Big Mistakes Growing Engineering Firms Often Make

As companies expand, workflow and document handling quickly becomes convoluted, and the need to remain organized comes to the forefront of their operations.

Despite many companies’ best efforts to maintain control over their workflows and documents, the vast number of files and types required by engineering firms makes it difficult for them to manage the documents and drawings and the large number of employees who handle them.

There are roughly six big control mistakes growing engineering firms often make when expanding their operations and workforce, most of which can be mitigated or prevented by a formal workflow and document management system. Here are six big mistakes often made by growing engineering firms:

1: No single source of truth

Organizations need to rely on a single source of truth for documents, drawings, and workflows so employees and third parties have a shared understanding of the status of a document or drawing or a workflow. Vendors and contractors can also benefit from an engineering workflow system as it allows them to create realistic project timelines and build a culture of accountability in their collaborations with the company.

2: Not managing document version control

Document version control is arguably one of the most important features of an engineering workflow and document management system.  Far too often, companies store files locally on their devices, using improper naming conventions or versioning schemes like simply adding a number to a file name.  Employees can lose documents or submit the incorrect version, which slows the engineering design and development process or even jeopardize the project entirely.  Providing vendors, customers, and production staff with incorrect versions can lead to significant and expensive rework and production delays.

3: Not utilizing automation to manage workflows

Engineering workflow  can significantly improve efficiency and productivity, as it reduces the number of manual actions needed for document-centric actions, like assigning status changes or distributing documents and drawings to third parties.  Users can automate actions such as publishing, copying, archiving, or deleting a document, and can even change information in the document’s metadata as it moves within a predesigned workflow.

Automated workflows help managers track the status of a process and the associated documents to ensure workers promptly complete and are notified about steps.  Additionally, organizations can locate bottlenecks as they occur, allowing project managers to adjust and improve workflows.