Archive for November, 2010

  • It seems that lately there has been a lot of talent management issues in engineering. With that in mind, I came across an interesting article written by Jeffrey Pfeffer over at the Harvard Business Review called Take Care of Yourself First.

    Are Engineers and Their Employers Growing More Distant?

    Posted on November 30, 2010 | No Comments
    It seems that lately there has been a lot of talent management issues in engineering. With that in mind, I came across an interesting article written by Jeffrey Pfeffer over at the Harvard Business Review called Take Care of Yourself First.

    Continue Reading...

  • Today we're going to hear from another manufacturer about their selection of a different CAD application: Solidworks. I had a chance to talk with Chris Weiss, the VP of Engineering at Knapheide Manufacturing, about a number of issues. In the following excerpt, he talks about the decisions process his organization went through selecting Solidworks.

    Engineering Executive Chris Weiss on Knapheide’s Selection of Solidworks

    Posted on November 29, 2010 | 2 Comments
    Today we're going to hear from another manufacturer about their selection of a different CAD application: Solidworks. I had a chance to talk with Chris Weiss, the VP of Engineering at Knapheide Manufacturing, about a number of issues. In the following excerpt, he talks about the decisions process his organization went through selecting Solidworks.

    Continue Reading...

  • If you've been reading posts here at engineering-matter.com, I'm sure by now you know I write a good bit about generational issues in engineering as well as the software applications and systems used in engineering organizations. As you might imagine, I started to think about these two issues in light of one another. Specifically, my mind started work on the question: how have different generations adopted technology in the engineering office?

    An Evolving Analogy of Technology Adoption by Engineering Generations

    Posted on November 23, 2010 | 4 Comments
    If you've been reading posts here at engineering-matter.com, I'm sure by now you know I write a good bit about generational issues in engineering as well as the software applications and systems used in engineering organizations. As you might imagine, I started to think about these two issues in light of one another. Specifically, my mind started work on the question: how have different generations adopted technology in the engineering office?

    Continue Reading...

  • In the last post on collaboration, we covered a lot of issues surrounding collaboration. It's been overused. It's been used without specificity. As a result, we all cringe a little bit whenever we hear it being trotted out to describe another process or set of engineering software.

    More Reclamation Work for Collaboration: Providing a Product Development Context

    Posted on November 22, 2010 | No Comments
    In the last post on collaboration, we covered a lot of issues surrounding collaboration. It's been overused. It's been used without specificity. As a result, we all cringe a little bit whenever we hear it being trotted out to describe another process or set of engineering software.

    Continue Reading...

  • Do you remember when you first got email? Mine was through work and I remember something clicking in my head when I realized what it meant. It's changed the way we work. We no longer had to get on the phone to communicate remotely. It enabled faster and more accurate decisions.

    Email is Not Enough: Why Product Development Needs More for Collaboration

    Posted on November 19, 2010 | 2 Comments
    Do you remember when you first got email? Mine was through work and I remember something clicking in my head when I realized what it meant. It's changed the way we work. We no longer had to get on the phone to communicate remotely. It enabled faster and more accurate decisions.

    Continue Reading...

  • Is the design engineer extinct? Perhaps, but I don't think that's the point. Are all of the activities that need to be performed in the development cycle getting done? I believe the answer is a resounding yes. I think the subtle theme in Matt's article that's never quite expressly said is whether or not those activities are being done by qualified individuals.

    Are Manufacturers Skirting the Edge of Engineering Negligence?

    Posted on November 18, 2010 | 21 Comments
    Is the design engineer extinct? Perhaps, but I don't think that's the point. Are all of the activities that need to be performed in the development cycle getting done? I believe the answer is a resounding yes. I think the subtle theme in Matt's article that's never quite expressly said is whether or not those activities are being done by qualified individuals.

    Continue Reading...

  • How do you feel about the term collaboration? I know. I know. The 'sigh and roll your eyes' reaction is a pretty common one. And in fact I react that way myself more often than not. Over the past ten years, collaboration has been used left, right and center to describe just about anything and everything in the product development realm. And as a result, no one really knows what it means anymore. Ask ten people for a definition of collaboration and you'll get twenty back.

    A Framework to Reclaim a Tarnished Yet Worthy Term: Collaboration

    Posted on November 17, 2010 | 4 Comments
    How do you feel about the term collaboration? I know. I know. The 'sigh and roll your eyes' reaction is a pretty common one. And in fact I react that way myself more often than not. Over the past ten years, collaboration has been used left, right and center to describe just about anything and everything in the product development realm. And as a result, no one really knows what it means anymore. Ask ten people for a definition of collaboration and you'll get twenty back.

    Continue Reading...

  • So far on this blog, we've talked about a lot of issues when managing an engineering organization. We've looked at generational issues from several different Boomer, GenX and GenY perspectives. We've looked at the CEO's directive to engineering and how engineering can't operate as a black box anymore. A way to address a number of these issues lies in Talent Management initiatives.

    An Introduction to Talent Management: A Means to Stem Chaos in Engineering?

    Posted on November 16, 2010 | 2 Comments
    So far on this blog, we've talked about a lot of issues when managing an engineering organization. We've looked at generational issues from several different Boomer, GenX and GenY perspectives. We've looked at the CEO's directive to engineering and how engineering can't operate as a black box anymore. A way to address a number of these issues lies in Talent Management initiatives.

    Continue Reading...

  • Overall, the objective behind Vuuch is the same as it has been for any other collaboration solution provided in the last ten years. If you resolve issues faster, then you can go through more iterations resulting in a better product or you can reach design release faster (or maybe just on time) to keep pace in the schedule. That being said, this solution goes about it in a markedly different way. Here's what's advantageous and concerning from my perspective.

    Vuuch: A Unique Approach to Social Computing in Product Development

    Posted on November 10, 2010 | 4 Comments
    Overall, the objective behind Vuuch is the same as it has been for any other collaboration solution provided in the last ten years. If you resolve issues faster, then you can go through more iterations resulting in a better product or you can reach design release faster (or maybe just on time) to keep pace in the schedule. That being said, this solution goes about it in a markedly different way. Here's what's advantageous and concerning from my perspective.

    Continue Reading...

  • Back in September, in one of the very first posts on the generation gap in engineering, I wrote about how the age profile of an engineering organization resembles a saddle. There are lots of Boomer engineers, much fewer GenX engineers and quite a lot of GenY engineers. In that post, I included an excerpt from a discussion I had with Howard Schimmoller, who had this to say about the implications of such an age profile.

    Future Now: GenY Stepping into Boomer Engineering Roles

    Posted on November 8, 2010 | No Comments
    Back in September, in one of the very first posts on the generation gap in engineering, I wrote about how the age profile of an engineering organization resembles a saddle. There are lots of Boomer engineers, much fewer GenX engineers and quite a lot of GenY engineers. In that post, I included an excerpt from a discussion I had with Howard Schimmoller, who had this to say about the implications of such an age profile.

    Continue Reading...

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