I am not sure whether this may be the correct list to post to, however i am sure there is a large number of IT professionals on this list who may be able to provide some insight on a problem.
I work for a small engineering firm as a design engineer, i also have the task of being the the IT manager for our small network. Hence please bear with me if i dont make complete sense since it is not my first trade!
A large percentage of our work consists generating CAD drawings and instruction sheets (document type), this results in a large number CAD files and word format files, we have quite a sensible numbering system for each job hence it is relatively easy to find jobs when the job number is known.
We operate a database system which contains records of all the jobs, these are manually inputted as the job is raised. This can be searched and will display the related documents but not there location. The database is not linked to the files.
Thats where the sensible part ends! All the word documents are on a central server (doubling as a desktop for me!) hence these are quickly found when looking, but all the CAD files are stored on the respective engineers PC, hence if engo A does job # 123456 all the CAD related files will be located his machine. This can get quite messy if you are looking for job files quickly, also makes files get lost easily. Now most likely people are thinking why not keep all CAD files on the central server? The primary reason for this is: if there two or three people accessing CAD files on the server machine - the server slows to a standstill and the clients machine becomes unusable, this is a result of the CAD files being quite large and fully parametric.
So the solution i am looking for? - (upgrading to a faster LAN is not really an option - although i would like too!!)
We wish to have the ability to search a database using multiple options (job number, keyword etc), on completion of a successful search result, the software? would display the related documents for that job, ie CAD files, word docs, pix etc. To add another dimension to it, we would also like to be able to access any of the files presented in the results immediately without having to manually go to the individual machine and locate and open the file.
To be able do this would greatly reduce the time spent chasing down lost files on each machine when a query comes in from a customer- not to mention making it much easier for staff who are not familiar with all files and their location!
has anyone out there implemented solutions for this type of problem? I am sure larger organisations would have solved this problem quite some time ago.
I would greatly appreciate it if someone could share their expertise in this area or point me in the right direction towards learning more about this.
If more information is required please do no hesitate to contact me - i hope i have made some sense in identifying our needs.
gerard
------------------------- Aeronautical Design Engineer Gerard Blacklock Auto Avia Design P/L Ph. 61 2 9791 0164 Fax 61 2 9791 0175 http://www.autoavia.com.au
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