Workload Management

[kwrightMTC]

Hey Guys,

 

Would anybody be interested in sharing their workload tracking/management practices?

 

I have just been promoted to CAD Manager and the previous manager didn't really manage. There is next to nothing in place for managing deadlines, work in and out etc. We're a team of five that tend to just fire-fight our way through the workload. I want to change this and get some organisation in place.

 

Initially I'm just putting a spreadsheet together to keep all of the information in one place. But I'm interested to hear others ideas and experience.

[ReMark]

Track jobs using real time lines. If it is one thing I hate is an engineer who says he needs a drawing done ASAP then see it sit on his desk for two weeks before he even looks at it. And tell your engineers not to wait until the very last second to tell you they need a drawing done then expect you to drop everything to satisfy their needs. Yep, emergencies do arise but you don't want to be sandbagged by someone who consistently pulls a stunt like that primarily because they cannot get their $h*+ together.

[Organic]

I give the work directly to the people I know will do it right/the way I want it done

[tzframpton]

If you want to really keep track of the other employees, CADTutor member Patrick Hughes is associated with CadTempo: http://www.cadtempo.com/

 

This could be a great help in keeping track of employee activity and comparing it to the money in the job, allowing you to make adjustments where needed. I've never used it but it seems like a great program to utilize.

 

As for my company, we are considered "overhead" and we're only a three man operation so it's not a true need. All three of us are very competent drafters and designers, too. It's more like a team than a department with a supervisor, distributing tasks.

 

[ReMark]

Have a weekly staff meeting with just your staff. Update them on job deadlines and make sure everyone knows what is expected of them for the upcoming week.

[rkent]

You know how a movie is 'story boarded' before they ever start filming?, well I story board the project. In excel, autocad, or on a piece of paper I draw rectangles and then write on each one its drawing number, title, and details, viewport scales, etc. With this you can include which files will be just xref files used to create the plotted drawings, etc. Then you can assign hours to each one based on past experience, so a title sheet may have 8 hours assigned, a plan view for piping might take 40, detail sheets 32, P&ID 48, etc. Then use that during the project to track actual times, assign staff, etc. and adjust accordingly for the next project.

[tzframpton]

You know how a movie is 'story boarded' before they ever start filming?, well I story board the project. In excel, autocad, or on a piece of paper I draw rectangles and then write on each one its drawing number, title, and details, viewport scales, etc. With this you can include which files will be just xref files used to create the plotted drawings, etc. Then you can assign hours to each one based on past experience, so a title sheet may have 8 hours assigned, a plan view for piping might take 40, detail sheets 32, P&ID 48, etc. Then use that during the project to track actual times, assign staff, etc. and adjust accordingly for the next project.

Another great tip to add to the "1001 Tips & Tricks from rkent" you're writing up!! hehe

[CyberAngel]

You have to work with the people you have. Your boss may agree that your department needs to know about jobs in the pipeline, and you can set up an elegant system for tracking those jobs. If nobody ever tells you what they're working on, though, your system is worthless. Either you have some authority to force the engineers to share that information (which usually means the threat of withholding something they need), or your boss keeps them in line. Someone has to crack the whip on project management, because the natural tendency is to focus only on their own bailiwicks.

[Jack_O'neill]

Meetings can be a great tool, but are quite often overused in today's world. Weekly as Remark suggested is plenty, unless of course there is a problem. The company I refer to as the "dinosaur" wasted half of their day in meetings. Small projects at that place could take several weeks to do, and the big ones stretched out sometimes for months. Yet some bozo in upper management decreed that we would without fail meet every day to discuss any issues with the projects. Think about that for a minute...gather 20 people into a conference room 5 days a week for a recital of their concerns. Even if it only lasts 15 minutes, you've lost 5 man hours per day, or 25 man hours per week. More than half a day for one person each day you do this. That's more than 3 days for one person cumulatively. Generally, the average person at that company spent 2 to 3 hours per day in various meetings required by the "business system", plus any special ones that got called, and none of them were ever included in the schedule! There were times that the only days I actually got to work on my project was on weekends.

 

Just keep in mind as you build your schedules, your people can't work on the projects if you got them off doing things that take them out from in front of their desks. If it takes 8 weeks to do a job, then you steal 5 of them from whoever is working on it, it's not fair to him, you or the company. I know interruptions are going to happen and things will have to be done from time to time. Just don't get into the habit of filling someone's time with emergencies then telling them how poor they've done on the project when you didn't let them work on it.

[Lee Roy]

I think the single, most important thing is to make sure your superiors support your decisions.

 

After countless hours I had a nice drawn out plan, that made gobs of sense and even the draftsmen understood and agreed with it. When it came down to implementation, higher-ups changed their minds and decided "the draftsmen don't need a manager, just focus on standards."

 

I can't put into words, my frustrations with not having a backbone in my position (CAD Manager). Basically, I'm the person that gets blamed for everything wrong, but have no authority to fix any of it.

 

Make sure you get that backbone/support before putting forth the effort.

[Patrick Hughes]

If you want to really keep track of the other employees, CADTutor member Patrick Hughes is associated with CadTempo: http://www.cadtempo.com/

 

Thanks Tanner, I appreciate the mention.

 

kwrightMTC, I might add that if CadTempo does not fulfill your complete need, I am very interested in adding additional functionality. In particular I am planning further development that will enable improved planning for the manager and would like to know your thoughts.

[Patrick Hughes]

Lee Roy, Ha! I just noticed part of your signature "The rotary engine is the most efficient way of converting fuel to noise ever invented."

 

I had a 1979 Mazda RX7 - I never though it was especially loud. After attending several IMSAraces at Road America I discovered just how loud they can be.

[Lee Roy]

Lee Roy, Ha! I just noticed part of your signature "The rotary engine is the most efficient way of converting fuel to noise ever invented."

 

I had a 1979 Mazda RX7 - I never though it was especially loud. After attending several IMSAraces at Road America I discovered just how loud they can be.

 

lol, yes...when an engine requires 3 catalytic converters and 2 mufflers on a single exhaust, it can get quite loud when seeking more power. I have an 88 RX7.

 

I ran open cat once...OMG! That was louder than my no-baffle race-pipe on my half-Harley (Buell Blast)!