For those that read this blog on a regular basis you by now know that I am headed for the west coast in 4 months for SolidWorks World 2008. For the past couple of months I have been posting about different items that you could use in a presentation to give to the upper management at you place of employment. I had talked about the many different ways to give the final presentation such as a powerpoint show or a hard copy notebook full of different items for them to look at. The latter is what I was planning on using but as time went on and it was getting closer to the 1st Early Bird cutoff I realized that I was running out of time. You all probably deal with this to one extent or another in the work world – deadlines that you need to meet which force you to put aside other things that need to be done. So I ended up sending an email to the president of the company I work at that looked a little something like this:

_____,

It’s that time of year again to sign up for SolidWorks World 2008. I really think attending would be very beneficial to __________ because I think the breakout sessions (classes) that I could attend would help engineering run smoother in some areas and give us some tips and tricks that could increase productivity in some areas. I have talked to multiple people that have attended and even a boss that has sent his employees and I have yet to find one that hasn’t thought it to be necessary to attend. The cost right now is $795 if I sign up before September 29, then it goes up to $895 before December 21 and then it is $995 after that. The cost includes all meals and evening activities but does not include hotel or travel there and back. SolidWorks World consists of different breakout sessions that the attendees can choose from covering about anything SolidWorks does, there are keynote speakers every morning I believe that everyone attends and this is usually from the president of SolidWorks and other “famous” people that use the software. There is also an exhibitor hall with about every add-on and partner of SolidWorks in attendance (i.e. CamWorks and others). Here is the website for SolidWorks World 2008 if you would like to check it out: http://www.solidworks.com/pages/swworld08/index.html. I have attached an excel spreadsheet that shows if we increase productivity by a percentage (you fill in) how much you would save in wages. You can also change the wage amount also to check out average of engineering department. If you have other questions please let me know. I had turned in a Engineering Operating Expense sheet to _____ earlier in the year that I know he gave to _____ and I had SolidWorks World included on there so the price wasn’t a surprise. Also please read the testimony below from another boss that sends his guys to SolidWorks World every year, hopefully it gives you a viewpoint from someone else that is in your position.

Why a manager should send staff to SolidWorks World

By Bob Jordan, PE

Every manager looks for an “edge,” that ability to get more with less, and today to get yet even more with yet even less. This edge is becoming increasingly mandatory as innovative companies are springing up all around (and they are attracting top talent) and global competition is now a fact of life (inefficiencies are more glaring, and the lack of cost competitiveness is crippling).

Three things are required of a manager or a staff member: intense personal will (“guts, determination, persistence, etc.”), competency, and character. The manager has the role of executing the will of the organization through the people he has the privilege of leading. To do that requires that his staff be competent. Competency comes at a price (investing in training). The lack of competency comes at a higher price (missed opportunity, low morale, frustration, even the closing of a business). Specific to SolidWorks, it is clear to anyone in manufacturing that SolidWorks is the #1 method of communicating technical details between manufacturer and vendor. Whether you manage a manufacturing organization or are a vendor to one, being sharp in the modern uses of SolidWorks is a must-have. The vendor who is inept at this skill (especially the modern applications) demonstrates that their organization is sub-par and that he, the SolidWorks user, is not at the varsity level. This is a competitive disadvantage. The manufacturer who is not using the modern tools of SolidWorks looks poor to the vendor who is expert in the current tools.

Any manager can say “no, no, no,” and many (most) do. The professional manager will assess his investment in the ongoing training of his staff in modern manufacturing processes and say yes to those things that contribute to business value. This is what separates a good manager from a great manager. The good manager keeps the department reasonably productive, cuts costs which impress the brass above him, and has some morale problems and turnover issues (because the excellent people leave), but not too excessive. He gets product out and does what he’s told. The excellent manager has a highly trained, highly motivated staff that has creative ideas, are eager to learn, and stay with the organization. They can build on successes and don’t waste time redoing, or doing inefficiently, that which can be done once right and then they move on. Excellent managers focus on building people, and those people build product, good product. Great managers see farther than the good manager – the great manager raises the level of those around him by building his staff and his staff’s competency. There are not many great managers around, so one can be mediocre or even fair and make if for a long time (if his company stays in business).

I have sent my CAD Administrator, Mechanical Engineers, and entry-level CAD technicians to SolidWorks World. They come back with knowledge of the modern features of this key industrial tool. They develop systems for document control, for transmitting drawings to vendors, and for teaching and training others to use the tools. Our down-time was nil because they know installation and upgrade procedures forward and backward because they were taught this. They learn of time-saving third-party add-ons that save hours and hours in the workplace. They network with other users and have a rapid source for problem solving; they are motivated to attend users groups (after-hours and on their own time). In short, they are professional users of the language of manufacturing – SolidWorks.

The investment I make annually in SolidWorks World pays for itself in annual productivity, getting things done, keeping morale high, zero turnover of staff, and contributes to a culture of personal and professional continuous improvement and a performance culture. My CAD users did amazing things with SolidWorks – and that wouldn’t have happened without my investment in their development. Investing in SolidWorks World for my CAD users gave me an edge in my industry.

Bob Jordan is a licensed professional engineer and has been a manager/VP in manufacturing organizations for over 10 years, serving in regulated industries (aerospace, medical device) as well as non-regulated industries (industrial equipment, car racing). In his tenure as manager he has never had a staff member quit on him, and has often inherited low-morale departments, only to transform them into the department people wanted to be a part of. Bob has developed new product development systems, quality management systems, manufacturing processes, and educational programs for over 20 years.

If you have any other additional questions please feel free to ask me.

This email is far what I was hoping to be able to present to them, however it must have worked. It is my personal feeling that the testimony written by Bob Jordan is a big reason why I will be attending. All of this goes to show that no matter how much you plan to do something you just never know what will come up, and therefore you never know what the results will be because of this. Please leave comments as to how you convinced your management to send you if you are also a 1st time attendee, I would be very interested to see the different routes that people went.

P.S. – 14 Days until the Early Bird Cutoff #1 and 129 Days until SolidWorks World 2008