Drawing office management and organization

This chapter focuses on the drawing office and the various tasks performed by it. The drawing office is generally regarded as the heart of any manufacturing organization. Products, components ideas, layouts, or schemes, which may be presented by a designer in the form of rough freehand sketches, may later be developed stage by stage into working drawings and annotated 3D models by the draughtsman. A perfect drawing communicates an exact requirement, or specification, that cannot be misinterpreted and which may form part of a legal contract between supplier and user. The first British Standard for Engineering Drawing Office Practice was published in September, 1927 that contained only 14 clauses including sizes of drawings and tracings, and widths of tracing cloth and paper; position of drawing number, date and name; indication of scale; method of projection; and types of line and writing. The field of activity of the draughtsman may involve the use or an appreciation of company communications, company standards, standards for dimensioning, draughting standards, and codes of practice and standards for costs. The drawing office may receive various work from the sales department such outline drawings for prospective customers or for illustrations, charts and graphs for technical publications, modifications to production units to suit customers' particular requirements, application and installation diagrams, and feasibility investigation. The drawing office also receives work from the service department related to maintenance tools and equipment, service kits for overhauls, or for service manuals.