Title: 0.5 The Engineering Notebook Lesson
Course: ATEP - MMT: Module A: > Section: WELCOME TO MODULE A - DESIGN FOR MANUFACTURING

0.5.1 The Engineering Notebook

The engineering notebook is a documentation of everything done to accomplish the goal. The purpose is to assist the team in easily finding prior information during reviews and iterations of the design process by keeping your thoughts in order.  It becomes a legal document when each page is signed and dated in ink by the author, usually at the bottom.  As a legal document, it is admissible in court to support the claims of the engineer or company.  Written information should include:

- All team ideas and thoughts
- Names and addresses of all contacts
- Discussions with mentors
- Letters and emails
- Telephone conversations
- Dates and times
- Where you found pertinent information
- Sketches that show your ideas
- Dimensions, materials and colors
- Alternative solutions and improvements of each idea

All of this information can help lead to different approaches to solving the problem.  Pages are normally bound to eliminate the ability to add or remove any work.  The engineering notebook has been used many times to assist in obtaining patents for inventions by showing the dates of work on a product or process.

How to create and maintain an Engineering Notebook:
- Write NEATLY — anyone should be able to read it.
- Write down EVERYTHING AS IT HAPPENS.
- If it is not documented, it did not happen
- If you write it the next day, it did not happen.
- Use both sides of a page.
- Date each entry in chronological order.
- Clearly separate each day's entry by drawing a line under the entry.
- Entries should include enough information so someone else could successfully duplicate your work.
- Label figures and sketches. Keep sketches up-to-date – make changes as they happen.
- Use complete sentences – a complete sentence is a complete thought that begins with capitalization and ends with a form of punctuation.
- Draw a single line through any incorrect ideas and enter the correct information close to the original.
- Avoid blank spaces by placing an “X” in any blank spots.
- Never remove pages from your notebook.
- Avoid adding pages but, if you must, tape or glue it onto a page in your notebook and clearly label it with a date.

As you make phone calls to obtain information,  create a log that will show the date, time, total time spent, person you talked to, the phone number and a short summary of the discussion.  In the same manner, for any meetings or appointments, create a log that shows the date, time, location, who you met with, the purpose and the results.

Knowledge Note:  New technology in the form of collaboration websites have also changed the way that this information is maintained. Websites such as "iHub," "VIP" and "Windchill" allow teams from different locations around the world to work on the same project using a systematic method of uploading and downloading everything from documents, computer drawings, memos, CPM/PERT and Gantt charts while maintaining prior copies in the internet "cloud."