CAD Manager's Newsletter (#156)
9 Aug, 2006 By: Robert GreenOutsourcing can affect your business in ways you may not have thought of. In the past four issues of CAD Manager’s Newsletter (click here for archives), I discussed approaching the CAD management job from a financial angle. I hope you found the series useful and that it gave you a few practical ideas you could use in your day-to-day CAD management tasks. An important topic related to CAD management finances that I have not yet touched on is outsourcing. Because outsourcing involves many more issues than just financial ones, I am devoting my next few discussions to this increasingly common business strategy. As pressure to save money mounts and cost-cutting alternatives become more limited, it is inevitable that you will have the discussion about outsourcing at some point, if you haven't already. In the next few issues of CAD Manager’s Newsletter, I’ll cover some ways that you can gauge whether outsourcing is right for you and how to measure it, control it or even avoid it altogether. It's a Touchy Subject I already know AutoCAD (or MicroStation or another program of your choice), but I want to get up to speed with some of the high-powered 3D programs that are on the market. What's the best way for me to do so? Robert Green replies: This is a good question and one I am receiving more and more as 3D programs become more popular and more common. I think there are actually several answers that I can give you. Let me list them here: Use what you already know. First, realize that all CAD programs have common components. So start with a positive attitude and realize that once you know one CAD program, you can almost certainly learn another. Learn fast. Rather than stretching out your learning curve, be aggressive and find ways to learn things quickly. Some suggestions are to take a two-day beginner's course in the new program or perhaps a four- to six-evening course over a few weeks. The point is, try to learn a lot of the material quickly and then put it to use before you forget it. Read more >> Submit your questions to Robert Green atrgreen@greenconsulting.com. Cadcorner.ca, an AutoCAD help Web site, offers a variety of free downloads such as LISP routines, blocks, text styles, hatch patterns and more. The site also offers tutorials, a user forum, news and a “Treat of the Month,” which can be a spreadsheet, a LISP routine, a CAD detail or other offering that could be of any use to any type of drafting position.Virtual Construction Conference Webcast: The Product Lifecycle Collaboration Benchmark 2006 Association of Computer-Aided Design in Architecture ( ACADIA) International Conference For Cadalyst's full calendar of events, click here. New Cadalyst Discussion Forum: Product Reviews Looking for a New Job? Cadalyst Daily Update
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