Special Events Process - Design and Drawing Control

[XlhHarley]

The company I work for is a special events and tradeshow company -

One of the biggest challenges we are having is process - design and drawing control

I have 4 audiences - the Client, Sales, Shop and Install - Each unit requires thier own special needs on the drawings

and any change in one affects the other three.. nobody talk to each other - im stuck in the middle

Is there aybody out in cad land that has similar challenges? and how does you process work?

thanks

[Anonymous]

wrote:
The company I work for is a special events and tradeshow company -

One of the biggest challenges we are having is process - design and drawing
control

I have 4 audiences - the Client, Sales, Shop and Install - Each unit
requires thier own special needs on the drawings

and any change in one affects the other three.. nobody talk to each other -
im stuck in the middle

Is there aybody out in cad land that has similar challenges? and how does
you process work?

> snip <

Normally you can combine Client and Install drawings. Those groups normally
want to know about the same things. You will have things on there that one
group or the other doesn't really need to know, but they are close enough
that no one usually will care if there is extra information they don't need.
You should als be able to combine a sales drawing in there depending on if
you have a reasonable sales department. Some sales departments will drive
you nuts wanting a drawing specific to them.

If you are forced into a seperate sales drawing you may be able to xref that
into the client/installation drawing so any changes work their way through
the set easier.

Shop drawings are always a seperate set. Here again though, you may be able
to xref in the installation drawing as a starting point for the overall
layout where you call out all your sub-assemblies. You should be making a
real effort to only draw things once. Which apparently you are because you
asked the question! :O)

These people may not be talking to each other, but they need to talk to you.
You are the one that needs to pull it all together. You will have to
convince some people that what you are trying to accomplish will bring a
faster, higher quality product to them. Sometimes it takes a lot of
convincing and sometimes you can't talk them into it, it depends on the
people you're working with.

You may also have to "cheat" on them by making a layout just for you and
xrefing that into all the other drawings you are making. By doing that, you
only need to change one drawing and the change ends up in all drawings that
xref it in. Whether that works depends on whether you are the sole person
accessing these drawings or whether other people are trying to "help" you
out. If others are putting their fingers in your drawings, you will need to
convince them that you are doing things the best way, or simply write a set
of rules that everyone who draws will need to follow and try forcing the
issue.

None of what I suggested may be easy. Again, it depends on who you are
working with. If you are a one man department, it may be real easy. Any
way you look at it though, you should bring your changes in slowly and make
sure they really accomplish what you think they will, or whether they mess
things up worse. Take it slow and think about what you are up to as you go.

But whatever you do...

Have fun,
Dave