more respect that way. If one or two don't agree, hear them out, try your best to make them happy. If they continue to push against the current, vote on it, but don't expect those that didn't vote for it to help in that decision. Don't look at the committee as a way of delegating. Look at it as a way of teamwork. If it was the committee's decision or if you rightfully convinced them to do things the proper way, they will be more likely to get involved since it is their idea of how it should be done, and they have a sense of accomplishment when it is done. Since they are doing the work each day, they have a lot of good ideas on how things could be done better; things that you might have overlooked.

Try scheduling a brainstorming session to come up with ways to make your work easier, don't use the word procedures, have it on a friday when people are more relaxed, and not during lunch so there is no free food, and see who shows up. Invite some others you know are for improving technology that are not in the committee, as this will help those in the committee to step up to prove themselves as more knowledgable, because they want to preserve their image whether they are aware of it or not.

[KyleDasan]

I just started as a CAD Manager, and am supporting 35 users of ACAD 2005. I was hired on to take some of the slack off of the users so that they can spend more time designing. I'm supposed to review the current CAD standards, and come up with a solid, locked down "Bible" (to use their terminology), for everyone to use. The problem I'm having is that I have "veterans" who've been using CAD since release 14, and are still using antiquated LISP routines to things that 2005 does standard now, and I've got "newbies" who love the fresh new ideas, and don't understand the old way to do things. My job is to find consensus. My first CAD "Standards Team" meeting turned into a shouting match between the two groups over the use of LMAN. I can think of better ways to waste my time. I think the solution here is to do what I deem is best (egotistical sounding I know, but I feel like I'm a parent dealing with children), get upper managment approval, and lay down law.

Sorry...venting and feeling fustrated. Anyways, that's my 2¢.

[kbernhard]

That is how our CAD Meetings went in the beginning too (under former CAD Management). Since I have been appointed we no longer invite every user to the CAD Meetings, only one person from each department. And those people must both have experience, and be able to open their minds to new and innovative ideas. So the new CAD Meetings only consist of myself (CAD Manager), the Senior VP (money guy), the VP of Survey, a rep. from survey, and a rep. from our development team.

Another idea that I have found extremely helpful is to meet with all new hires to see how their former place of employment did things. I have gotten countless great ideas from these people, and implemented them while giving the new hires the credit for the great idea. Giving the new hires the credit not only allows others to realize that that new hire is bright, but also gives the new hires trust in me that I am here to do what is best for them, and the company.

[Anonymous]

That was the problem at my last place. Everybody but the receptionist was
included in the meetings. A waste of time it was.


>Since I have been appointed we no longer invite every user to the CAD
>Meetings, only one person from >each department.

[KyleDasan]

Yea but I'm not inviting everyone. Just about a third of them. basically a cross section of the entire floor, which obviously is still too many.

However, the battle lines are clearly drawn, and my goal is to destroy that battle line. We are supposed to be on the same side after all...

[cprettyman]

Oh, I feel your pain. I recently sent an email to a selection of middle management peopl eexplaining a change to our CAD standrds that I was contemplating. This may have been a mistake on my part, but I feel that CAD Standards need to serve the overall needs of the project. So the email basically read - The junior people want this change, and I think it's ok, and the technology involved is a no-brainer. Does it affect how you assign work to your project teams?

I couldn't believe the screaming, although I could have, and did, predict which luddites and dinosaurs would bitch and moan the loudest. And what makes me really sad is that the "Senior Associates" seem to think that it's ok for them to say "If the CAD Standards change, I will tell my staff to ignore them."

What a bunch of obstructionist losers.

[kbernhard]

With your size firm, I wouldnt go for more than 3 people in the meetings at a time. (just my humble opinion)

Luckily in my firm I have the undivided support of the upper management, and they allow me to blame no longer inviting someone on them (makes me able to remain the loveable character that I try to be).

[jlspartz]

Yeah, sometimes you just have to get the upper management to send the info on a big change out even though they have no clue what it means. It means more to the employees when it comes from them. Especially when it says there will be consequences for people not following it. That's what it came down to here one time, and everyone immediately shut up and went along with it.

[jlspartz]

Exclude the ones that start the battles and that are against new technology. They will never help you, only whine and hinder. In the beginning it's all about finding the right people.

[Anonymous]

Please don't apologize for venting here, seems to be the purpose of this newsgroup.
The people you most need involved in the process are those that scream the loudest.
You absolutely cannot exclude them from the process. The simple reason is you will reinforce their resistance and end up strengthening your enemy in this process. They must be included.
You have to figure out a way to change the entire company, not just the ones who will do what you say.
I'm in the middle of implementing Civil 3D for a user base of upwards of 80 people. It's my job to try to figure out how I can get the largest number of people to willingly go through this process. If I can't figure out a way to accommodate the worst 20 users, I'm screwed.
Don't fall in love with the newbies, They don't know you can't grade a parking lot at a half percent nor do they know you can't grade it at 8 percent.

John Postlewait
IS Department
George Butler Associates, Inc.

[kbernhard]

jpostlewait wrote-
"Don't fall in love with the newbies, They don't know you can't grade a parking lot at a half percent nor do they know you can't grade it at 8 percent."

When I spoke about the new hires I was speaking of those that we have hired from other companies, so they most liekly do have a basic understanding of the process. Even if they dont that doesnt mean that they dont have some great ideas to implement in CAD.

[jlspartz]

Never underestimate new hires. They bring the best ideas because they come from all over and know there are better ways because they haven't been at your place doing it your way for the last 5-10 years.

I disagree with including the people that start battles. The people here that do that, which I can count on one hand, only have the intention to argue. They don't care about a conclusion, and if you ask them to come up with a better way, they shut up, because they have no useful input.

[Anonymous]

Stupid is as stupid does.
"Murph" wrote in message
news:5142336@discussion.autodesk.com...
Sounds like a win-win situation to me. There's a committe that no one wants
to do anything on, a cad manager that wants to do things his/her way. They
get a free lunch and you do what you want. When things fail you say it was
taken up with the committee and approved. CYA.

Murph
--
http://mappingitout.blogspot.com/

"James" wrote in message
news:5142279@discussion.autodesk.com...
I am Cad Manager for a fairly large firm, I support 66 seats of ADT2006.
There has been a Cad Committee of 5 additional people setup from before I
first started 9 months ago. Personally, I do not see a need for the cad
committee as I know what I want to do and what needs to be done. The
committee has been established to apparently develop procedures and
processes but all it has been is a free lunch and BS session. I delegate
tasks but everyone is too busy. It is senseless to me and a waste of time.

How many people do you support and do you have a committee? If so, how do
you use the committee?

[Anonymous]

According to someone else it's ignorance not stupid.........
Any ways committees only work when the people on it want to work, and the
management listens to it. Though out my 50 years of existence I been on a
few from deciding the company Christmas party to software needs to health
care and benefits choices. Some of the committees only existed because of
tradition and that's the way it always has been to deciding what direction
the company should go to stay in business. The bottom line is if no one
wants to work on the committee and management is not taking the committee
serious then its a waste of time. (MHO)

Murph

"TRJ" wrote in message
news:5146475@discussion.autodesk.com...
Stupid is as stupid does.

[wundrlik]

Funny how this thread showed up.

I am the CAD Standards Coordinator for my company (although I am in reality the CAD Manager - with a primary emphasis on Standards), and I manage the standards for 5 departments (Civil, Survey, Planning, Landscape Architecture, and Water Resources)- each with different needs, and in 5 offices that are in different geographic locations (roughly 200 seats of LDT2005/Map3D 2005). I make the final decisions, but I have a corporate committee to make final decisions with (although I ALWAYS have the final say and/or veto power), Each of them are heads of their local office committees and they are required to meet once a month to discuss issues with the current standards and give them a chance to get together to just talk about the other side of the coin. The local committees report back to me, I take that to the corporate committee and the final decision is made, then I implement the new rules.

The concept works pretty good, and I travel to each office once every two months for a week to help address any problems, hold additional training, and meet face-to-face with the local committee.

If any of you want to see my operating principles I'm more than happy to share.

Ryan A. Wunderlich
CAD Standards Coordinator
firstname.lastname at domain below 🙂
www.wrgdesign.com