CAD outsourcing?

June 1, 2008 2:23 PM

Is it feasible to outsource my CAD work? Has anybody tried this? What are the legal implications?

I work at an architecture firm and spend the vast majority of my time drafting in AutoCAD. A lot of the projects are pretty repetitive with similar detailing. What are my prospects for outsourcing this work? Has anybody tried this, either locally or abroad? What kind of quality might I expect from work done externally? What does such a service generally cost? Any recommendations? Would it be a bad idea for me to do this without asking my employer (in order to forgo being preemptively shot down)?

posted by mockdeep to work & money (7 comments total)

> Would it be a bad idea for me to do this without asking my employer (in order to forgo being preemptively shot down)?

Yes, it would. Imagine if you were the employer and you hired someone to do stuff and they outsourced it.
posted by Listener at 2:59 PM on June 1, 2008

Previous: http://ask.metafilter.com/91257/Outsourcing-proprietary-work
posted by saintsguy at 3:05 PM on June 1, 2008

Not an answer to your question, but have you considered scripting Autocad to automate these repetitive tasks?
posted by qxntpqbbbqxl at 3:28 PM on June 1, 2008

Would it be a bad idea for me to do this without asking my employer (in order to forgo being preemptively shot down)?

If you were a full-fledged, licensed architect, and had some budgetary responsibility for the project, outsourcing your work without clearing it whomever has ultimate responsibility for the project would be a sleazy, unethical and possibly illegal "bad idea" However, since you are a relatively new intern architect, it would still be sleazy, unethical and illegal, but calling this a "bad idea" would be like calling World War II a skirmish.

If you don't plan to tell your employer, do you plan on paying the drafters from your paycheck and then passing the work off as your own? Possibly to avoid working late on projects and enable you to go back to school or spend more time pursuing your personal goals while still getting paid and putting in the internship years to get your Architecture license?

What are my prospects for outsourcing this work? Has anybody tried this, either locally or abroad? What kind of quality might I expect from work done externally? What does such a service generally cost?

Years ago, I worked for an interior design firm in Miami who used several freelance AutoCAD drafters. They were all local and met with the managing designer(s) at least once a week, if not more. Their work was superior and while their rates varied, the least expensive one made double what the jr. associate (a licensed architect) made, and several times more than the intern designers. In the best case scenario, this idea, if it is non-authorized and paid for out of your net earnings, will end up costing you a lot of money. In the worst case scenario, the cost could skyrocket beyond what you can afford to pay and you (or your employer if you pass this off as a contract between your employer and the drafter) could end up being sued. I don't know anything about the logistics or cost of outsourcing to an overseas AutoCAD drafter, my experience in the industry was in the mid-90's, before the days of easy online outsourcing.
posted by necessitas at 4:09 PM on June 1, 2008 [1 favorite]

@ necessitas, et al.

I hadn't exactly been picturing it in such a sleazy way. Certainly I am always on the lookout for ways to pursue my other goals as you so astutely observed, but I am also always looking for ways to improve my current working situation and the atmosphere and effectiveness of the firm as a whole. I recalled hearing at some point that some firms are are finding it cost effective to outsource their drafting work, especially to companies in India and China. I am simply trying to find out if it is feasible and worthwhile, and if so, how I might introduce it to our company. I had my own reservations about doing it on my own without telling the higher-ups (at least initially) and your comments have confirmed my reservations.

Let's make it a given that I will have to get the approval of my superiors before getting something like this off the ground. The question remains, is it worthwhile?
posted by mockdeep at 4:41 PM on June 1, 2008

I'm glad you've seen the light about the ethical issues involved with your original idea.

Before you spend too much time thinking about presenting this option to your employer, ask yourself what's in it for the company. If intern architects typically work long hours doing monotonous, dull tasks, and you find a cheaper way for the company to get your job done, will you still have a job. If so, what will they be paying you to do if your job is being done by another person (or possibly many cheap people)?

I checked out the AIA's site to see if they had more information about AutoCAD outsourcing in the Architecture industry. I just did a quick search for outsourcing and clicked on a random article. It seems like a pretty good place to start your research, as name-checks some overseas outsourcing firms. It also discusses the logistics, pros and cons of outsourcing. This paragraph may be particularly relevant to you:

Is there a downside? Outsourcing drafting could short-circuit the training of young architects. From what I see, though, the staff is still getting that experience. How many times do you have to draw toilet partitions and elevations to know how they work? By working toward smarter drawings, our associates are still learning what they will need to know.

At the end of the day, whether or not you should pitch this, and/or how you should pitch it, depends on whether or not the company has the financial resources and volume to make this worthwhile for them while continuing to keep you employed.

It may also be worth considering whether or not it is appropriate for an intern architect to pitch business/management type ideas, especially ones that involve outsourcing the dull, tedious parts of their job/training
posted by necessitas at 6:15 PM on June 1, 2008

Seconding qxntpqbbbqxl on scripting. You can drive many standard details from spreadsheets if you invest the work in making the scripts.
posted by jet_silver at 6:28 PM on June 1, 2008