Records and Communications: The Engineering Drawing

Introducing a new product, or an improvement to an existing one, is normally a very straightforward process for a one-man business, where the designer, builder and salesman are one and the same person. Today, very few engineering products are produced this way. The product complexity and sophisticated controls needed in the producing organisation (to remain competitive), have resulted in organisations splitting into departments specialising in particular areas of the business. These may include design, production engineering, purchasing, testing, sales, etc. The new product introduction process as introduced in Chapter 1 indicates that for almost all organisations a number of departments and people are going to be involved in the process. It is essential that an efficient means of communicating the details of the engineering artefact is used.