How to Improve Efficiency and Productivity with the Engineering Document Management System?
- Blog
- March 11, 2024
The way organizations manage documents has undergone a radical change as many of them have started relying on cloud-based document management software systems. This shift was mainly to avoid the dependency on manual processing and to efficiently manage complex workflows that comprise huge volumes of data. Today, many organizations have adopted document management software which has proved beneficial in numerous ways, such as improved efficiency, better compliance, reduced costs, and enhanced security.
What is an Engineering Document Management System?
An engineering document management system or EDMS is a system that handles organizing, viewing, searching, and sharing of digital engineering files. As a robust automated software, EDMS allows the centralization of the organization’s complex assets, such as engineering drawings, documents, and data. With this software, organizations can eliminate the need for outdated manual systems for managing engineering documents.
What Can an EDMS Offer?
With an efficient and well-implemented EDMS, organizations can eliminate various tedious and error-prone tasks in their daily operations. The superior features of an EDMS allow employees to work more efficiently, as they help them in the following ways:
- Eliminate manual processes and need to take document printouts.
- Availability of information and documents on mobile devices facilitates quick and easy access.
- Handle the association between design models, documents, and physical spaces or assets.
- Instant access to complete documents, irrespective of the source or format.
- Offer version control and content management for documents to ensure that users don’t work on incorrect or outdated versions.
- Guarantee that users can obtain thorough and up-to-date documentation regarding work orders and other business processes.
- Ensure consistency, precision, and entirety of data and metadata in an integrated system.
An EDMS is much more than just a digital filing cabinet. Increase efficiency with this tool that organizes, distributes, and integrates documents, making data readily available for your team.
Benefits of an Engineering Document Management System
The implementation of an EDMS can offer several benefits to the organization. Here are some of them.
Efficiency
Just like any other software, the primary goal of an engineering document management solution is to increase the productivity of its users. An EDMS accomplishes this by offering engineers a quick and dependable method to generate, access, modify, distribute, and store files, while providing managers with a system that ensures workflow compliance without relying on human effort. By doing this, work becomes much more efficient and enables timely completion of projects without any delays. Moreover, it helps minimize errors and rework, leading to cost savings across various levels. Utilizing an EDMS increases the likelihood of companies finishing their projects within the designated time frame and budget.
Security
Document management systems offer an additional level of security for employees in terms of information protection. EDMS solutions offer enhanced security by storing files in remote locations, allowing users to edit and view files without downloading, and sharing file links instead of the actual files. Additionally, mobile device users can have their offline files encrypted by document management systems.
Compliance and Access Control
Meeting governmental regulations related to quality, health and safety, environmental controls, and similar matters is a significant challenge for most companies. Access Control is a feature provided by certain cloud-based document management software systems, aiming to restrict user access to relevant documents and mitigate the risk of unauthorized information access or manipulation.
Scalability
For small to medium-sized businesses dealing with a significant increase in digital and paper files, as well as larger enterprises managing multiple projects and locations, document management software supports scalable growth. Scalability is crucial for users to access project files from anywhere, be it home, job site, production floor, customer site, or office.
Version Control
Projects often experience significant delays due to version control. In each revision or redraft, every document is subject to numerous changes, both major and minor. A cloud-based document management software offers automated Version Control. Changes are logged and tracked digitally in real-time, providing instant access to the most recent revision and preventing the use of old/obsolete versions by accident, a common situation in non-digitized teams. It sets up a central reference point, streamlining work progress.
Data Backups
Backing up digital data periodically is necessary because of frequent computer crashes and power outages. People often find it challenging to regularly back up data in such situations. Cloud-based document management software or EDMS addresses this issue by automating the backup procedure and storing all data in a centralized cloud database. This guarantees that there will be minimal data loss in any situation.
Handles Multiple File Types
Data management becomes complex due to the involvement of various types of data in projects, ranging from CAD files and MS Word documents to spreadsheets, PDF files, images, and even audio and video files. Reliable document management software that operates on the cloud can handle various file types without requiring users to open multiple external applications. This means that users can access different file formats conveniently within the same system.
VLogic’s Drawing Management Software
VLogicFM revolutionizes document sharing with its advanced features. Boasting a robust access control system, it offers precise management of drawing sharing. Hosted on the cloud, VLogicFM ensures 24/7 accessibility from any location. All uploads and downloads are safeguarded with SSL encryption, while the cloud infrastructure ensures reliability with software, hardware, and network redundancies. Supporting up to 70 digital file formats, including .dwg (CAD), .pdf, .png, and .tif, it accommodates both drawings and non-drawing documents, including .rvt (Revit) and other 3D files. Users can seamlessly upload, download, view, and share files via web browsers or mobile devices, without requiring additional plug-ins or expensive third-party licenses.
Enhancing document retrieval, VLogicFM allows users to add custom search terms such as project name/number, year, discipline, author, or version number. Additionally, it facilitates organization by grouping related drawings and documents into virtual folders. For added security, users can limit access durations, ensuring control over file accessibility, particularly for contractors. By promoting digital sustainability and reducing printing and courier costs, VLogicFM emerges as a comprehensive solution for efficient document management. VLogicFM offers an efficient document management solution by promoting digital sustainability and reducing printing costs. For more information about VLogic’s Drawing Management software and how it can benefit your organization, contact us today at info@vlogicsystems.com or call us at +1 978 341-9000. at info@vlogicsystems.com or call us at +1 978 341-9000.
