...Continuous Integration Best Practices (Part 2) As I noted in Optimal Continuous Integration Best Practices (Part 1), there are 10 best practice principles associated with Continuous Integration. In Part 1, we looked at the first three. For Part 2, we pick up where...
The beauty of business process automation How often have we entered the same information into two different systems and wondered, “Why do I have to waste my time doing this?” These are computers, aren’t they? Shouldn’t this information flow where it needs...
If you’re like many engineering managers, IT infrastructure may not be your favorite topic. You think about it when absolutely necessary, but often neglect it or place it behind other capital investments. What's more, there's a good chance your current IT solutions...
When it comes to IT solutions, most mid-market manufacturing companies rely on one of two options. They have a dedicated in-house IT team, or an outsourced IT managed services provider (MSP). But manufacturing companies who care about product development and...
Tired of dealing with in-house PDM issues, unreliable VPN connections, and struggling with remote file access? Perhaps you're looking for a solution that addresses your company's specific needs. Look no further: SPK and Associates SolidWorks PDM in the Cloud presents...
As explored in one of our previous articles, tracking metrics is a crucial component of a successful development system. But how can you leverage those metrics further? The solution is quite simple: with the trace reporting function available in Windchill...
Picture this: all your engineering applications run slow, or worse, continue to shut down. Yet, the IT team reports no alerts within the remote monitoring and management systems despite the problem. What is the root cause and how do you fix it? Remote Monitoring and...
In one of our recent articles, we highlighted opportunities for automation, specifically for MCAD (mechanical computer-aided design) and PDM (product data management) activities in your organization. In this next installment, we hope to provide you with other examples...
In recent years, interest in engineering design automation across multiple industries skyrocketed, especially due to the high return on investment (ROI). Relieving your engineers from tedious, error-prone tasks and directing them toward automation presents a fantastic...
How to solve the problem that hides in plain sight Engineers rarely talk about “workflow integration” for items like CAD files or project data management (PDM). They’re too busy doing their jobs! However, that exact mindset presents a major issue. Many engineers think...
Repeatability is an intuitive aspect of daily life. If you throw a ball up, it comes down. If you throw it up twenty times, the same thing will happen, up and then down twenty times. When repeatability doesn’t occur and it’s supposed to, we get anxious. ...
Manufacturing companies, even the ones that are not highly regulated, have no shortage of complexity these days as they build, scale and manage multiple interdependent pieces of equipment, software bundles and networks. All this, while under time and cost pressures....