Building a CAD
Support Team
Many of us are lone rangers in the support business of CAD. We have
to pull double, triple duty or beyond to keep the ship afloat. Others have dedicated help to get the CAD job done.
Whatever your
surroundings and setup you need to have a team of folks to make
things happen. This month we look at setting up the teams
and pulling together the troops.
The CAD
Groups (or whatever you call them)
Set up a system of small groups to assist in the Leadership of CAD. Having a strong
CAD decision-making structure in place can force business people
to think of CAD's role in the overall enterprise (not just
location or division by division). It can also
better align CAD strategy with corporate strategy—making sure
that they are one and the same.
Group One: Corporate CAD Liaisons
- Two people from
each discipline.
- Get together on a
regular basis and discuss new software, Standards, Projects,
LISP Routines, etc.
- These people are
pivotal to getting the job done.
- They are an
extension of you.
- Commission them
to be your deputies.
- Pour into them
the need for holding the line on CAD Standards.
- Gather
information from them on the impact of your decisions.
Group Two: Department Managers
- Get together once
a month or so
- Discuss
technology issues as they affect Design
- Discuss training
issues
- Discuss workload
- Discuss what will
be happening in the future
- You may need to do this over lunch - time is precious to this
group
Group Three: Corporate CAD Standard Review Committee
- This may be
separate from the CAD Liaisons or the same group
- It may be he CAD
Managers from all offices gathering once a week via conference
call to develop and refine the corporate CAD Standard.
- This team will
haggle and argue sometimes, but come away in agreement as to how
the company will standardize CAD use.
Group Four:
Corporate Management Team
- Much less formal
team of office managers and division managers.
- Interact with
them on a one on one basis since it is hard to get them all
together in one place at one time.
- Find out the
current flow of production between offices and if a location
needs special attention.
- Try to find out
what technology successes they have and spread them to other
locations
Group Five: The Inner Circle
- Leaders have an inner circle - This is not a negative
thing. These people are key to your success. A smaller group
to gain insight, get things done and rally the troops.
- Leaders typically check with 3 to 4 key persons before
making a decision. Having too much input is as bad as having
too little.
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