A global seating and interior manufacturer, Adient supports all major automakers and vehicle classes. With a focus on innovation and positive environmental business practices, it made sense to adopt software which facilitates digital collaboration on a global scale.
For Chief Engineer Darryl Noel, the company’s previous paper based markup process was time consuming and labor intensive. Drawings had to be emailed to all involved in the review, printed, and physically marked up by each team member.
“There wasn’t really a collaboration or a central point for feedback until we got to the meeting, and it could take days to mark up all of the drawings. While that was valuable for the people who could collaborate in person, the people facilitating the feedback were limited to those onsite.”
Drawboard Projects provided Adient with the ability to include far more people in the review process, without the added administration and logistics of a physical meeting. “Now it’s a virtual room, and we’re able to work at our own pace. So we actually get a more thorough review and better feedback through it.”
Darryl first experienced Drawboard Projects when working with a Japanese automotive OEM in North America, however it was using the software with that same OEM in Japan that really showed him the extent of its capabilities.
“When we were doing overhead systems with the design homeroom in Japan, we were supporting out of Michigan to a plant in Texas with suppliers in Mexico. Globally everyone was able to get on the same page, look at the same data, and put their feedback in. We went through 3 different languages and 4 different locations, which really opened my eyes to the collaborative power of Projects”
Aside from the big positive impact on distributed teams, Drawboard Projects has increased efficiency during complex review processes by enabling better access to the most relevant information.
“For a seating system we have upwards of 300-400 drawings, but we can separate them into commodities like foam, plastic and electronics. Then I can get the experts to give detailed buy-in - you tool differently depending on the material and its constraints. Drawboard Projects allows us to bring different expertise together, which means our system level results are optimized.”
Darryl and his team also maximized the functionality of Projects by finding a solution to document approvals digitally. “What our Japanese automotive OEM customer is doing now is signing off in Drawboard - we take that output, put it into our PLM system and save it with our data release. So you have full documentation of that communication, which is very helpful.”
The Japanese concept of nemawashi - communicating with a team, gaining individual input before reaching a decision and sharing the information leading to that decision, is an important part of the team’s way of working. A major plus for Darryl is the ability to review feedback and markup history through Projects.
“We’re able to delineate who’s making individual markups, so we can go through the tradeoffs and see the results. If they’re not what we anticipated we can do a reflection on what was addressed, our focus and how we can improve the process, as each step is documented along the way.”
The transition between paper based and digital workflows was made easier due to the company’s culture of using technology to augment existing systems. “With the three step design review we are doing the same thing, just like in the conference room, but enhancing that process with Drawboard Projects”
With 48 licenses in use throughout the Adient teams, the uptake has been strong. “The team appreciates that Drawboard Projects makes three step design reviews easier. If you’re more efficient it’s more impactful. Even for new users it’s pretty intuitive for them - we haven’t had to have much in depth training on it.”
“Now, we have a higher level of efficiency, our reworks have fewer mistakes, and while the process is essentially the same - it’s definitely enhanced because of Drawboard Projects.”
After progressing from a paper-based workflow, Adient teams are able to engage more easily and collaborate more effectively, across continents and timezones without the drawbacks of international travel. Communication and feedback are optimized, decisions can be analyzed and improved on, and design reviews are more streamlined and cohesive.
A global seating and interior manufacturer, Adient supports all major automakers and vehicle classes. With a focus on innovation and positive environmental business practices, it made sense to adopt software which facilitates digital collaboration on a global scale.
For Chief Engineer Darryl Noel, the company’s previous paper based markup process was time consuming and labor intensive. Drawings had to be emailed to all involved in the review, printed, and physically marked up by each team member.
“There wasn’t really a collaboration or a central point for feedback until we got to the meeting, and it could take days to mark up all of the drawings. While that was valuable for the people who could collaborate in person, the people facilitating the feedback were limited to those onsite.”
Drawboard Projects provided Adient with the ability to include far more people in the review process, without the added administration and logistics of a physical meeting. “Now it’s a virtual room, and we’re able to work at our own pace. So we actually get a more thorough review and better feedback through it.”
Darryl first experienced Drawboard Projects when working with a Japanese automotive OEM in North America, however it was using the software with that same OEM in Japan that really showed him the extent of its capabilities.
“When we were doing overhead systems with the design homeroom in Japan, we were supporting out of Michigan to a plant in Texas with suppliers in Mexico. Globally everyone was able to get on the same page, look at the same data, and put their feedback in. We went through 3 different languages and 4 different locations, which really opened my eyes to the collaborative power of Projects”
Aside from the big positive impact on distributed teams, Drawboard Projects has increased efficiency during complex review processes by enabling better access to the most relevant information.
“For a seating system we have upwards of 300-400 drawings, but we can separate them into commodities like foam, plastic and electronics. Then I can get the experts to give detailed buy-in - you tool differently depending on the material and its constraints. Drawboard Projects allows us to bring different expertise together, which means our system level results are optimized.”
Darryl and his team also maximized the functionality of Projects by finding a solution to document approvals digitally. “What our Japanese automotive OEM customer is doing now is signing off in Drawboard - we take that output, put it into our PLM system and save it with our data release. So you have full documentation of that communication, which is very helpful.”
The Japanese concept of nemawashi - communicating with a team, gaining individual input before reaching a decision and sharing the information leading to that decision, is an important part of the team’s way of working. A major plus for Darryl is the ability to review feedback and markup history through Projects.
“We’re able to delineate who’s making individual markups, so we can go through the tradeoffs and see the results. If they’re not what we anticipated we can do a reflection on what was addressed, our focus and how we can improve the process, as each step is documented along the way.”
The transition between paper based and digital workflows was made easier due to the company’s culture of using technology to augment existing systems. “With the three step design review we are doing the same thing, just like in the conference room, but enhancing that process with Drawboard Projects”
With 48 licenses in use throughout the Adient teams, the uptake has been strong. “The team appreciates that Drawboard Projects makes three step design reviews easier. If you’re more efficient it’s more impactful. Even for new users it’s pretty intuitive for them - we haven’t had to have much in depth training on it.”
“Now, we have a higher level of efficiency, our reworks have fewer mistakes, and while the process is essentially the same - it’s definitely enhanced because of Drawboard Projects.”
After progressing from a paper-based workflow, Adient teams are able to engage more easily and collaborate more effectively, across continents and timezones without the drawbacks of international travel. Communication and feedback are optimized, decisions can be analyzed and improved on, and design reviews are more streamlined and cohesive.
We are a PDF and collaboration company. We believe that creating more effective connections between people reduces waste.
Our best work has been overtaken by busywork. That’s why we’ve created ways to help people get back to working wonders without any paper in sight.
Drawboard PDF lets you mark up and share with ease, and Drawboard Projects brings collaborative design review to architecture and engineering teams.
At Drawboard, we work our magic so our customers can get back to working theirs.
We are a PDF and collaboration company. We believe that creating more effective connections between people reduces waste.
Our best work has been overtaken by busywork. That’s why we’ve created ways to help people get back to working wonders without any paper in sight.
Drawboard PDF lets you mark up and share with ease, and Drawboard Projects brings collaborative design review to architecture and engineering teams.
At Drawboard, we work our magic so our customers can get back to working theirs.
