Drawing approval before the wrong drawing reaches the floor.
Drawings and documents stored on the project, sent for approval, and approved or rejected with the BOM — so production starts on what was signed off.
In short
Drawing approval software keeps drawings and documents in one place per project and records their approval, so purchase and production work only from what was signed off. In CRE8Rx ERP drawings are uploaded to the project, sent for approval, and approved or rejected — singly or in bulk — together with BOMs on one approvals screen.
| File types | DWG, DXF, PDF, DOCX, XLSX, PNG, JPG |
|---|---|
| Approval | Approve or reject, one by one or in bulk |
| Also approves | BOMs, on the same screen |
| Viewer | PDF and images in the browser |
| Runs on | Cloud — browser and phone, nothing to install |
For a build-to-order manufacturer the drawing is the order. It decides what purchase buys, what the floor cuts and what the customer receives. And in many factories it travels by email and WhatsApp, with file names like final_v3_revised_NEW.pdf, until nobody is sure which version the customer actually approved.
The cost is real and recurring: a part cut to an old drawing, a BOM made from a superseded layout, an argument with the customer about what was agreed. Each one is expensive, and each one happens because the approved drawing was not in one obvious place.
Drawing approval software fixes the place first. In CRE8Rx ERP drawings and documents are uploaded to the project they belong to, sent for approval from there, and approved or rejected — along with the BOM — on one approvals screen. What production works from is what was approved.
What you get
Drawings on the project
Upload DWG, DXF, PDF, Word, Excel and image files to the project's Drawings tab, where everyone working on the order can find them.
Request approval
Send a drawing or document for approval from the project, so sign-off is a recorded step rather than a reply on WhatsApp.
One approvals screen
Design approvals lists drawings, documents and BOMs waiting for a decision — approve or reject each one, or several at once.
BOM approval
Bills of material go through the same approval, so what purchase buys from is checked as carefully as what the floor builds from.
View in the browser
PDFs and images open in the built-in viewer without downloading; CAD files are downloaded to open in your CAD software.
Drives design progress
BOMs made for the project feed its Design progress bar, so the order's first stage is tracked like the rest.
Email and WhatsApp vs drawing approval software
| Email and WhatsApp | Drawing approval software | |
|---|---|---|
| Where drawings live | Mailboxes, laptops, phones | On the project |
| Which one is approved | Whoever replied last | Recorded approval |
| BOM sign-off | Separate, often skipped | Same approvals screen |
| Production works from | The copy they were sent | The approved file on the project |
A layout drawing, from upload to production
- 1The design engineer uploads the GA drawing (DWG) and its PDF to the project's Drawings tab.
- 2The PDF is sent for approval; it appears on the design approvals screen for the head of design.
- 3The head of design opens it in the browser viewer and approves it; the BOM made from it is approved on the same screen.
- 4Purchase raises POs from the approved BOM, and production starts on the approved drawing.
Why drawing control breaks down
Drawings are created in CAD, exported to PDF, emailed to the customer, marked up, returned, revised and emailed again. At each step a copy is made somewhere — a laptop, a mailbox, a phone. When production asks for the drawing, the question is not where it is but which one.
The fix is not a better naming convention. It is one place per order where drawings live, and a recorded step that says this one was approved.
Approval as a step, not a message
When a drawing is sent for approval from the project, it appears on the approvals screen for the person who decides. Approving or rejecting it is recorded, and BOMs go through the same screen. Approvals can be handled one at a time or in bulk when a project releases many drawings together.
A rejection is recorded against the drawing, so the next version is made against a known objection rather than a remembered conversation. And because pending approvals sit on one screen rather than in several inboxes, the head of design can see at a glance which projects are waiting on a decision — which is often the real reason purchase and production cannot start.
Drawings, BOM and purchase in one chain
An approved drawing leads to an approved BOM, and the approved BOM is what purchase and production work from. Keeping all three on the project means the chain from customer sign-off to material on the floor can be followed in one place.
What to check before approving a drawing
Approval is only as good as the check behind it. Before a production drawing is approved, the person signing it should be able to say yes to a short list: it matches the customer's latest approved layout and any agreed changes; the main dimensions, material grades and thicknesses are stated; finishes, tolerances and special processes are clear; the bill of material made from it lists the same items and quantities; and the drawing number and revision in the title block are the ones the team will refer to on the floor.
Doing that check on one approvals screen, with the drawing open in the browser and the BOM beside it, is quicker than it sounds and far quicker than finding a mismatch after the material has been cut. It also gives the factory something it rarely has: a record of who approved which drawing and when, which settles most of the arguments that start with 'that is not what we agreed'.
Questions people ask.
What is drawing approval software?
Software that keeps drawings and documents in one place per project and records their approval, so production and purchase work only from what has been signed off.
Which file types can be uploaded?
DWG, DXF, PDF, Word (DOCX), Excel (XLSX) and images (PNG, JPG). PDFs and images open in the browser; CAD files are downloaded to view.
Can BOMs be approved the same way?
Yes. Drawings, documents and BOMs waiting for a decision appear on the same design approvals screen, where each can be approved or rejected.
Can we approve several drawings at once?
Yes. Approvals can be handled one by one or selected together and approved or rejected in bulk.
Does it keep a revision history of drawings?
Today each upload is stored as its own file on the project. A formal revision history for drawings is not part of the product yet — upload the revised file and send it for approval again.
Who can see the drawings?
Users who can open the project, from any browser — the drawings are on the project's Drawings tab rather than in personal mailboxes.
Can the customer's approved drawing be kept on the project?
Yes. Upload the customer's signed or marked-up copy to the project's Drawings tab alongside your own drawings, so the approved version is on record with the order.
What happens if a drawing is deleted by mistake?
Deleted project drawings and documents go to Trash rather than disappearing, and can be restored from there — so a slip of the mouse does not lose the approved copy of an order's drawing.
Related parts of the system
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