I recall one of the first times I provided training for the small CAD department of a local manufacturing company. The company's two CAD users were amazed as I showed them the power of Trim and Extend commands to clean up drawings. They had no idea the commands existed; until then, they had time-consumingly adjusted lines in their drawings manually.
The incident illustrates how CAD is used inefficiently when drafters are insufficiently trained. The CAD software is initially easy to start with, but then drafting efficiently becomes an issue. Over and over again I have heard users tell me they lack the time to learn to use the software properly, because they are too busy using it.
This is a paradox that must be solved by management, for if drafters learn to use CAD more efficiently, then management benefits from the lowered cost-per-drawing as drawings are completed more quickly.
One solution is to schedule weekly in-house CAD training sessions during the lunch hour, with management providing lunch free-of-charge as compensation for "working" during the lunch break.
Another efficiency solution is to tailor training to the needs of each user. This ensures time is not wasted by drafters learning material with which they are already familiar. To customize the learning, tests are applied that evaluate each user's CAD knowledge -- or lack thereof. It's important that training be tailored to the tasks users actually carry out, but in which they are not yet efficient.
Training is, unfortunately, wasted when users are unable to retain the content of the lessons. To overcome this barrier, it can be helpful to implement shortened train-employ cycles, where users are trained in one new technique, and then are able to immediately implement it in their everyday drafting.
Training helps employees complete their work in less time -- or produce more drawings in the same time. Either way, training is an investment that pays off.
Ralph Grabowski is editor at upFront.eZine Publishing, Ltd., including the WorldCAD Access blog. Ralph is the author of over 100 books and several hundred magazine articles about computer-aided design.
IMAGINiT Technologies offers several training options, and is Autodesk's largest Authorized Training Center partner.
