Proceedings of the 8th International Conference on Intellectual ...

Marko Anzelak et al.
Variation 3: The brief requires a complicated, sophisticated design. In this case, <strong>the</strong> design
engineer invests far more time in a template search. Several templates may be selected,
elements <strong>of</strong> which are incorporated in <strong>the</strong> new design.
These three variations permit <strong>the</strong> conclusion that even simple drawings justify <strong>the</strong> search for a
template, as long as <strong>the</strong> time required for <strong>the</strong> search and <strong>the</strong> subsequent adaptation does not exceed
<strong>the</strong> time required to create a new drawing from scratch. In <strong>the</strong> case <strong>of</strong> drawings with a higher degree
<strong>of</strong> sophistication, <strong>the</strong> benefit takes <strong>the</strong> form <strong>of</strong> a more efficient search, or <strong>the</strong> faster retrieval <strong>of</strong> <strong>the</strong>
relevant drawings (Figure 2).
Figure 2: Actual situation
The search for documents associated with <strong>the</strong> creation <strong>of</strong> drawings represents an additional time
component. This is closely linked to <strong>the</strong> knowledge status <strong>of</strong> <strong>the</strong> design engineer, and can also be
supported by <strong>the</strong> drawings database, which links every drawing with <strong>the</strong> relevant documentation.
Drawings that are created from scratch are initiated in a specific category. The required and <strong>the</strong> useful
types <strong>of</strong> documentation for this category are predefined within <strong>the</strong> system, and are thus automatically
available to <strong>the</strong> design engineer.
2. The initial situation
Technical drawings are primarily constructed with CAD programmes, which have <strong>the</strong>ir own file
formats. Most companies use a traditional file system for <strong>the</strong> storage <strong>of</strong> <strong>the</strong>ir drawings, relying on a
project-based system for archiving. Alternatively, it is possible to use drawing management systems
with a parallel storage system for regulations, guidelines, and standards as well as a quality manual.
There is no direct connection between <strong>the</strong> individual components. In order to create a new design, a
design engineer must first find <strong>the</strong> data in this storage system, before commencing with <strong>the</strong> design <strong>of</strong>
<strong>the</strong> drawing. New employees and those with little experience <strong>of</strong>ten describe this search as an unsafe
process, in which <strong>the</strong>y can never be sure that <strong>the</strong>y have located all relevant documentation. In our
partner organisation, <strong>the</strong> weekly meetings with <strong>the</strong> head designer were reduced to monthly meetings
due to time constraints, thus removing <strong>the</strong> opportunity for face to face communication. Unfortunately,
face to face communication is not actively encouraged by most organisations, even though this is
such a vital factor. For this reason, our project includes targeted communication as one <strong>of</strong> <strong>the</strong> defined
workflow stages (Figure 3).
The meetings are recorded in writing and <strong>the</strong>se minutes are filed in a structured system. However, <strong>the</strong>
content <strong>of</strong> <strong>the</strong> minutes is not indexed in accordance with <strong>the</strong> <strong>the</strong>matic content. This means that
content-related searches can only be carried out with prior knowledge <strong>of</strong> <strong>the</strong> date <strong>of</strong> <strong>the</strong> meeting or by
using specific keywords or full-text searches. Not only meeting minutes, but also many o<strong>the</strong>r
documents are handled in this way, e.g. training course materials, reports, various types <strong>of</strong>
documentation. Virtually all <strong>of</strong> <strong>the</strong>se are directly related to a construction element and thus to a
drawing. The most obvious solution <strong>the</strong>refore, is to link <strong>the</strong>se “free” documents with <strong>the</strong> construction
elements database, and thus improve <strong>the</strong> searchability. This step has to involve a partitioning <strong>of</strong> <strong>the</strong>
contents, but this and <strong>the</strong> associated effort are necessary to achieve clearly structured data and a
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