Archive for October, 2010

  • I've always been extremely curious about PLM deployments in larger enterprises. Based on my experience, larger companies tend to take on PLM to support an internal initiative. And because internal initiatives often widely vary from company to company, the ultimate form that PLM takes within those companies can be completely different from one another.

    Howard Schimmoller Talks About Windchill at Lockheed Martin MS2 Divisions

    Posted on October 29, 2010 | 2 Comments
    I've always been extremely curious about PLM deployments in larger enterprises. Based on my experience, larger companies tend to take on PLM to support an internal initiative. And because internal initiatives often widely vary from company to company, the ultimate form that PLM takes within those companies can be completely different from one another.

    Continue Reading...

  • With that in mind, I started up a conversation over at the ASME professional group over at LinkedIn. Not to get a definitive answer, but at laest to test the waters two years after some direct modeling CAD technology had hit the market. Specifically, I asked "Who should ultimately be the user of CAD tools? Engineer? Designer? Drafter?" Naturally, the question got some strong and opinionated responses.

    Who Builds 3D Models? Engineers? Designers? Drafters?

    Posted on October 27, 2010 | 5 Comments
    With that in mind, I started up a conversation over at the ASME professional group over at LinkedIn. Not to get a definitive answer, but at laest to test the waters two years after some direct modeling CAD technology had hit the market. Specifically, I asked "Who should ultimately be the user of CAD tools? Engineer? Designer? Drafter?" Naturally, the question got some strong and opinionated responses.

    Continue Reading...

  • Sometimes change is good. Right? If you've been working in the same role for some significant amount of time, it might get a little old, stale or boring. And a change in roles can certainly reignite some passion for work again. There are all sorts of software applications and systems that are used in engineering organizations. And often, instead of using IT staff, engineering will want and request headcount to specifically support their applications and systems because of their technical nature.

    Want that Gig? Engineering IT

    Posted on October 25, 2010 | No Comments
    Sometimes change is good. Right? If you've been working in the same role for some significant amount of time, it might get a little old, stale or boring. And a change in roles can certainly reignite some passion for work again. There are all sorts of software applications and systems that are used in engineering organizations. And often, instead of using IT staff, engineering will want and request headcount to specifically support their applications and systems because of their technical nature.

    Continue Reading...

  • A couple weeks ago, you watched Dr. Andrew Thomas talk about Energist's transition to using Synchronous Technology in Solid Edge. As you'll see below in my interview with Aaron Solet, there are both positives and negatives to learning how to use this new technology.

    Design Engineer Aaron Solet on Transitioning to Synchronous Technology in Solid Edge

    Posted on October 22, 2010 | No Comments
    A couple weeks ago, you watched Dr. Andrew Thomas talk about Energist's transition to using Synchronous Technology in Solid Edge. As you'll see below in my interview with Aaron Solet, there are both positives and negatives to learning how to use this new technology.

    Continue Reading...

  • In this series, we've talked a lot about the characteristics of generations and how different they can be. But as of yet, we really haven't delved into why those differences can lead to conflict in the workplace. To start with a baseline, let's take a look at Tammy Erickson's post on the Four Biggest Reasons for Generation Conflict on Teams from the Harvard Business Review blog.

    Honing in on the Source of Conflict on Multi-Generational Teams

    Posted on October 21, 2010 | No Comments
    In this series, we've talked a lot about the characteristics of generations and how different they can be. But as of yet, we really haven't delved into why those differences can lead to conflict in the workplace. To start with a baseline, let's take a look at Tammy Erickson's post on the Four Biggest Reasons for Generation Conflict on Teams from the Harvard Business Review blog.

    Continue Reading...

  • <p>A few weeks ago, I published a post that focused on the form, fit and function aspect of the product record. In it, I differentiated between artifacts that defined a product's form and fit like 3D models, diagrams and schematics and artifacts that defined or predicted a product's function like simulations, analyses and tests. I think this is a pretty good representation of products composed of mechanical, electrical and software components.</p>

    VISTAGY and the Impact of Developing a More Complete Product Definition

    Posted on October 20, 2010 | No Comments

    A few weeks ago, I published a post that focused on the form, fit and function aspect of the product record. In it, I differentiated between artifacts that defined a product's form and fit like 3D models, diagrams and schematics and artifacts that defined or predicted a product's function like simulations, analyses and tests. I think this is a pretty good representation of products composed of mechanical, electrical and software components.

    Continue Reading...

  • Engineers aren't always the first ones invited to come participate in important strategy meetings like Product Portfolio Management. So I was excited when Linda Roach from Planview, the organizer of an online conference event on PPM asked me to participate during a lunch a few weeks ago. In general, I think engineering's perspective has been a little overlooked when it comes this type of strategy. I plan to provide a perspective relevant to engineering on the issue. Here's the abstract.

    My PIPELINE 2010 Presentation: Engineering’s Interests in Portfolio Management

    Posted on October 18, 2010 | No Comments
    Engineers aren't always the first ones invited to come participate in important strategy meetings like Product Portfolio Management. So I was excited when Linda Roach from Planview, the organizer of an online conference event on PPM asked me to participate during a lunch a few weeks ago. In general, I think engineering's perspective has been a little overlooked when it comes this type of strategy. I plan to provide a perspective relevant to engineering on the issue. Here's the abstract.

    Continue Reading...

  • As an engineer, you very possibly may have found yourself in the following situation. You've prepped for a engineering status meetings. You aggregated your information on slides or maybe a document. As you start to begin to deliver your status, one of the manager singles out one of your calculations and calls it into question. Does it include the latest design changes? Did it come from a paper calculation or an FEA analysis? Has it been validated in the test lab?

    Managing Engineering Numbers with Truenumbers

    Posted on October 14, 2010 | 2 Comments
    As an engineer, you very possibly may have found yourself in the following situation. You've prepped for a engineering status meetings. You aggregated your information on slides or maybe a document. As you start to begin to deliver your status, one of the manager singles out one of your calculations and calls it into question. Does it include the latest design changes? Did it come from a paper calculation or an FEA analysis? Has it been validated in the test lab?

    Continue Reading...

  • This series of posts focuses on the perspectives on executives, managers and staff personnel in the engineering organization. This post specifically features Aaron Solet, a Mechanical Design Engineer from Lanco....

    Design Engineer Aaron Solet on Lanco’s Selection of Solid Edge for CAD

    Posted on October 14, 2010 | No Comments
    This series of posts focuses on the perspectives on executives, managers and staff personnel in the engineering organization. This post specifically features Aaron Solet, a Mechanical Design Engineer from Lanco....

    Continue Reading...

  • Back in July, Rawn Shah who is a consultant for social networking for business over at IBM, contributing an interesting post to Forbes.com called Why You Must Network With Your Younger Employees. Now I disagree with Rawn on several points in this post including his statements saying that Boomers hoard and control information and the fact that he grouped GenY'ers and Millenials together, but he posted a very interesting table that compares and contrasts some characteristics across generations.

    The Debate over Differences at Work across Generations

    Posted on October 13, 2010 | 3 Comments
    Back in July, Rawn Shah who is a consultant for social networking for business over at IBM, contributing an interesting post to Forbes.com called Why You Must Network With Your Younger Employees. Now I disagree with Rawn on several points in this post including his statements saying that Boomers hoard and control information and the fact that he grouped GenY'ers and Millenials together, but he posted a very interesting table that compares and contrasts some characteristics across generations.

    Continue Reading...

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