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How to Modernize Your Paper Engineering Drawings
A White Paper From the Paper to CAD Experts
Cost-Benefit Analysis
Scanning drawings to
digital raster form is essential to realizing the benefits from the methods provided in
this analysis. The justification for scanning to a raster image can be easily made by
reviewing the value of document management, savings in facilities costs and improved
document accessibility throughout the organization. Cost
justification of the various technologies described in this paper is easily measured when
based on labor savings in the revision process and improved information access and
management.
Revision Cost Savings
The costs associated
with revising drawings are dependent on the method and solution used. The four methods
presented here include manual, CAD digitize, hybrid raster/CAD and full vectorization to
CAD. Costs are incurred with each individual revision
and include the cost associated with capturing the document to a digital form unless the
manual method was used. Therefore, the true cost is calculated by combining labor rate and
time spent on each revision plus the digital transformation expense.
In an article first appearing in Document Management
magazine, the inherent costs to recreate and revise a complex drawing, using each of the
methods we have discussed, were compared. The comparison considered both the initial
capture time, various labor rates and the time associated with making revisions to the
drawing once it had been captured. The hybrid raster/CAD approach, which eliminates the
redraw, cleanup and verification processes, offers the greatest immediate cost-benefit for
the first revision and beyond. Drawings required in a vector CAD environment are best
served by full conversion methods.
A simple cost-benefit example in which a company has 100
drawings with 20 ECOs to perform each month can be used to give an example of the benefits
of the raster-enabled approach presented in this paper. Various labor rates are used for
each discipline. Actual numbers should be determined for individual organizations.
Business Reinvestment
Companies spend seven
to ten percent of their expenditures on a manual document management process. A business
reinvestment strategy involving the technology presented here can help reduce the overall
costs a company incurs with managing, revising and distributing information.
Time to Market and Lead Time Benefit
Manufacturing
companies often survive based on getting quality products to market sooner than its
competition. Doing so helps increase mind share and therefore, market share. Greater
market share creates more revenue on the invested technology already completed for the
product. Project-oriented companies, such as
utilities and construction, effectively develop a product at a greater scale. Contracts
are awarded based on accurate and detailed proposals that require project cost and time
estimates. A paper-enabled and intelligent modeling system at the front end yields faster
design times and more accurate bidding efforts.
Other Benefits
The direct benefits of integrating paper within EDM/PDM and CAD are based on labor savings in the revision
cycle. However, there are many intangible benefits:
- An increase in the value of CAD by eliminating its use for
tedious redraw. CAD can now be used for productive design and analysis functions
- A common electronic database
- Reduced retrieval and print times for documents with a
document management solution
- Improved information flow with workflow and E-mail tools
- Improved conformance to the ISO 9000 or OSHA
regulations by instituting better document control procedures.
- Increased value of paper drawings through integration with
CAD and EDM/PDM tools
- Fewer lost, damaged and misfiled documents
- Immediate availability of accurate information
- Streamlining of the change process
- Improvement in time to market
- Increased quality
Add Value to Drawings
The overall benefit
to organizations that scan paper drawings is to increase the value of the company’s
most valued asset, information. Once captured into electronic form, drawings can be used
for many functions, such as maintenance and material
control, project management, quality assurance and purchasing.
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© Copyright 2008 GTX Corporation. All Rights Reserved.
GTXScanClean™ is protected by U.S. Patent No. 7,016,536
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GTX Corporation •
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tel: 480-889-8600 •
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tel: +44 (0)1256.814444 •
fax: +44 (0)1256.364887 • email: info@gtx.co.uk
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UK registration information •
Company: GTX Europe Ltd. •
Registered Number: 2156326 •
Place of registration: England
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Registered Office Address: 100 New Bridge Street, London, EC4V 6JA)
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