CoLab Software

We’ve entered a new era of engineering… but the collaboration tools for mechanical teams haven’t caught up yet. Until now, that is. Tired of fighting with unspecialized software? And trying to run sophisticated engineering programs that still rely on email and Excel? So were we. 😑 That’s why CoLab decided to do something about it. Watch this video to hear our CEO and co-founder, Adam Keating, explain what’s holding engineering teams back today—and how CoLab solves the problem. To learn even more about CoLab, visit colabsoftware.com *** (And a very grateful shoutout to the fine folks at m5 Marketing Communications who partnered with us to create this video!)

Does this sound familiar? 👉 You create a technical data package for your supplier to review. 👉 You send that package via email or a PowerPoint link. 👉 You wait… and wait… and wait for your supplier to review the files 👉 You set up a meeting to review the final quotes. And before you know it, months have passed and you still don't have all the information you need. It doesn’t have to be this way. Speed is still the greatest hurdle for teams trying to bring suppliers into the product development process. Teams who use CoLab set-up dedicated Portals for suppliers to review drawings, 3D models and PMI documentation. So, you get the critical input you need without the hassle of packaging, sending and waiting for feedback. All with direct support from your PLM — rather than just another app for your team to ignore. #suppliercollaboration #engineeringdesignreview

We wrapped up the Design Engagement Summit last week: CoLab's first user conference. Attendees heard some amazing talks, like: 🔷 Scaling innovation and product development in large companies with Stephen Gibson 🔷 Digital evolution in engineering with Dave Russell 🔷 Communicating design intent: Strategies for effective collaboration with local and global suppliers with Eric Burbank 🔷 Fostering a human-centered engineering culture with Joakim Finn 🔷 Defining and realizing MBD success with Evan Kessick, GDTP-S 🔷 Improving design quality during new product development with Prashant Reddy ... among others! But, when we asked attendees what their favorite part was, the same answer came up again and again: 🤝 "Meeting people and companies that struggle with the same issues." 🤝 "Meeting passionate industry pioneers and breaking down barriers to get deep about real problems" 🤝 "I think the networking was the most valuable" 🤝 "Collaboration with others and building relationships" Get passionate, innovative engineering pioneers in a room together and it just works. 🤘 Here's to DES 2025! #des2024 #des2025

"Best conference I've ever attended!" "Can’t wait until next year! And for what the future of CoLab holds." "I feel like I've joined a new family." "I’ve been to quite a few conferences, and this has by far been the best. Great people. Great speakers. Great collaboration." Safe to say we can't wait for DES 2025! 🤘 #designengagementsummit

We kicked off the first ever Design Engagement Summit here in St John’s, NL yesterday evening — With a quick tour of Cape Spear (the Eastern-most point in North America), followed by a welcome reception 🥂 Today, we’ve got educational sessions, hands on training, and demos all day long. Stay tuned for more photos 📸

📣 Announcement time: we're thrilled to shoutout NINE internal promotions at CoLab! Please join us in congratulating: 🎉 Sarah Canning 🎉 Robert P. 🎉 Peter Gosse 🎉 Peter McGaw 🎉 Jacob Pitcher 🎉 Justin McLeod 🎉 Adam Engram 🎉 Tim Griffin 🎉 Tahsin Ahmed Prottoy For their well-deserved promotions! Your dedication and hard work are truly appreciated, and we’re excited to see the continued impact you’ll make in your new roles. One team, one mission!   #promotions #employeeexperience #colab

Engineering leaders estimate 23% of engineering time is wasted on non-value-add activities. For engineers, time is critical. Everyone wants to launch products faster, iterate faster, automate more tasks. Yet: time spent in meetings, time spent searching for feedback, time spent providing feedback, time spent waiting – these are all significant sources of engineering time spent. And time wasted. The question that needs to be answered for your team is: how much time waste can our engineering team realistically tolerate before it starts detracting value from the company? #engineeringdesignreview

Be honest: the way you're filtering design review feedback today is in a spreadsheet, right? Hey, we get it. Our rough estimation is that 99% of the engineering world is run on spreadsheets 😉 But, there's a better way. Engineering teams need to be able to: 👉 Filter design review feedback 👉 See those comments with all the accompanying metadata, like who created it? And who is this assigned to? 👉 Click any comment and be brought to the exact context of that comment Feedback filtering in a spreadsheet is Design Review 1.0 Real-time feedback filtering in the context of the model is Design Review 2.0 #engineeringdesignreview

About 1 in 4 engineering leaders believe design review quality is the # 1️⃣ predictor of an on-time delivery in product development. ❌ The problem is: 90% of these same leaders admit to delaying some percentage of their product launches due to late stage design changes. Where's the disconnect? 👉 The way teams do design review hasn't changed in 5, 10, sometimes 20+ years. It's still done in meetings, spreadsheets, email and manual notes. To start solving downstream product development problems, engineering teams need to start looking upstream: In the early stages of product development. #engineeringdesignreview

Engineering leaders estimate 43% of all design review feedback is lost and never documented. It's no wonder when most issues only get brought up in design review meetings. And your only method for documenting these is someone manually entering each one into a notebook or spreadsheet. Better design review starts with: 👉 Bringing any reviewer into a model or drawing, so they can leave feedback on their time 👉 Using a tool that automatically tracks all your design issues 👉 Replacing issue generation meetings with asynchronous design decision-making #engineeringdesignreview