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Solving Engineering Document Management Problems
Engineering document management is not simply limited to proper storage of documents. The process is far more complicated and includes proper management of access rights that must change as the file moves from one stage to the other. Size and volume of is another concern that needs to be addressed by the Document Management System. Here is how our DMS framework solves all the Project Document Management and workflow problems faced by engineering companies: File Size Problems Engineering firms handle files of varying sizes everyday. The files range from CAD drawings to MS documents and other digital content. These can be as small as a few KB word document or a several GB image file generated by a scanner. With a spectrum of file sizes to handle, the user is unnecessarily limited and hassled by generic upload tools which act as a performance bottleneck. Solution We have developed an Electronic document management system that is smart and modifies its file handling approach based on the file size. User can preview image thumbs before actually downloading the file. The DMS user sees the same GUI for all the files he processes but at the backend document handling processes varies for based on the file size. Heavy files can be compressed and zipped to deliver most optimal performance. These techniques can reduce file size of heavy files using Compression and decompression for large Files like PDF, TIFF, CAD, point clouds etc. Upto 56% performance improvement can be achieved using these techniques Complex Document workflow Requirements Most project related documentation is never processed in a predictable sequence. On the spot decisions are taken by the project manager on project to project basis. With multiple data operators, supervisors and clients as stakeholders in the process, basic workflow and accessibility mechanisms fail in this scenario Solution A document workflow function in our engineering document management system takes care of the transient user access rights in the workflow. The position of the users in the Workflow defines his rights on a document. The DMS workflow follows multi-step approval. The documents travel between various people in different departments. Revisions and approvals are stored with related notes and comments. Read more on Document Management and Workflow Related features DMS in the existing set-up Accommodating a new application into an existing IT set-up can be a nightmare. Installations, hardware/software compatibility and security hassles are just some of the issues Solution A web based Document management system is an answer to most technical challenges related to a new application. With no installation required, no hardware and software compatibility issues, it is as hassle free as technology can get. Searching large documents and linking them to the appropriate data is a function that puts to test the entire purpose of having an electronic document management system. Solution Speedy generation of accurate search results and the ability to save searches for fast access to most frequented data is a highly useful feature of the DMS. A user can review auto generated small sized image thumbs of very large files to ensure they are accessing the correct data. Users can search images by category, name, keywords, date of creation, user attributes etc making searching faster and less cumbersome. AJAX technology is provided to ensure that the users quickly get to what files they need. Document check in/out still leaves a gaping challenge in terms of reverting changes that have already been made. Once a document is checked in, some data may be lost forever Solution Data is NEVER deleted in Project document management system. Every time a change is made, a newer version of the file is generated. All previous versions are attached with the file as meta information and can be accessed in a single mouse-click (Roll-Back). Versioning and rollback facility is of utmost importance to organizations where information loss is unacceptable. The entire document modification history can be traced through its versions with a the ID of the modifier stamped on it The most frustrating moment for a user is to see all his changes and hard work over-written by another peer who was accessing the same file at the same time Solution The DMS solution must act as an arbitrator, not letting multiple users modify the same document at the same time. Editing operations can be performed only once a document has been checked out (a state where peers can open it in ‘Read Only’ mode). Checking in the document makes it available again for editing. Using this traditional approach of document access, users can view which user is currently editing the document. The document checking out can be subject to access rights 1 | 2 There are several other Engineering and project document management related challenges that are addresses in our DMS framework. For more information on our electronic document management solutions, please contact us. We develop web based Document management systems and offer customization services. For simpler electronic document management software needs, review our other Document management Software DMSLite www.dmslite.com. An online document management system developed for small and medium scale organizations, it ensures fast and easy electronic document management in your budget More useful features: Read on more about features like audit trails, data restoration, Reporting tools etc. Further Reading DMS Home – Resources on engineering document management software Quick feature list – A summary view of all the DMS features 
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