Finding Productivity

Every CAD Manager has the task of finding productivity enhancements. It never ends. We should always be looking for better, quicker, more stable, advanced ways of getting things done. So where do we look for these things? How do we spot areas that could be improved?

First thing out of the gate let me say that maintaining things is actually helping productivity. If all you do to maintain the current level of productivity in your office, you are actually gaining. This is because productivity always spirals down. People get lazy, mistakes are made, we settle into sloppy habits. Just keeping the active level of attention focused on the continuation of the status quo is better than inattentive relaxed ambivalence.

But if you are looking to improve things, where do you look? Let’s break it down to some simple topics…

Stop

Take some time to just stop being so active (a tough step) and start thinking about where improvements could be made in your firm. Do you need a software upgrade? Do you need to upgrade your standards? Do you need to upgrade the hardware? These are big picture, broad brush topics that can then be broken down into smaller bites. Saying you need a software upgrade is a rather expansive (and expensive) statement. You may actually need to think smaller. Maybe what you need is to add some tools to the existing release. Maybe you just need a LISP routine to get things done. Maybe purchase a small utility to address some pain point.

Stop moving forward without some valid reason. If you are thinking of upgrading, make sure that you are providing some enhancement in the move. Don’t just upgrade because it is the latest. Find out what will make it the greatest. Don’t move until there is a compelling productivity enhancement or a problem that needs fixing.

Look

Where do you look for possible productivity upgrades? Here are some ideas that might help you figure out which rock to turn over to find them.

Look at your configuration again. Have you reviewed the server folders to see if the items that everyone needs are located in one spot and only one spot. One of the biggest productivity losses is when your users spend time looking for things. They should be able to know where things are and how to get to them. Make sure you write down the location and publish it. Make sure that the names of things make it easy to find them.

Make sure that your folder structure is set up for easy discovery. Keep it simple. Use the names that everyone uses. Don’t call the folder for dynamic blocks of plumbing fixtures something like “DBP” unless everyone knows what that means. Use common language for the names, like “DBPlumbFix” or even better – spell it out “Plumbing Fixture Dynamic Blocks”. Some CAD Managers develop number schemes and abbreviations for names. This is fine if everyone knows what they are. Remember, if someone has to look up what it means or ask someone else – it slows things down.

Look for methods in workflow that need to be unified. I am not talking about your CAD Standard, which should be on your list to review all the time. I am talking of about looking for new things that fall outside of the Standards realm. Things like production methods and how you put together a set of files. Trust me everyone comes up with a little different method for getting to the same point. That is the power of CAD. The flexibility allows users to get creative in achieving the goal, but when that creativity makes people slow down to understand what the last person has done, then it needs to be unified.

Listen

Keep your ears open for people’s complaints (and they do like to complain). Just by listening to what the concerns are that users are encountering you will find things that need to be corrected. I think that this is one of the most untapped resources for a CAD Manager. So many ideas come from others.

Complaining is positive when it is turned in to progress. Most users will not have to be pressed too hard to find something that they wish was easier or faster. They voice their concerns under their breath… “this is stupid…” or they downright shout it… “who wrote this lousy software”. When they do, you can swoop in an pick their brains. Find out what they are having trouble with. They are most likely not alone in their frustration. Whatever you can do to alleviate it, make it better or make it disappear will be an increase in productivity.

Creative ideas are abounding. Listen to others as they brainstorm. They will come up with some pretty creative ideas as to how things could be better. Just by listening and doing something with those ideas, you can increase production and streamline your firms workflow. You can encourage these kinds of creative discussions by just asking some questions as simple as “Are things working well?” “What could we do to make it work better?” Just by opening the topic the ideas will start to flow.

One of the biggest mistake a CAD Manager can make is to listen and not do anything about what is heard. Don’t let this happen to you. If you are listening (and people will know if you are) and not doing something to make CAD better, then people will talking with you about it. They will still complain, but they may add you to the list of their complaints.

When you find productivity or create it – write it down, share it, celebrate it and go look for more.