Engineers often find themselves engaged in complex and iterative processes, especially when it comes to tasks like drafting shop drawings. In such scenarios, employing a Kanban board can significantly enhance an engineer's efficiency and overall job satisfaction. Kanban, rooted in Agile project management principles, provides a visual and flexible framework that aligns seamlessly with the iterative nature of drafting shop drawings.

One of the primary benefits of utilizing a Kanban board lies in its ability to provide a clear and transparent overview of the entire workflow. Engineers can visualize the different stages involved in the drafting process, from initial design to final review, on a single board. This transparency not only helps in tracking the progress of each task but also enables the identification of potential bottlenecks and areas for improvement. By having a visual representation of the workflow, engineers can prioritize tasks, allocate resources effectively, and ensure a smoother progression of the project.

Using the Kanban Board to Manage your Drawings

	Add a New Drawing: Click the green plus-sign button to create a new drawing, then choose the project you’re creating the new drawing record for. Select the type of drawing from the list. And give it a name/description. Once you’ve created a drawing record, you can manage the record in greater detail from the Drawings form, which shows you drawings globally from all your projects, or by navigating to: Project->Drawings.
	What Date is Important to You? From the Date dropdown, choose what date you want to see on each drawing card.
	How do you want to sort your Kanban board? In addition to the avatar representing who the drawing is assigned to, you can select an additional role, and if that role has someone assigned to toe project, their avatar will display.
	Who’s the Project Manager Associated with this Drawing? In addition to the avatar representing who the drawing is assigned to, you can select an additional role to display.
	See how many tasks are assigned/completed on the drawing. Each drawing card will display the total number of tasks completed/assigned.
	Hover over a drawing to see a flyout with additional details. See important date history, additional people assigned to the project, the current status, or even click a link to take you directly to the parent project. Click the Data tab to see important tracking dates, or user-defined-columns you’ve added to your drawings. Click the Notes tab to see existing notes or add additional notes. Clicking the project link will take you directly to the project. Right-click to Add, Edit, or Delete notes.
	Use global filters to focus on what’s important to you. As the number of active projects grows, you may want to filter your results to focus on just a particular status, or perhaps a single project. Utilizing Filters gives you the ultimate flexibility to see just the data that is important to you.

Why Managing Drawings in Kanban Makes Sense

The iterative nature of drafting shop drawings often involves multiple rounds of review and approval from clients. Kanban's flexibility allows engineers to adapt to changes seamlessly. Tasks can be easily dragged-and-dropped from one status to another as needed, providing the agility required for the dynamic nature of the review and approval process. This adaptability ensures that the project stays on track despite revisions and feedback, ultimately leading to faster turnaround times. Crows Nest automatically updates key dates making the Engineer/Drafter’s job much quicker and easier.

Furthermore, the collaborative nature of Kanban fosters better communication within the engineering team and with clients. Engineers can easily communicate updates, changes, or challenges through the Kanban board, creating a shared understanding of the project status. This collaborative approach not only streamlines communication but also promotes a sense of accountability among team members.

Drag-and-Drop to Update a Drawing’s Status

In conclusion, incorporating a Kanban board into the project management workflow for drafting shop drawings can greatly benefit engineers. The visual transparency, adaptability to changes, and enhanced collaboration provided by Kanban align perfectly with the iterative nature of the engineering process, resulting in increased efficiency and overall project success.