Working on a Distributed Design Team - CADimensions

When the pandemic first hit back in March 2020, many companies had to implement changes to adapt. Most transitioned to a hybrid model of having employees work from home or office. Now that the mandates have been lifted, we are seeing a large amount of these companies embracing the remote work model. For a typical design team, a remote work model can be implemented in different ways.

There are two main types of remote work models for design teams – remote and distributed.  A remote team means that some members of the team are working from the same location, while some employees are working from a different remote location. For example, the manufacturing engineer and quality engineer must be onsite to inspect the parts, but the drafter can work from home, producing revisions of that part. A distributed team means that each employee is at a different location, usually from their home office. This is commonly seen with startup companies that have engineers and designers spread across the country. 

Companies can switch between the two models depending on the project’s needs and the tools they have access to. However, there can be setbacks to either model. These include:

• Lack of flexible software: A majority of software is often tied to a computer or an office network. It can be difficult for an employee to move between locations without IT intervention.
• Accessing shared files: Many companies have switched to using a cloud-based service such as OneDrive to share files between workers. Some of these services do not allow for files to be locked for editing by other users, which can cause discrepancies in content and information.
• Changes in collaboration: When you’re in the office it’s easy to pop into someone’s office to ask about a project you’re working on. Without that physical interaction, you’ll have to rely on virtual communication channels like email or text.

These issues are a result of the immediate need for change that was brought about by the pandemic, but there are many solutions that can support and enhance remote and distributed design teams.

CADimensions has been working with customers for decades to make sure their teams are working as efficiently as possible. Now with the addition of the 3DExperience platform, collaboration has become even easier. If you are working in a distributed team or want to have the capability to do so, reach out to CADimensions today.