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Usually, poor communication isn’t due to a lack of will – people generally want to communicate effectively and avoid these issues – but arises from insufficient communication channels and inefficient processes, making collaboration ineffective and sluggish.
This article discusses why communication between departments is crucial for any successful electrical design project.
Why Interdepartmental Communication Is Important
To design and implement an effective electrical system, all stakeholders need to have a clear understanding and overview of the project as a whole, and how their individual responsibilities fit in. That means knowing what the other departments are working on in as close to real-time as possible, and how the electrical design aspects will fit into the bigger picture – including production and assembly.
The consequences of poor communication can lead to all kinds of problems for you and your team.
If you're not coordinating efficiently with the other departments, suppliers, and stakeholders, you run the risk of making design changes that conflict with their plans. This can lead to expensive delays and reworks at later stages of the project, often putting it outside budget and timeframe. The same applies on the other side of the divide; if you're not keeping the other stakeholders in the loop regarding the design elements, they may make decisions that impact your work without even realising it. So, while excellent communication and collaboration are important for any streamlined process, it's especially crucial in electrical design!
How EPLAN Can Improve Communication Between Departments
EPLAN offers the perfect solution for electrical design teams to collaborate efficiently with each other and other stakeholders involved in a project using EPLAN Cloud. Elements of the project, including schematics, parts libraries, electrical standards, specifications etc, can be accessed and coordinated within the EPLAN Platform.
The free cloud-based collaboration tools – such as EPLAN eVIEW, EPLAN eMANAGE & EPLAN eSTOCK, let you make quick comments, edits and revisions on the go, securely share and manage data with defined stakeholders and manage devices in a centralised database. It is up to you who gets access to your engineering project data as the clearly definable access rights ensure data security. Overall, these solutions strengthen communication as everyone involved is on the same page.
The applications EPLAN Smart Wiring and EPLAN Smart Mounting also encourage better communication between the technician on the shop floor and the design engineers in the office. Whilst assembling and wiring a panel, the applications allow the technicians to send instant messages to the engineering team using an iPad or tablet, highlighting any component problems or changes. This means that the design engineer can make quick changes to the design and update the version on the device before any important things are misinterpreted, dropped, or forgotten.
Are You Seeking Ways To Improve Your Team’s Communication?
To find out more about how EPLAN solutions can facilitate better communication between your team, other departments and stakeholders, you can register for free to the EPLAN Cloud and explore these solutions for yourself.
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