CAD Manager's Newsletter (#199)

Creating Training Videos, Part 3

Make sure you have the basics covered when beginning an in-house training program.

In the last few issues of the CAD Manager's Newsletter, I've shown you how to deliver custom training content by creating your own videos. Although I've received some emails asking specific questions about the video topics, I've actually received more questions about training in general.

So I'll go back to the basics in this issue and cover the essentials of running an effective in-house training program. Here goes.

Get the Bosses' Support
A training program remains in place only when management wants it. Therefore, your task becomes convincing your management that training your users will be a productivity-enhancing process that will make the company money. There's really no other way to put it.

To get your bosses' support, take the following things into account:

Save time. If you run a two-day training class that returns four hours of productivity over the next year, you're not saving any time, right? On the other hand, if you run a series of lunch-and-learn style classes every other month, that results in 15 hours of productivity per user, then you're really saving time. The latter case is what your boss wants to see.

Minimize work disruptions. No matter what, training can't interfere with getting projects done. If you need training sessions to last for long periods of time, consider splitting your training into several shorter sessions. Discuss your timing issues with project managers and make sure that you aren't causing problems for the project team as you prepare for training. After a while your management team will trust you, but that trust must be earned by minimizing disruptions as training programs start. Read more »

:: CAD Manager’s Toolbox:
     Keeping the CAD Server Clean

Here are some easy steps to declutter your CAD server and keep it clean and efficient.

Many CAD managers have a CAD server that is at least partially their responsibility to take care of. Given that our CAD standards, symbols, standard parts, plot files, and more live on the CAD server, it is definitely a major management concern.

But as time goes by, servers become cluttered and space gets tight. So what can you do to declutter the CAD server? Here are a few techniques I use. Read more »

Do you have a suggestion/tip that should be in the CAD Manager?s Toolbox? Send it to me at rgreen@cad-manager.com and you might get a cool Cadalyst souvenir if I use your idea.

:: Resources

Online CAD Portal Offers Free CAD eBook
CADDprimer.com's CADD Education Center offers a variety of books and materials for the CAD professional and CAD managers, including free online tutorials and a free condensed ebook download. Among the site's listings are resources such as organizations, directories, news centers, software links, and publications.

:: Events

Webinar: Image to Map — Turn up Your Stereo
July 10, 2008
11 a.m. and 8 p.m. EDT
This ERDAS interactive demo will highlight the ArcMap platform. A new suite of tools will also be introduced, including the Terrain Editor for ArcGIS and FeatureAssist for ArcGIS. Read more »

Webinar: Rapidly Connect and Share Your World
July 16, 2008
11 a.m. EDT
This webinar will highlight ERDAS TITAN, a geospatial data bridge providing access to multiple public and private data resources, and enabling that data to be accessed in a variety of desktop applications. Read more »

Webcast: Improving Data Management with Autodesk Productstream
July 16 and August 20, 2008
11:00 a.m. CT
This Webcast will demonstrate how Autodesk Productstream can be used for file organization, design reuse, design revisions, 2D and 3D file viewing, and more. Presented by Applied Engineering. Read more »

For a complete list of CAD meetings, conferences, training sessions, and more, check out our calendar of events on Cadalyst.com.