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Analyzing CAD Spending

Trevor Scullion & Dan GerlachPartners: AutomationForce Inc.

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Class Summary

Assessing your current CAD investments and deciding on where to focus future efforts is becoming increasingly complex. This class will show you how to:

Identify data collection targets Extract meaning from the captured data Generate reports Gauge effectiveness of training, hardware, standardization and automation.

With better data, you can make better decisions!

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Learning Objectives

At the end of this class, you will be able to:

Analyze your CAD hardware use Analyze your CAD software usage Analyze your CAD users efficiency Create a Payback period and an ROI for funding

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Time IS money

“Time is really the only capital that any human being has, and the only thing he can't afford to lose”.     - Thomas Edison

”We must use time as a tool, not as a couch”.     - John F. Kennedy

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But where does it all go?

License under-utilization The average company only utilises roughly 80-90% of its licenses on a daily basis

Inefficient Training Today, only 4 out of 10 companies set aside money for training their employees,

compared to 8 out of 10 in 2007 As a result, many CAD managers are spending unbudgeted time on support and training,

on average 12 hours a week responding to "How do I do this...?" questions

More software packages in use A typical company now uses 3.5 software packages to produce documentation

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But where does it all go?, continued

More complex software packages 3D systems are becoming more complex leading to a wider "Technology Gap”

Tough to get good outside support help 9 out of 10 companies now pay for support subscriptions every year, yet the average

CAD Manager will use this subscription as a first step less than 10% of the time. Mostly because the average time for satisfactorily closing a call stands at 39.3 hours or

almost 5 working days.

Bottom Line is:

We must be able to assess and address our CAD needs ourselves.

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What should we measure?

The resources needed to complete a task or project related to CAD.

Otherwise known in business jargon as “Bandwidth”

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It’s ALWAYS a “Bandwidth” issue

As a team, we’ve learned to measure the performance of CAD groups by these three distinct bandwidth channels:

Hardware bandwidth Can the machines keep up with the software and user speed

Software bandwidth Is the software setup to take advantage of hardware and user skills

User bandwidth Are the users leveraging hardware and software to the maximum capacity

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Hardware Bandwidth

•The ability of the computer to keep a 3D model up-to-date as we add complexity.•Part features, unique assembly parts and drawing view details add to the effort placed on the hardware.

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Hardware Specs

How to compare hardware What to measure Tools for the job

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Characterizing Current Hardware

Graphics Hardware Graphics Memory, Resolution, Refresh Rates, etc.

System Hardware Processor Type, Cache, RAM, Disk info, Core(s), etc.

Software Configuration OS, OpenGL info, Graphics Drivers, etc.

Price, Availability, etc.

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Comparing Hardware with SPEC* benchmarks

SPEC Apps Benchmarks are published Non Profit Organization Memberships available Open Source

*(SPEC) Standard Performance Evaluation Corporation

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Measuring

Use SPEC Composite Values Use Workbook Tool Share

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Measure Hardware….. - Rinse and Repeat

With your hardware analysis in hand, you can begin to adjust settings and configurations. Then re-measure to ensure you’re making the best use of your hardware. Repeat as necessary.

Optimum drivers and settings Optimum service packs and settings Overall CAD setup including

Best use of Levels-of-Detail Constraint management Symbols for standard details

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Software Bandwidth

Measuring the level at which the software is taking advantage of the hardware and user skills

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Comparing Software

Comparing versions, sometimes new versions are better! Looking for CAD Apps Measuring true usage Tools for the job

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Software - What to Measure

Where time is spent Features in use Possible Add-ons Possible Automation

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Software – Tools

Inventor API Enterprise tools Cloud-based solutions

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User Bandwidth

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Evaluating Users

Measure each member of your group Run assessments Run a Benchmark design

Tools for Comparison

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User Assessment Tools

The Workbook Online Tools Online Tests

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Budgets – How to win Budgets

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Budgets – Make it about business not IT

Payback and ROI built on key performance indicators or KPI Using the Workbook Tools for the task

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Budgets – Select your KPI*

Improve design efficiency by X% Increase project throughput by X% Improve user productivity by X% Reduce field errors by X%

Must be clearly measurable for folks outside CAD

*Key Performance Indicators (KPI)

*Key Performance Indicator

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Budgets – Return On Investment

The ROI calculation measures the ongoing return on an investment —typically on an annualized basis.

ROI % = (Return - Cost of investment) x 100                        Cost of investment

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Budgets – CAD Return On Investment

Our workbook calculations

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Budgets - Payback Period

The payback period determines how quickly the investment cost will be fully recovered.

Payback Period = Cost of Project / Annual Cash Inflows

Our CAD Calculation Payback Period in Years = Total CAD Spend / (Annual CAD Design

Engineer Loaded Salary * Productivity Gain)

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Budgets – Make it about business, not technology

Historically CAD budgets go to: Upkeep: Ongoing costs/ subscriptions Software Upgrades Additional Software Modules or add-ons Training Hardware

But none of these talk about KPI’s, you need to use a methodology that will help you build a solid case that you can present to the business

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Demonstration of the Workbook

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Summary Using the right analysis tools can make a CAD managers life easier

Hardware analysis Use tools like SPEC or Zoeked

Software analysis Use scripts or other tools to get a snapshot of your current software usage Run an internal benchmarks

User analysis Benchmark, assess and/or test users

Choose KPI’s Select Key Performance Indicators

Allocate your CAD budget to maximize your ROI and Payback based on measurable KPI’s

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Thank you

Get the workbook:

trevor.scullion@automationforce.comDan.Gerlach@automationforce.com

© 2012 Autodesk

Autodesk, AutoCAD* [*if/when mentioned in the pertinent material, followed by an alphabetical list of all other trademarks mentioned in the material] are registered trademarks or trademarks of Autodesk, Inc., and/or its subsidiaries and/or affiliates in the USA and/or other countries. All other brand names, product names, or trademarks belong to their respective holders. Autodesk reserves the right to alter product and services offerings, and specifications and pricing at any time without notice, and is not responsible for typographical or graphical errors that may appear in this document. © 2012 Autodesk, Inc. All rights reserved.