Requirements checklist
What to ask for when choosing software for switchgear manufacturers.
A checklist built from how switchgear manufacturers work, to print or save as a PDF and bring to any supplier meeting.
What the software should cover
Tick each one that matters to your business.
- Feeder schedule and panel bill of materials
- Drawing revision control
- Bought-in component tracking
- Busbar and fabrication stages
- Routine test records
- Variations and dispatch
Roles that need their own access
Who logs in, and what each person may see or change.
- For the design office
- For estimators and sales
- For stores and purchasing
- For shop floor supervisors
- For test bay engineers
Reports to ask for
Ask to see each one with your own sample data.
- Lineups by stage, with panels held for missing components
- Drawing revisions awaiting consultant approval
- Bought-in items on order against the panel they are reserved for
- Busbar pieces out for plating and their expected return
- Routine test results by panel serial number
- Variations raised against each order
- Dispatches and invoices by client
Systems it may need to connect to
Note which ones you already run.
- Accounting export
- Drawing file storage
- Label printer
Questions for any vendor
Put these to every supplier you are comparing.
- Does it keep drawing revisions against each lineup?
- Can I price a panel from a template?
- How does it handle breakers bought from other makers?
- Can busbar going out for plating be followed?
- What test records are kept?
- Does the software certify a panel?
- Can client changes after approval be priced?
- What decides the price of the software?
- Will our old job files carry over?
- Who maintains templates when we add a feeder type?
Where the work usually breaks today
Circle the ones you recognise. They set the order of the project.
- Drawing revisions drift from the floor
- Bought-in breakers set the schedule
- Busbar work is hard to trace
- Test reports sit in loose files
- Variations pile up after approval
Prefer to talk it through? See the switchgear manufacturers page.