Development and worldwide implementation of an electronic drawing control system for the petrochemical industry

Journal of Engineering Technology, Spring 2002 by Attia, Farouk G, Jorden, Chris A

This link is a fast and flexible tool to send graphics and data worldwide in realtime, which promotes concurrent engineering during the early product development phase of the manufacturing cycle.

Abstract

This study describes the design, development, and implementation of an Electronic Drawing Control System (EDCS) for an oilfield equipment manufacturing company. It shows how an EDCS adds value to the manufacturing environment by enhancing real-time communication with customers. Most manufacturers can implement similar systems to enhance customer interaction and shorten manufacturing lead times.

The EDCS was designed to provide a communication link between the customer and the company's sales, engineering design, manufacturing, and purchasing departments. This link is a fast and flexible tool to send graphics and data worldwide in real-time, which promotes concurrent engineering during the

early product development phase of the manufacturing cycle. The system can be implemented via a compact disk (CD), the Internet, or a combination of both, and is designed to be compatible with the rapidly changing fields of computer hardware and software. The EDCS utilizes digital drawings, commercial databases, product documentation, and utility programs to display data in several formats. The company has successfully used the EDCS for approximately one year, with only a few hardware and software modifications that were identified after implementing the system in many diverse environments. This paper also presents a case study that identifies typical customer needs and provides EDCS-based solutions.

Introduction

Global industrial competition requires American manufacturers to produce high-quality products with proven designs at low cost while satisfying customers' demands. Used properly, electronic communications can greatly improve productivity gains in manufacturing. Recent advances in information technology provide an inexpensive and efficient communication environment for customer interaction with the manufacturing company. As technology continues to enhance the ability to communicate in realtime, customers can expect their needs to be met with improved speed, accuracy, and customization.1,2 A Houstonbased oilfield equipment manufacturer increasingly needed a new communication method that would reduce communication time and improve quality and productivity.

In general, oilfield service companies provide downhole tooling for oil exploration, drilling, and production to customers around the world. Since oil wells vary in many aspects, service companies must deliver customized products that feature different options such as size, weight, material grade, length, thread connections, and pressure ratings. A typical product line comprises over 2000 designs and creates a vast array of choices. In this dynamic environment, the oilfield service company needs an easily adapted drawing control system to help satisfy the complex and changing demands of their customers.

An agile manufacturer of oilfield equipment provides customized drawings and other documentation describing its products. To strengthen communication with customers, a successful EDCS must provide flexible and accurate tools that enable salesmen to market, sell, and maintain their oilfield equipment drawings. In this case, product images are generated from the company's standardized AutoCAD files. A commercial software package converts these vectorbased AutoCAD files into raster images, making them Windows-based extended metafiles. Such conversion not only provides the salesman with a user-friendly file format, it also prevents sending scaled equipment drawings suitable for machining. Images are stored on a centralized NT-based server as well as on CDs that are frequently updated and distributed.3

The original document control system was time consuming and labor intensive. As shown in figure 1, the typical workflow of customer requests consisted of receiving a fax or mail, logging the request and forwarding it to the proper personnel, locating drawings and instructions in a file cabinet, and then reproducing the required data. In the event a product drawing was not filed, the customer's request was forwarded to the Engineering Department to locate the required information or produce a new design. The system used traditional communication methods that required a considerable amount of time to perform routine tasks, such as delivery of an unformatted request for drawings, manual search of existing drawings, and transmission of drawings and requests between different entities.

In response to the need for a better drawing control system, the new EDCS was designed to provide a more efficient communication link between the customer and the company's various departments. Graphics and data can be transmitted in real-time via the Internet, allowing the customer to view desired product information on demand. EDCS users download the required new data and store it locally on their hard drive, replacing earlier CD-based drawings and part data. Available bandwidth controls Internet download time. In this way, revised drawings can be used in real-time to negotiate new purchases with the customer.