How we manage change on Unifize
Michael offers a behind-the-scenes look into the engineering practices at Harmonic Bionics. He talks about his reliance on tools like SolidWorks for computer modeling and Apache subversion for version control. Despite a limited software stack, there's a hands-on approach to their work, encompassing tasks from debugging robots to prototype development. Michael underscores the systematic approach they follow in documenting design outputs, hinting at the role of Unifize in this process.
Transcript

00:00 - 00:27
So oftentimes, you know, I'll be using SolidWorks to do our computer modeling. I'll use Apache subversion to handle our version control. Outside of that, we're not really software heavy here. Most of what we do is I mean, we have product in back, maybe debugging robots, working hands on with stuff, doing repairs, prototypes, that sort of thing.



00:27 - 00:34
So, you know, as a mechanical engineer here, primarily it's going to be SolidWorks and our chosen version control system.



00:34 - 01:01
So at Harmonic Bionics, we follow a system where we document our design outputs. So the file that we would send to our vendors is a step file or a PDF or some immutable document that captures a snapshot and the design of the robot that is reviewed and released and entered into Unifize my day to day workflow will usually start with me.



01:01 - 01:31
You know, maybe looking at a quality notification on Unifize saying that, hey, we should update maybe our cosmetic finishes standard and maybe I sit down, discuss the vendors over the phone, come to an agreement and update a print in SolidWorks that calls out a new specification. I'll make a commit to our version control software, get my commit number, and I will create my export files, my step in my PDF and those together we'll go on to a change order that I've created on Unifize.



01:31 - 01:49
That change order will get released and those parts will be live in our system. Our purchaser can go in, download those parts from Unifize. He knows that it's the same file that I was working on earlier that day and he knows that if he sends it to that vendor, that that's the print. The changes that we talked about that day are going to be on there.



01:49 - 02:02
So it's very versatile. You know, everybody has access to the data. There's no, you know, gates or, you know, blocks that could prevent somebody from getting to the information that they need. And it's easy to use.

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Transcript

But what we've known from what I experience was, is we were able to get there with the system. We still there with the system. The system has what is needed to provide us what we're looking for, because every company, admittedly, is trying to get compliant. If we educate people, if we get people the education that they need and to get over the fear factor, I think 90% of those things can be resolved because most people will go to what they're most familiar with.What I worked with from a different company, but they're not willing to sit down and look at what the demographics are saying. People are into social media now. People are moving fast into fast paced world. But technologies are still antiquated. So there's a disconnect here, right? So while we're moving at a fast pace at home with dragging at work, so why can't we continue that speed while we at work?If your supplier has issues and you're not informed on time, you want to have an alternate supplier in place. If your suppliers are not qualified, you may not know that that needs to happen. And so when you have an integrated system that speaks to itself and is giving you all this data, you literally have the pulse of the organization in your hands as an executive at a money bound access.

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