It’s no surprise that for some running a 3D print shop at this time of the year might be a nightmare. 

Managing a 3D print shop is no easy task if you are an engineering manager. Regardless of whether you have been managing all of your printers for a while or are new to the role, there are certain steps that you can take to help you bring your shop into the new year. That comes in the form of work order management software!

What Is Work Order Management Software?

Work order management software is an invaluable tool that helps an engineering and shop manager effectively track and manage work orders and information into a single place. This means that within the software all requests, job specifications, job statuses, communication, and much more are in a single centralized place. 

A great work order management software is meant to simplify the process of creating and completing a job or part by making all steps of the process intuitive and easy to follow wherever your position is in the process.

Why Does Your Engineering Team Need this Software?

When there are teams of designers, with specific jobs, all with different due dates, and a shop full of printers, they key to keeping everyone happy is organization which is easier said than done.

• A work order can get lost if you are relying on a string of emails.
• A spreadsheet can become overfilled with data.
• Pen and paper is unsecure when used to track the intricate details of a job.
• Some job files might have errors that have to be communicated to the requestor of the job.

Being able to track material usage and cost manually is time consuming and wastes money in it’s own way! Having a work order management software can remove a significant amount of the guesswork and manual labor associated with running a shop by automating parts of the workflow. Learn more about must-have features for work order management.

The Benefits of a Work Order Management Software

Streamlined workflow

All the information whether it is solely the part file, photographs, or additional documentation needed to complete a job is presented to you in a centralized place so that no time is wasted at any step of the process.

Simplified communication

Part statuses, notifications, centralized correspondence can help ease the person requesting the job along with the person completing it. Why search within your email to find the information when you can just click on the order and keep things contained within one place?

 Intuitive multi-shop management

The ability to set up a shop for potentially separate departments, a lab, locations, projects, and customers can mean more than completing a job easier or faster. It allows for personalization and greater organization.

Cost savings

On average, 15% of a 3D print shop’s week is wasted due to ineffective ways to track work order assignments along with communicating back and forth with engineers, designers, and operators. Effectively tracking your cost along with materials also prevent unnecessary usage and spending.

Quick setup

Our own work order management software, GrabCAD Shop is easy to use and simple to set up in roughly 30 minutes! Half an hour is a small sacrifice when compared to the amount of time you can save this year by signing up for a free trial of GrabCAD Shop.