Product Manufacturing Companies' Secret to Managing Drafting & Modeling Teams

Managing an efficient drafting and modeling team is critical for product manufacturing companies. Any time or money wasted during this process will directly impact its bottom line. To improve the manufacturing business, our experts put together this guide. We'll highlight some secrets that will help your drafting and modeling process improve.

Secrets to Flawless Drafting and Modeling

After speaking to countless product manufacturing companies, we have a few common tips and observations to share. We have turned this information into a list of secrets that go into a flawless drafting and modeling process.

Redefine the Traditional Process

Innovation is likely a big part of any manufacturing company. With an interconnected world, your workforce can expand and become offshored. Isn't it time to innovate on how to engage drafting and modeling teams?

This strategy leverages a new means of communication and connection that we haven't had before. The traditional process relied on face-to-face communication, but mobile phones and computers have changed the management of today's workforce.

Redefining how you run your drafting operation can save time and money. It could be the missing piece you need to get away from your competitors.

Set up an Offshore Team

To start outsourcing work, you'll need to set up an offshore team first. Typically, you'll work through a third party that fully manages the team and oversees their day-to-day work.

The manager will create a group of CAD operators and engineers for your production project. They will act as a middleman between you and their staff.

You would be responsible for giving them the "big picture" and some marching orders, and the offshore manager would ensure the project runs per your specifications. In the meantime, you don't have to check their work, sign their timecards, or train them.

Utilize Around-the-Clock Workers

Paying an American to work second or third shift typically comes with a potentially big pay bump. It's hard to believe that so many businesses commit to an eight-hour operation each day when there are 24 hours a day. Having the same worker work more than eight hours daily also comes with additional overtime pay, which can ruin your budget.

Instead, you can leverage workers in different time zones and achieve an around-the-clock staff. This simple change can unlock another 16 hours of productivity daily without paying overtime or forcing your workers to work the graveyard shift.

Outsource Anything That Isn't Classified

Typically, outsourcing experts suggest you only handle the classified, critical information and work. You should evaluate the rest of the tasks and outsource if they are non-core functions.

Doing this achieves two things: It protects your classified information and optimizes your work. You'll save money and time by outsourcing and won't risk company secrets.

An offshore team can easily do things like ECN, ECR, iterative design updates, dealing with obsolete products, and creating paper space models.

Leverage Learnings from Industry Experts

Another thing to consider is that these offshore teams have a ton of experience. More often than not, the team has been experts in the drafting and modeling space for decades.

In one case, an offshore team suggested using linear bearings instead of a rack and pinion setup. The client ultimately accepted the suggestion, which boosted the project's reliability and maintainability. Without the offshore team, that might not have been possible.

By outsourcing your projects, you're leveraging all the learnings that these experts achieved through their careers. They might even have advice that could improve your daily operations.

Expand Your Hiring Radius

The location of your business might be in a highly talented region, but that doesn't mean that every qualified person works within driving distance of your facility.

By offshoring, you're expanding your hiring radius. You can find talent across the globe that's competitive, high-quality, and not restricted to the home address. You can find great designers, engineers, Inventor experts, and master drafting technicians in different time zone and have them as part of your team.

Conclusion

Outsourcing your work to an offshore workforce can work wonders for your business. We just covered some essential secrets to help you save money and time and earn a larger market share in your industry.