Tuesday, November 22, 2005 

About AUGLY

AUGLY is a user group which covers many different disciplines such as CSA, MECH, and ELEC although our primary membership is piping designers who live and work in the Lehigh Valley (Allentown, Bethlehem, and Easton Pa). Our users typically use Autodesk products such as AutoCAD in their daily work and this group was developed to support their ongoing needs. If you are interested in joining this user group please email me at ericjsnell@yahoo.com.

3:38 PM | |

 

The Rules of CAD (Posted by mark.w.kiker on BLAUGI)

The Rules of CAD
I have been thinking about some of the spoken and unspoken rules of CAD and thought I would share some of my list with you.
Rule 1 - Production is your first priority. Getting the design to the client on time is critical. Everything takes a back seat to meeting deadlines, budgets and quality standards.
Rule 2 - Protect the data.  Backups are important. At times even production can be interrupted to get a clean backup.
Rule 3 – CAD Standards Matter. Getting everyone on the same page and understanding how, what and why we build our files in a certain way is to be constantly nurtured.
Rule 4  - Standards can go out the window in order to fulfill Rule #1. Standards and procedures are a tool to enhance production. If they get in the way, we may need to abort them to get the job out.
Rule 5 – When you break Rule #4 – go back and fix it as soon as possible.
Rule 6 – Training should never stop. We need to constantly train our people and keep them sharp.
Rule 7 – BAD CAD is a part of reality. Work it into the schedule. You will need to fix something along the way in every project.
Rule 8 - Never say no to a user—just put a price tag on the yes. It may take money, time or training, but all things (ok - most things) are doable.
Rule 9 - When you break Rule #8 – do it on purpose. Many times users will not listen until you refuse to do something. Your refusal may cause some heated words. The reason to say “no” is to get them (or someone above them) to listen.  A "no" should never really be a refusal to help.
Rule 10 – Never set policy based on your worst user. You will never gain expertise by letting the weakest link slow you down.
Rule 11 - Never set production procedures based on your best user. Do not let the best guy get too far ahead of the pack. Remember that even the worst user needs to understand how the files are created.
Rule 12 - Don't provide a new tool without training.
Rule 13 -  Don't provide a new tool until the old tools are being used.   This rule is more of a guideline.  I prefer to make sure that the old tools are well understood and used before I load my users up with more tools.
Rule 14 - Fire anyone who does not use OSNAPS.  Haven't we all learned to use these by now?
Rule 15 - Don't let your company hire someone until you have tested their ability in CAD.  It can be a written test, multiple choice test, hands on drawing test or just a lenghty conversation about CAD.  You need to know what you are getting.

1:22 PM | |