How Do You Store Your Spec Information?

Excel

ditto,

REQ orders for the actual purchased parts

Granite and chisel. The data density factor is low but when amortized over the length of retention this is the most cost effective method. At least that's what our bean counters are dictating. Stupid bean counters.

Also Excel - with hyperlinks to spec sheets, photos or whatever.

I tryed the hyperlinks, if there are any files on the computer or if one link is broken, they all become broken.

Not in my experience. I've used the technique for my job directory and my order book since 1999. Some sheets have upwards of 500 links - if the target of one link can't be found, it doesn't affect any of the others.

The only big drawback I've found is that if, for instance, I rename or move a folder (say a folder full of .dwgs), then I have to edit every link to the files in that folder. Since my main drawing folder has about 150 sub-folders (for individual jobs), each with anything up to 100 drawing files individually linked to from at least one spreadsheet, it can take days - if not weeks - to get all the links working again.

I've been dabbling with ways of automatically locating all the links and modifying them, but without much success (yet!).

I take that back, we had updated our LAN (three times in less than a year, nephews of the owner of the company were playing IT wannabes), and we (I) had to rename the target in the links. The first (2) times I updated the links, the third time I couldn't, I turned it over to the IT department, but they were out on their jet skis.

I also had it linked the drawing files, quotes, scope of the projects. I can't remember but it was well into the thousands projects (over 5 years worth).

Very efficient.

I've been dabbling with ways of automatically locating all the links and modifying them, but without much success (yet!).

There is a way to displaying formulas in excel, I wonder if there is a way of displaying the target in the hyperlink. Then you copy ythe column in another sheet and do a global edit to change it if its just a drive or a directory (folder) change.

Then copy the column past to your achive sheet. ......as long as you don't insert a row in between while your doing it

I use exactly the same as JohnDG, Excel with images where applicable, links to suppliers, part numbers, quantities required, prices, etcetera.

I've also had no problems with broken links so I don't think that problem lies with Excel.

As for the problem of renaming a folder and having to update the links I'm sure that with some Visual Basic add on to Excel you could solve the problem relatively simply.

Prompted to do a bit more fiddling, I've found an expression in VBA to access a hyperlink target address, e.g.:

Sheet6.Range("G4").Hyperlinks.Item(1).Address

which (in this particular case) returns:

../../../OrCAD_JDG/Projects/1246 CR4/1246E1.OPJ

so I think the rest should be pretty straightforward. I'll probably get round to writing a VB application to find/replace the target addresses (or parts of them) (one day ).

A bit more fiddling:

Private Sub UserForm_Click()
Dim i, t

t = ""
For i = 1 To Sheet6.Hyperlinks.Count
t = t + Sheet6.Hyperlinks.Item(i).Address + vbCrLf
Next i

TextBox1.Text = t

End Sub

The above will find all the hyperlinks in the sheet, and display a list of the targets in a textbox.

We use a system similar to "Tool Tracker".

It tracks the the materials/components/parts/tools/equipment we use on any particular project and is searchable using the project name, engineers name, end users name, project description, product description, product UPC code, product part number, tool or piece of equipment used.

Being that the majority of our projects are industrial, institutional and/or municipal, we usually just follow the project specifications created by the project engineer which vary from project to project.

In the rare event that specifications are not generated for a given project, we look up a similar project in our database and go by the information available.

I keep all my various data in a separate DATA folder that is backed up overnight to my other computer. Inside this folder I have specific folders for Projects, Finance, House, Health, etc. Any info, manuals, component specs, etc. are then stored in their own folder.

In some cases, such as reference manuals or spec sheets, I'll use Excel with hyperlinks to specific documents.

Overall, my tool-of-choice is Excel.

We are installing a new software - sharepoint. I am thinking this may be useful. Don't know yet, but sounds good. Anyone tried this yet?

Our company is in the process of installing it. The Design Standards are slowly migrating to that system. Unfortunately, this means that the logical indexing system will be lost.

hope your company has training

Training? What's that? Surely the 10 minute "it remembers the last three versions is all we need?? IT can be trusted to make sure it's all smooth and seamless....

your tagline is pretty fitting.

A controlled database is the most efficient way to manage, track and maintain a products/components/parts resource. Too often, I find organizations that allow each engineer to keep his/her own item resource. Then drafters are lost in the sea of description insanity; Screw, threaded 1/4" OR 1/4" Threaded Screw. Additionally each line/character in a bill of material is hand jammed. STOP THE INSANITY!

Hello.....today's HMIs/databases can automate this process and save hundreds of hours in typing and QA. I have kept track using resources labeled NAVISION (SAIC) or Costpoint.

Yes, it will take some resource to develop such an item database and yes it has upfront cost to implement.

Develop/enter the product/component/part ONCE then drag and drop (auto-fill) the item once in the BOM instead of hand jamming hundreds of times in multiple assembly drawings. The database maintains, datasheet, approved description, where used, cost, etc. Also maintain control of items. Yes a component engineer. Management of this resource includes reviews for part obsolence, part alternates, reliability, etc.

Here at work we use Sharepoint. I myself use a document management system called M-Files.

Works great linking all related information for a specific project together (emails, photos, Drawings/Models, Change Orders etc.). It also works seamlessly with MS Office and various other CAD/CAM packages.

For those of you that mentioned Tool Tracker...is that the software by Waterwheel? I'm trying to look it up. Thanks!

My life is simple. I use 'Favorites'. I generalize subjects, and make folders, so it all fits on the screen at one time.

For things that are not online, I use 'Shared folders' and 'Shared pictures'.

Through careful subject groping and using folders, I can get a lot of stuff on one screen.

In other words, I use my computer.

The Purchasing/Procurement Depsatment and Design Office are the appropriate locations for spec details of items used in products. The best place to keep the information, and this will also help with ISO9001 and TS16949 audits, is in the PPAP file.

Our Purchasing Department holds the PPAP files, as part of the supplier development brief. Supplier part numbers and defining characteristics are also recorded in the drawing models and in the business system.

Of course, we engineers also have our files (both electronic and paper), organised by project. We tend to refer to these for details of things we don't use...

Finally, the best list to keep is that of suppliers - so you can always be sure you're ordering their latest model.