Tips & Tricks for Adopting Model-Based Definition at Your Workplace

Change is hard.  And adopting a new methodology within your design team is no exception.  So, when your team is considering adopting model-based definition (MBD) to improve communication with manufacturing and suppliers, it’s good to know that research indicates that among the companies that have adopted MBD, a resounding 89 percent are either satisfied or extremely satisfied by their results.

Here are a few other benefits of MBD to consider:

• 61 percent fewer manufacturing mistakes/less rework
• 50 percent improvement in communications with suppliers
• 33 percent happier employees focused on more value-added work
• 28 percent shorter design cycles/time savings
• 22 percent faster access to product information

So once you’ve decided to make the change, what can you do to shorten the learning curve for adopting MBD and achieve the fastest possible ROI?

Here are some best practices from the experts…

1. Be prepared to overcome the initial resistance to change. Employees (and well…people in general) get set in their routines and schedules, so change can be challenging.  Training is critical to ensure both staff and suppliers understand the benefits.  Make sure that you have a “go to” person for help as employees are learning and provide any and all resources necessary for a successful implementation.
2. Be patient. It takes most companies between eight and nine months to fully implement MBD.  To encourage adoption and meet the needs across departments, a cross-functional team representing all potential users should develop the implementation plan.
3. Anticipate investing more effort to encourage suppliers to adopt it. Work with suppliers closely to make sure they understand the benefits.
4. Be sure that you have the hardware needed to access 3D models. The good news: many MBD solutions do not require high-end workstations and can run on lower-cost tablets, minimizing the hardware investment.
5. Maintain a positive perspective throughout implementation. Consider MBD as a strategy to improve engineering efficiency. It can enable engineers to spend more time on great design and less time on tedious drawing-related tasks.

For more details, download Tech-Clarity’s “How-to Guide to Adopting MBD” eBook to learn how you can reap benefits of MBD, shorten your learning curve to adoption, and achieve the fastest possible ROI.

Have questions? Contact us at The SolidExperts and we will be happy to help you!