Concurrent Engineering

[MadMango]

Hello folks,

I've started a new job, and my first task is to come up with a standard for "concurrent engineering" for my company. I am sure this has been done over the years, but this is a new venture for me, so any help would be great. There's no use in me straining my brain over something that someone has done already. I'd like to hear of some of your solutions.

Problem: One design house in Los Angeles, one in Montreal. We need to be able to have a repository of common project files, with a "check-in, check-out" feature.

We are thinking about using mirrored directories of the project files, with access through a FTP site. Any suggestions or better options available would be nice to hear. "Happy the Hare at morning for she is ignorant to the Hunter's waking thoughts."

 

[SnowCrash]

Several companies make software to do file control. I checked out one some time ago and found it a complete pain in the neck, but since we are a small outfit we can just shout down the hall and ask what is going on with a project.
There is a hugh amount of work being done on this. Solidworks has done a seminar on web publishing and there are components of their systems which can help.
You could end up with a lot of control of the company with a project like this. You will need to match engineering standards, methods, and formats between the sites. This would make you the "NAFTA" of your company, with the duty to regulate and control all technical output.
Here is a starting place"

http://www.soce.org/

 

[MadMango]

Thanks for the lead SnowCrash. I agree that the job I have ahead of me will grant a lot of control, and it also brings with it much responsibility.

The more I dig into this, the more I am learning things I wish I didn't know. It seems this "other design house" is a sole consultant, and the main problem is that his internet connection is a regular dial-up, which makes the use of a FTP site difficult for him to swallow.

He wants to keep all files on his local computer, and send us a completed project. Last time I checked, that wasn't "concurrent" anything. My company needs a solution with minimal cost, and easy implimentation. "Happy the Hare at morning for she is ignorant to the Hunter's waking thoughts."