feargt Posted May 9, 2009 Share Posted May 9, 2009 Hi, I was just wondering what are the main CAD issues that are experienced in offices. For example where I work one of the main problems prior to recently was convincing the powers that be for the need to invest time in updating our working methods and standrds to increase productivity by utilising newer functions of Autocad releases. They were of the opinion that as long as we were using the latest release that that meant we were being as producitve as possible. So what are the main issues in your company and why? Thanks Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jonesy Posted May 11, 2009 Share Posted May 11, 2009 One of the main issues we face is to get people to work to "CAD Standards" Some people think they dont apply to them, others are unaware that standards exist... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
feargt Posted May 11, 2009 Author Share Posted May 11, 2009 I am a bit surprised at only one reply so far to this thread. I would have thought there are lots of issues experienced. One of the main issues we face is to get people to work to "CAD Standards" jonesy, how does your company deal with this issue? Does this problem create extra work for other users? Is it costing the company time? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jonesy Posted May 11, 2009 Share Posted May 11, 2009 There are genarally more issues than that. But this one is my pet hate... Why have standards if people dont work to them. The company dont seem to enforce the standards, so therefore people feel even less inclined to use them. A recent project I worked on where a client specified the standards went the same way despite the fact that there were many customisations to help stick to the standards. It does end up costing the company money, as it takes time for each drafter to familiarise themselves with how each drawing has been drawn. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
stevsmith Posted May 11, 2009 Share Posted May 11, 2009 STANDARDS!!! We dont need no stinking standards.. But serously, we have noooo standards whatsoever. But to be perfectly honest we dont require them. When I came here the comapany did'nt even have drawing templates and title blocks set up. properly, ive tried to introduce other things as well such as tool pallets, but the other people who have been here alot longer, just arn't intrested. It's just a waste of my time. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
michaeloureiro Posted May 11, 2009 Share Posted May 11, 2009 STANDARDS!!! We dont need no stinking standards.. But serously, we have noooo standards whatsoever. But to be perfectly honest we dont require them. When I came here the comapany did'nt even have drawing templates and title blocks set up. properly, ive tried to introduce other things as well such as tool pallets, but the other people who have been here alot longer, just arn't intrested. It's just a waste of my time. I feel ya, same story here, made a couple of dynamic blocks to help save some time at the office, and nobody uses them...go figure! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
stevsmith Posted May 11, 2009 Share Posted May 11, 2009 I feel ya, same story here, made a couple of dynamic blocks to help save some time at the office, and nobody uses them...go figure! me to, ranging form fasteners and glass clamps and elev symbols, blocks with attributes, etc Sod them, its their loss. As Cad64 says in his signature, "Work Smarter, Not Harder". Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
feargt Posted May 11, 2009 Author Share Posted May 11, 2009 me to, ranging form fasteners and glass clamps and elev symbols, blocks with attributes, etc Sod them, its their loss. How many Cad Users are there in your office? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
stevsmith Posted May 11, 2009 Share Posted May 11, 2009 There are 3 of us in total, 2 seniors and a trainee who happens to be the owners son. He just does what he wants. which is nothing.... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tzframpton Posted May 11, 2009 Share Posted May 11, 2009 One of the biggest problems we have is definitely sticking to procedure of company standards. The next biggest problem is the laziness of our drafters sometimes, lol. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
feargt Posted May 11, 2009 Author Share Posted May 11, 2009 One of the biggest problems we have is definitely sticking to procedure of company standards. The next biggest problem is the laziness of our drafters sometimes, lol. Why do you think it is such a big problem in your company? How many users are there? Do you have someone that is responsible for maintaining standards or is it a case that everyone just does what they want without having to answer to anyone? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tzframpton Posted May 11, 2009 Share Posted May 11, 2009 Most people stick to the standards pretty well here when we create a drawing from scratch. Since I implemented the Tool Palettes, that helped a lot because of Layer control, the quick access of tools like Lisp and Script files, having Block Library readily available with certain properties set, etc. Its when we get in a Mechanical drawing and spend the time converting it over to our standards for shop drawings. That's where all six of the other drafters get lazy. Its because there are two different types of drafters. Those who went to college just to get a degree, and those who have a true passion about designing and using AutoCAD, or Revit, or whatever app they use. People that have the passion actually take time to learn as much as they can and make things look good. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
stevsmith Posted May 11, 2009 Share Posted May 11, 2009 People that have the passion actually take time to learn as much as they can and make things look good. I agree with this statement 100% Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MaxwellEdison Posted May 11, 2009 Share Posted May 11, 2009 People that have the passion actually take time to learn as much as they can and make things look good. They usually take the time to seek out sites like this one too:) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
feargt Posted May 11, 2009 Author Share Posted May 11, 2009 So standards seems to be the big issue then...... I'm surprised no one has mentioned problems or issues when working with other companies. I know this was a big issue in the last company that I worked with. It used to create all sorts of issues. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tzframpton Posted May 11, 2009 Share Posted May 11, 2009 Well that's always an issue. No company is ever the same, so that's a given. Especially the Sprinkler guys we deal with.... Not only do they NOT know how to XREF archi's in, but they split up the plans and save them in different files so they can plot from model space to a scale that fits on sheets. UUUUUGGGGHHHHH Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
stevsmith Posted May 11, 2009 Share Posted May 11, 2009 Can I put down sheer stupidity and ignorance. My office is full of it and I snapped one day saying that they were all unprofessional idiots. (but not in a such a well spoken manner) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chelsea1307 Posted May 12, 2009 Share Posted May 12, 2009 Our office is half full cad and half LT, my biggest problem is those of us with full cant do anything that those with LT cant view properly. And the fact that we have NO office wide standards, you kinda just gotta know what engineer your working with and how they like things done, it is rediculous, probably only still a problem because the "CAD manager" wants to do things her way when the rest of the office, who has been around for 20+ years doesnt see the point in changing things that are just aestetics, if it makes things faster and easier its ok but just becasue she thinks it looks better wont get them to change. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Strix Posted May 12, 2009 Share Posted May 12, 2009 So standards seems to be the big issue then...... I'm surprised no one has mentioned problems or issues when working with other companies. I know this was a big issue in the last company that I worked with. It used to create all sorts of issues. One office I worked in had a design contractor who'd actually left our company as CAD manager and set up on his own. The problem was that neither he nor the CADbod there when I arrived had made the mental transition between the two, and our whole office was dancing to the tune of this contractor... ... that didn't last long after I arrived :wink: Archiving was our other problem. We had been doing it in numerical batches of 1000, which made no sense projectwise, so that was the first thing I changed, along with working in project folders to make everything much easier to find (let's face it, almost nobody remembers job numbers, but they all remember the client when they need drawings two years old ) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GCarr78 Posted May 15, 2009 Share Posted May 15, 2009 In my experience it seems to be three fold. First, standards, standards, and more standards, people fail to use or set up a system for their projects in order to produce more efficient projects,"there's not enough time to do this" is the most popular response I get, and the result? chaos and bewilderment when the wonder why they can't find anything later, or when a new person is brought into the project, why they can't adapt or there are problems interpreting files. Second, the level of knowledge of all the AutoCAD users varies greatly within my firm, from properly trained AutoCAD users with diplomas in AutoCAD related courses, to the older professional who has train his or herself on AutoCAD and they do things their way, and no other way because that would require to much time! Third, our office is muti-disciplined, our office wants to promote inter-disciplined projects, however the disciplined require different approached in file and drawing package creation. In our defence, our filing system and archiving is quite well done, our IT manager has worked really hard at maintaining this! So there ya go, Okay so that was more of my own personal rant or vent than anything. Take from it what you will! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.
Note: Your post will require moderator approval before it will be visible.