Engineers spend on average 15 percent of their time managing data. Much of this waste is due to the simple fact that Windows® Explorer wasn’t made for engineers. And it certainly wasn’t made to manage CAD files. A PDM strategy makes finding and using design files simple, improving the efficiency of your team.
Product data management will help you overcome common engineering challenges:
-When sifting through thousands of files, you wish you could search for more than just a file name.
-You dread copying or renaming files. It’s tedious and you typically need to repair broken references.
-When you work with other engineers on a project, you worry constantly that they will overwrite your files.
-You manually maintain spreadsheets that document every instance where parts and subassemblies are used.
You need a file manager that is made for engineers. It should understand the complexities of CAD file relationships, help you find the files you need when you need them, and, most important, make it easy for you to collaborate with your colleagues. Just think – world-class manufacturers are 30 percent more likely to use PDM or product lifecycle management (PLM) to manage their design data; these top performers also spend 25 percent less time on non-productive data management tasks. It’s likely to have a positive impact on your efficiency and productivity, too.
Source: Autodesk
