Revisions with PDMWorks

[lejeanmi]

We do not have any PDM software and are thinking about getting PDMWorks.

Can you do the revision notices (ECR/ECN) using PDMWorks? What I am looking for is a place where manufacturing and production can approve the revision. We currently do it all on paper and it will be nice to have a database of ECNs.

If the answer to the first question is yes, can you do revisions of old nonSolidWorks drawings with PDMWorks?

 

[BillRND]

Hi,

PDMWorks will allow you to check in any wondows based document, so I guess the answer is yes. As long as your ECNs are windows based you should be fine. You can also check in all of your old non-SW drawings such as AutoCad.

 

[lejeanmi]

Thanks for the reply BillRND.
Well I guess checking in the vault my Excel ECN is better than nothing. I was hopping for a more secure way for each department to approve changes. If I check in my Excel ECN it will be easy for the other departments to claim that the file is corrupted "someone else wrote that the change was approved, not me".
How do the people using PDMWorks deal with their ECN?

 

[BillRND]

PDMWorks requires that users sign in and keeps a history of the file so if someone checks in a document, PDMWorks records who checked it in and when. As long as people aren't signing on as someone else the system works well.

 

[lejeanmi]

I wasn't aware of PDMWorks capability to keep track of nonSolidWorks files history.
Another problem solved by Eng-Tips.
Thanks BillRND

 

[Standing]

lejeanmi,
When checking in a document for the first time you check-in as A01-01 (in our case). You can use other revision systems. Do not let anyone check-in using a plus (+). No revision history is kept when using a plus. Then the next time someone changes the (ECR/ECN) they take ownership, change it, and check-in as A02-01 and disown it. If someone says, “someone else wrote that the change was approved, not me", you look at the History/Notes in PDM/Works and can see who Checked in and when. If they really get testy, then you can open each document as A01-01, then A02-01 and etc. You know who did what, and when. Do not share your passwords with anyone.
Bradley