Initials vs full name

[J-C]

Is it part of ANSI standard to put the initials in the title block? That is what we have traditionally done but are considering using full names of the engineers and drafters. If ANSI doesn't specify, what would be the pros/cons of doing this?

Jason

SolidWorks 2017

 

[looslib]

I do not see anything in ASME Y14.1 that specifies what the identification should be. Every place I have worked has used FirstInitial.MiddleInitial LastName. How many will remember in 5 years what the name was of some designer who is no longer there by just initials. Using the last name gives you just that little more information.

While I don't know SolidWorks, the program we use has a restricted parameter format that reads entries from a text file and puts them into a drop down menu for fields like Drawn By, Engineered By, Checked By, etc. Once I revise the file as system admin, all the users get the latest names and in a consistent format.


"Wildfires are dangerous, hard to control, and economically catastrophic."

Ben Loosli

 

[DGrayPPD]

As far as I am aware, there is nothing that states one way or the other. In all of my experience, I have only seen initials of individuals responsible for the drafting/checking of drawings, and not full names.

This may be due just simply to the limited amount of space in the title block for drafter/checker/engineer/approved initials. Most drawings I have seen do not have enough space to provide full names or even FI, MI, last name formats as looslib has stated.

I can't say that I fully see the benefit or value of adding the full names to the blocks, if it isn't something you're not currently doing. I guess if you have multiple people with the same first, middle, and last initial then it would save a little bit of time trying to decipher who was responsible for the drawing, whereas the full name would tell you immediately who is responsible if there were issues/questions. But how many times do you have that issue? If everyone in the company has always just used initials, it may cause a headache trying to get people to change the habits they have built over years of practice.

I'm curious as to what pros you think having the full name provides?

 

[ctopher]

I always use first initial/last name. Too often either some people with same initials, or several years later nobody knows who the person was by the initials. I learnded this by experience.

Chris, CSWP
SolidWorks '17
ctophers home
SolidWorks Legion

 

[MintJulep]

I am starting to see companies use "employee number".

 

[3DDave]

There should be a record of what the people who approved the drawing actually considered in the approval and that record will indicate who specified the drawing needed to be made, who made the drawing, and where related research material is located.

(Belated April Fools joke. None of this seems to actually happen.)

 

[ctopher]

Employee number? That's weird.

Chris, CSWP
SolidWorks '17
ctophers home
SolidWorks Legion

 

[MintJulep]

Employee number? That's weird

Why?

It's unique and unambiguous.

Initials are neither.

 

[TWJR]

I always use first initial/last name. Too often either some people with same initials, or several years later nobody knows who the person was by the initials. I learnded this by experience.

That's what we do, too.

 

[CWB1]

Most of my suppliers, past, and current employers stopped signing the print years ago when PLM systems were adopted. Unless your data storage method is still a filing cabinet I don't see the purpose.

 

[TWJR]

One purpose is, if they have an issue on the manufacturing floor, they know who the engineer is, and thus who to call with questions.

 

[ctopher]

The employee number can be anything. You don't know who he/she is without looking them up in a database. If there is a name shown, you know immediately.
People get lazy these days. I can generate a drawing, assign random employee numbers as checked/approved, nobody would know.

Chris, CSWP
SolidWorks '17
ctophers home
SolidWorks Legion

 

[MintJulep]

I can generate a drawing, assign random employee numbers as checked/approved, nobody would know.

And that would differ from the current state where initials or FI Last name is placed in the checked and approved fields without either of those people having checked or approved anything how?

 

[SwinnyGG]

We use employee number, automatically populated by PDM.

It's no more fake-able than initials would be.

 

[ctopher]

Are the employee numbers used only because it's easier to generate using a macro or database?

Chris, CSWP
SolidWorks '17
ctophers home
SolidWorks Legion

 

[J-C]

How do people looking at the print know who to contact if its just a number? We have PDM as well and you can view full names there but for people in the field or in our factory looking at the drawing, the number means nothing. They would have to keep a cheat sheet of numbers to names or have another search somewhere to cross reference.

Back to initials vs full name on prints, someone asked about the pros of full name. One is people stop calling me asking who "CTF" is so they can call them instead. Also we've had cases with people with the same initials in the same group, so who is? Potential cons, customers or field employees may call that person direct because they now have someone's name. Could their be legal issues?

Jason

SolidWorks 2017

 

[3DDave]

Employee numbers should be unique within an organization, unlike individual names. We had at least three name pairs in engineering at one time - first and last matching. There would be more with first initials and more yet with all initials.

 

[SwinnyGG]

cons, customers or field employees may call that person direct because they now have someone's name. Could their be legal issues?

This is why we use numbers instead of names.

For people in our immediate vicinity, it's not too hard. They know, for example, that 500314 is me. There's only a couple of engineers doing what we do, so it's not too hard for internal employees to remember who's who. We also have an internal chat application that lets you look someone up by employee number, which I'm sure new people use that don't know then engineers yet.

 

[ctopher]

To me a drawing is similar to a legal document.
If I were to purchase a car or a house, typing my personal number (in addition to the other typ data) vs signing my name means nothing.
I guess there will probably be a time in the future we will scan bar codes under our skin and be done with it.

Chris, CSWP
SolidWorks '17
ctophers home
SolidWorks Legion

 

[SwinnyGG]

I don't think a drawing is 'similar' to a legal document.... I think a drawing IS a legal document.

I just don't want anyone to be able to pick up the phone and call me or any of my guys/girls and pester them with questions, so we sign our legal documents with numbers instead of names to make that harder.