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Seems there’s been a lot of buzz lately about what exactly PLM is. Jim Brown and I went back and forth in the comments of one of my posts. Jim also had a good post in response to one of my earlier posts. There was a good post on why you need PDM and PLM by SPK and associates. …

I have to admit, I am ready to move on past all of the talk about the recession and recovery. But there’s some good news that deserves some attention. Most notably, some relatively recent research is showing that executives at manufacturers are planning on hiring again. An article in Industryweek titled Manufacturers Expecting to Hire …

Are You Losing the War for Engineering Talent? Read More »

The last few years in CAD have been invigorating, haven’t they? Most recently, there’s been a scramble to get direct modeling functionality out in front of both CAD Specialists and many other roles to expand the use of 3D. And before that there was an ongoing effort by many to improve the usability of CAD software which mostly came in the form of where icons are at or how small dialog boxes can be.

There certainly has been a lot going on in the CAD industry of late. It seems as if just about everyone has been talking about adding or integrating direct modeling into what they offer. Thinking back, direct modeling and feature-history modeling have both been around for some time. But the first software provider to really …

Siemens PLM and Synchronous Technology in Solid Edge Read More »

Thinking back, I distinctly remember my original impression of engineers. Mainly it came from TV shows about NASA engineers working on the space program. They were designing and developing amazing technology to let the astronauts survive the radiation, vacuum and coldness of space. I remember simply being in awe of their work. At that time, being an engineer was highly prestigious. Those that went into the profession were kind of put on a pedestal.

Can process really differentiate your company? I know. It’s an longtime debate. In fact, thinking back several years now, I remember it almost as an ongoing joke. And the story would always be the same. Folks from a software provider would sit down with a customer to talk about their processes. The people from the manufacturer would always declare with a laugh: “our process is totally unique. You will have never seen anything like what we do as a process because it’s what differentiates us in the market.”

Five years ago, if you asked which software providers had the strongest set of design and simulation capabilities, it’s safe to say that Autodesk wouldn’t be the first one out of your mouth. Many would admit they’ve developed and provided a number of design and engineering accelerator type technologies, but analysis and simulation? But lo and behold, fast forward to today and the story has changed a bit. Autodesk still might not be the first software provider mentioned, but they’re not far down the list.

A few weeks ago, I wrote about The Importance of People Skills for Engineers. The basic premise is that because engineers work with people from all sorts of roles from different functional departments to resolve product issues, they need people skills more than anyone else in the company. While writing those points, I have to admit that one major question kept running through my head.

Why didn’t I learn anything like this in engineering school?

Surprising how time flies by isn’t it. Here we are, now in March of 2011 and I’m thinking to myself “how did that happen?” Feeling the need to catch up, I called a friend of mine here in Austin and went to grab a drink. We spent a while catching up but soon enough, our conversation steered towards shop-talk. See, he’s an been deploying lean, six sigma and other similar initiatives for years. And what he said surprised me a bit.