frankreid
Mechanical
- Mar 9, 2007
- 92
thread174-186153
All of us have documents of one kind or another that help us provide a standardized method for making drawings. Depending on your field, your own standards will apply and are normally referenced on the face of the drawing. Some companies put it in the first general note, others place it in the title block information.
Whether following ANSI/ASME, IEEE, or some other standards we all try to provide a united drawing method. The problems come in when we try to interpret the standards because we all have different opinions on what they mean.
In my engineering services business we have worked for many companies in four states and have noted some interesting variations of the standards. A good example is the controversy explained in the thread referenced at the top which deals with either all uppercase letters on drawings or some variation depending on the situation.
To solve these questions, nearly every company has developed their own set of rules to be used at their own company. It usually takes the form of a Drawing Requirements Manual or DRM. In this manual are given all the variant methods which will be applied at THAT company and do not necessarily apply anywhere else.
Employees who have only worked at one company often think that they use the ONLY method known to man and are surprised to learn that it's done differently in other companies. None of these methods are wrong, just different. And they will easily comply with the ISO9001 standards.
The ISO only has three fundamental requirements:
1. Write down the entire process,in detail, as a standard.
2. The actual process must match the written standard.
3. If not, either change the standard to match the process or the process to match the standard.
Essentially, we must say what we do and do what we say.
But returning to the DRM which most companies have, it is written specifically as a method of "tailoring" the standards to their own use. The US government often does this. It will include with an engineering contract a "Tailoring" document which outlines how to apply various parts of ANSI/ASME or other standards as they are needed. This is only for this one time and this one contract and does not apply anywhere else.
The reason for a company to have a DRM for tailoring is simply to create a standardized document that all managers can agree to. So, considering the question about having only upper case lettering on drawings, it's not a matter of what is "correct" but what is agreed to as correct at your company. If you are the person of authority at your company then you have the opportunity to set in stone, so to speak, what is needed there.
Sorry for the long post.
Frank Reid
Reid Engineering Services
All of us have documents of one kind or another that help us provide a standardized method for making drawings. Depending on your field, your own standards will apply and are normally referenced on the face of the drawing. Some companies put it in the first general note, others place it in the title block information.
Whether following ANSI/ASME, IEEE, or some other standards we all try to provide a united drawing method. The problems come in when we try to interpret the standards because we all have different opinions on what they mean.
In my engineering services business we have worked for many companies in four states and have noted some interesting variations of the standards. A good example is the controversy explained in the thread referenced at the top which deals with either all uppercase letters on drawings or some variation depending on the situation.
To solve these questions, nearly every company has developed their own set of rules to be used at their own company. It usually takes the form of a Drawing Requirements Manual or DRM. In this manual are given all the variant methods which will be applied at THAT company and do not necessarily apply anywhere else.
Employees who have only worked at one company often think that they use the ONLY method known to man and are surprised to learn that it's done differently in other companies. None of these methods are wrong, just different. And they will easily comply with the ISO9001 standards.
The ISO only has three fundamental requirements:
1. Write down the entire process,in detail, as a standard.
2. The actual process must match the written standard.
3. If not, either change the standard to match the process or the process to match the standard.
Essentially, we must say what we do and do what we say.
But returning to the DRM which most companies have, it is written specifically as a method of "tailoring" the standards to their own use. The US government often does this. It will include with an engineering contract a "Tailoring" document which outlines how to apply various parts of ANSI/ASME or other standards as they are needed. This is only for this one time and this one contract and does not apply anywhere else.
The reason for a company to have a DRM for tailoring is simply to create a standardized document that all managers can agree to. So, considering the question about having only upper case lettering on drawings, it's not a matter of what is "correct" but what is agreed to as correct at your company. If you are the person of authority at your company then you have the opportunity to set in stone, so to speak, what is needed there.
Sorry for the long post.
Frank Reid
Reid Engineering Services
