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I am Creating a List of Industrial RoadTesters. Are You Interested?

rscasny

Greetings RoadTesters!

 

As we ramp up offering more and more RoadTests, one of the new issues that's come up is more industrial suppliers would like their products RoadTested. This has posed a bit of a challenge for me. The community's RoadTest program has historically featured dev boards and the like for makers or electronic engineers. As such, a lot of the members of the RoadTest group are part of the makewr/bench tech/EDE type.image

 

To solve the problem, I would like to create a list of members who would be interested in being an industrial RoadTesters. How will it work? Honestly, I don't have all the details worked out. The two scenarios I see are: (A) run a regular RoadTest and if I don't get applicants, I would contact members of the Industrial RoadTest list, or (B) treat this group like a RoadTest by Invitation. I surely don't want to eliminate any member who would like to RoadTest an industrial product, but I guess I am saying I need a backup plan.

 

Who Am I looking for? I am interested in finding members who do have industrial tech or engineering experience. People who have worked in manufacturing or have been field engineers or even technicians who who worked around machinery. Even people who have worked as electrical engineers in instrumentation, wastewater treatment plants, oil/gas industry, electrical power generation, etc. If you have this background, and are interested in being placed on this call list, please message me at .image

 

Once again, I surely don't want to exclude any member from RoadTesting an industrial product even though they may not have the background. But I am being tasked by my bosses to prepare the RoadTest group for testing a broader selection of products. If you have any questions or if you have any comments, feel free to add them below.

 

 

Sincerely,

 

Randall Scasny

RoadTest Program Manager

  • in reply to jomoenginer

    Hello Jon,

     

    in most of the cases it is not a good idea to test in a direct industrial environment some kind of products, just because this means creating - at least - troubles in a working environment and because testing usually needs a controlled environment (maybe with some compromise in the simulation) instead of involving the product inside a production site.

     

    Correct as I mentioned in a previous comment that most depends on the kind of products so it is better to mention before. But the same approach should - and is, AFAIK - applied to the non industrial products too. Enrolling road testers should self-evaluate if they have the knowledge and extra tools / components needed to test the product as well.

     

    Enrico

  • Just out of curiosity, is the intent of this group of Industrial RoadTesters to test the products in an industrial environment or is it to just test the stated functionality of the product?  I would suspect the former might be a bit difficult considering it could be a challenge to get products in an Industrial environment just for a RoadTest.

    However,  the Panduit Verisafe Absence of Voltage Tester might be a handy tool for folks who do their own electrical work at home or even for Farmers where equipment that is used for feeders and such are used.  Also, looking through YouTube, it seems there are folks who have used the Omron E5CB or similar devices to control the Heating and Cooling of products such as Home Brew Beer Fermentation or a simple PID and relay combo to control a device based on a measured temp.   And, when looking at the Industrial IoT (IIoT) environment, there is certainly much cross over between Makers and Industrial implementations especially with the use of MQTT.  Companies such as Inductive Automation include an MQTT Module with their Ignition Software as well as SCADA implementation.   

     

    Perhaps one approach would be to list the product and ask the question, "How would you Test This?". This could be as an open question or just sent to a selected few that might have a particular skill set needed for the particular product which could be listed in the RoadTester profile.

  • Hello,

     

    I currently work in the power industry, so would gladly help out with road tests in an industrial setting where I can. For me there are a couple of issues to consider;

     

    1) Videoing and photographing is not always permitted on sites especially for display in a public environment.

     

    2) Workload and job types vary throughout the year, so not only do I need specific types of equipment that fall into my skill set, they need to be on offer at the time I am working on the relevant equipment in order for me to submit a timely review.

     

    Kind regards,

     

    Donald

  • in reply to tekmeister

    Yes this is on my list to see

    It took us a while to get there as you really need to stay close, and we're usually in Queenstown.

     

     

    closed to public access since December due to maintenance

    Not sure what they are doing, probably pulling some generators out

     

     

    My Kids were amused at this sign on the way to the departure point. They hadn't even seen the one in Hawaii.

    image

  • in reply to mcb1

    Yes this is on my list to see, but unfortunately Manapouri has been closed to public access since December due to maintenance.

     

    Hopefully it's back re-opened by the time I'm back down that way in November

  • in reply to balearicdynamics

    You are always full of surprises Shabaz!

    I've been lucky to see the racks at his place of work (where he goes to hang out).

    I've seen one or two others, but this was row upon row upon row.

     

    This hydro power thing isn't really new, we've been doing it here since 1886.

    https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bullendale

     

    Most of our power is from Hydro, but generally in smaller installations.

    https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_power_stations_in_New_Zealand

     

     

    If you like underground power stations, Manapouri is the one to see.

    Access to the underground Generator Hall is by a 2km bus trip.

    https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Manapouri_Power_Station

     

     

     

    Cheers

    mark

  • in reply to shabaz

    You are always full of surprises Shabaz!

     

    image Enrico

  • Since I manage a research lab, I'd be interested in any new sensors or data acquisition devices.

    Scott

  • in reply to rscasny

    Hi Randall,

    That's an interesting product, the VeriSafe, by the looks of it. I will put in an application for the Verisafe and the Megger, since they both look useful, for labs at my workplace (server rooms with racks and cabinets) and for electrical installers. I don't do installer work since I'm not qualified, but a sibling has the appropriate qualifications and does that, so I suspect if selected he will also like to compare the features of the Megger against his older-generation one that he currently uses. The scope of industrial applications is vast, but I'd love to be signed-up for areas where I could be useful.

    Speaking of electrical installations, I got the chance to see possibly the most impressive one during vacation last month.. this photo shows the visible portion of about a third of the generators (each has about 100MW ballpark power output) more than 25 stories underneath the Hoover Dam, powering a million homes with renewable energy.

    image

  • in reply to rscasny

    Good to know a figure amount!  Thank you.  I would think that even with some item being over that amount it may be enough interest to some they would want to test.