This article focuses on the advantages of technology over manual intervention. Products are made to order in a process that spawns a stream of changes to CAD drawings, technical specifications, bills of materials, assembly instructions, and other documents. The secret of Swagelok’s success is workflow software, which helps automate and manage repetitive business processes, such as engineering change orders, document revision, review, and design release. It lets a computer automatically route drawings and documents to every person who needs them. Workflow software creates a single system for gathering all of the necessary history, measurements, and models. Swagelok and Evernham use workflow software to control and track the movement of information. Many larger companies, on the other hand, have used workflow software to move data automatically among applications. Such complex workflows are usually part of a larger product lifecycle management solution.
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March 2004
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Simplifying Complexity-Again Available to Purchase
No Matter How Many Hands are on the Job, Technology Aims to Keep the Work Flowing.
Alan S. Brown a frequent contributor to Mechanical Engineering magazine is a freelance technical writer based in Day ton. N.J.
Mechanical Engineering. Mar 2004, 126(03): 43-45 (3 pages)
Published Online: March 1, 2004
Citation
Brown, A. S. (March 1, 2004). "Simplifying Complexity-Again." ASME. Mechanical Engineering. March 2004; 126(03): 43–45. https://doi.org/10.1115/1.2004-MAR-5
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