CADimensions started offering a new service years ago called CAD Admin. You might have seen it described on our website or maybe in a marketing email from us. You might have thought it looks interesting on "paper", but what is it exactly? My goal is to give you a more personal perspective about the CAD Admin program.
What is a CAD Admin in general terms? A CAD administrator is responsible for supporting the infrastructure and resources that keep the design team designing with very minimal downtime. The person is typically an agent between engineers and IT personnel. The role generally requires management of licenses, engineering software installations or upgrades, and troubleshooting issues related to servers supporting engineering data or end-user’s applications. They can do some support surrounding security issues, but most system changes are generally managed by the IT team. Some manufacturing firms involve the CAD Admin in CAD design too.
The qualifications of a CAD Admin usually require a college degree in mechanical engineering or information systems, and you must have years of experience doing CAD design. The basic skills needed to successfully perform this job include some computer programming, database management, and network administration. The CAD Admin must also have very strong troubleshooting and communication skills.
The CAD Admin services we provide mostly models with the formal definition, and our qualifications far exceed expectations. Our CAD administrators support your SOLIDWORKS and/or 3DExperience software products including related applications such as SOLIDWORKS PDM. We will work with both Engineering and IT teams effectively and efficiently. Our main limitations with the CAD Admin services are custom programming solutions, drafting/designing, and managing IT systems. The reason for this is we have separate departments/services for those needs.
CADimensions offers three (3) CAD Admin packages depending on your needs.
This is a basic package that supports only SOLIDWORKS and/or PDM upgrades during the year for up to five (5) clients.
These services cover everything in the upgrade contract, plus technical support that includes best practices and direct user support. We will also do upgrade testing and backup support.
This is the overall best value package. In addition to packages one (1) and two (2), our experts will do SOLIDWORKS PDM configuration; system server moves for SOLIDWORKS PDM and Electrical products; SOLIDWORKS PDM Web2 installation and configuration; SOLIDWORKS Toolbox setup inside PDM; support process development and improvement; and we do much more at this level.
We have meetings throughout the year to ensure the best quality of service for our customers. At the beginning of the service agreement, we will schedule a meeting with you along with the dedicated consultant and project manager. The initial meeting (kick-off) is typically ½ hour long. This meeting is mainly meant for introductions; highlight what your initial goals are; exchange contact information; determine how the consultant will work remotely with your systems; decide the frequency of recurring meetings; and answer any questions from all stakeholders. The purpose of the recurring meetings is to go over what has been done, define next steps, and establish a timeline for the next work to be done. All notes are captured by the assigned project manager and recorded in our project management software. Most of our customers seek a meeting every two (2) to four (4) weeks. We do have customers who require a meeting every week.
There are numerous avenues to reach your consultant: ticketing system, email, text, call, and/or message through Microsoft Teams. The choice is entirely up to you and is agreed upon during the kick-off meeting. Once the consultant is contacted, they will swiftly schedule a meeting through this person to remotely access the computer/s.
Don’t be concerned about having a single consultant not meeting goals in a timely manner. Pending on the request, the CAD Administrator will involve other members of the CADimensions team. Think of your consultant as a direct gateway to the rest of our talented team.
How do we support you remotely? You might ask this. We are extremely flexible and strictly adhere to all customer security requirements. We support various VPN software: Global Protect, FortiClient, OpenVPN, Cisco AnyConnect, NetExtender, Sophos, and more. No worries. If you don’t have remote software or a VPN server, then we have a licensed remote software tool. We have been using this software primarily and reliably for technical support, training, and consulting for more than 6 years.
Like a project, the lifecycle of a CAD Administrator for CADimensions ends with a closing meeting. This meeting is typically scheduled by your assigned project manager towards the end of the contract. The stakeholders involved in the meeting include the customer, project manager, your sales representative, and the consultant. The meeting is driven by the project manager and the consultant. Our goal is to review the tasks completed during the past year; understanding from your personal experience how we did; determine if all your goals were met within the expected timeframe; and request your feedback on how we can do better. Again, all comments are meticulously recorded in our project management software.
One word best answers this question: experience. Not only are you getting a world-class level of service using our well-defined and methodical approach, but you will be getting assigned to members that could have upwards of ~20 years’ experience in CADimensions. This time is in addition to the 10+ years working in manufacturing as engineers. Our team also has advanced college degrees and numerous SOLIDWORKS certifications. You can be assured that our consultants will provide the very best experience for your engineering and IT departments.
CADimensions consulting team is highly skilled, well-rounded, and very passionate about supporting your success through our CAD Admin services. Our customers have discovered great value in our CAD Admin services because we have successfully closed the void between engineering and IT support through our expertise and ability to solve the most complex problems related to the various SOLIDWORKS and 3DExperience software. Some of CADimensions customers find the greatest value in these programs simply because they have a direct contact that has the right answers and offers fast solutions.
The goal here is to showcase the variety of CAD Admin packages we offer. In addition, the details described herein should give you a much clearer picture of how we manage these services internally.
If you want to learn more about CAD Admin programs or explore the many other CADimensions services our talented consultants provide, please click on the following link: https://www.cadimensions.com/services/consulting/.