Product category:
3D CAD software
News Release from: Business Advantage Group
Edited by the Engineeringtalk Editorial
Team on 19 September 2001
Not enough time to improve design?
Lack of time hampers improvements to the design process, according to research by Business Advantage Group, with a third of mechanical engineering sites considering it a major problem
Senior managers at 250 UK sites operating within the mechanical engineering sector were interviewed about their attitudes to barriers to change as part of a telephone survey held in August 2001 The sample was taken from Business Advantage's database of 20,000 UK CAD/CAM user sites
This article was originally published on Engineeringtalk on 16 Mar 2001 at 8.00am (UK)
Related stories
CAD/CAM trialling proves popular
Survey: two thirds of CAD/CAM using organisations have trialled CAD/CAM software, and six out of ten of these went on to buy the software they trialled.
Buchanan arrives to head up new division
Jamie Buchanan is to head up the new Product Design and Development Division at virtual engineering specialist Altair Engineering.
Successful conference attracts best audience
This year's Altair technology conference attracted an audience of over 250 engineering professionals.
The research also found that the cost of new solutions was identified by the next greatest number of CAD users (a quarter of respondents) as a major barrier to change, and that over a quarter of CAD/CAM users felt that they did not encounter any barriers to change at all.
Other factors identified as major factors were, in descending order: internal resistance, data exchange, inefficiency of suppliers, recruiting CAD/CAM operators, legacy data, sharing data internally and problems with design software.
A higher proportion of larger companies than smaller companies rated all nine factors discussed as major barriers to improving the design process.
Chris Turner, managing director of Business Advantage Group, observes: "It may be surprising that fewer smaller companies than larger ones voted factors such as the cost of new solutions, and time available to plan/implement change as major barriers to change.
However, comparing the perceptions of very small companies to the rest demonstrates how the needs and attitudes of different segments can vary, and how solutions from suppliers must be tailored to each group's specific needs." The findings came from telephone interviews conducted in August 2001 with users at 250 UK CAD sites operating within the mechanical engineering sector.
The sample was taken from Business Advantage's database of 20,000 UK CAD/CAM user sites.
The full report, including colour charts, can be read free of charge at http://www.business-advantage.co.uk/spaghetti/barriers.htm.
• Business Advantage Group: contact details and other news
• Email this article to a colleague
• Register for the free Engineeringtalk email newsletter
• Engineeringtalk Home Page
Search the Pro-Talk network of sites
