Check out this interview with Diana
Cole,
Lab Testing Leader for Fasson
Roll - North America, division of Avery Dennison. Read
about how they went 'wireless'
with Testream/CS!
AcquiData:
You have been running Testream/CS in your lab in a
wireless set up for a while now. How do you
find the format working for you?
Diana: Using
Testream wirelessly has given FRNA
a lot of flexibility to move around the lab
with laptops to collect data without a
physical cable. It has also eliminated the need
for extraneous multiport adaptors on PCs. Additionally, we can
use multiple pieces of equipment from the same
laptop with ease.
AcquiData:
In addition to the wireless setup, you use bar
code scanners. How do you incorporate them
into your
workflow?
Diana:
Due to the nature of our testing,
we utilize a lot of sample IDs, rotating through
250 in one or two weeks. With the addition
of the barcode feature, when sample IDs are no
longer visible due to being replaced by new sample
IDs, we can quickly and easily rescan them in,
to put them on the list for future testing. In
addition, we use the printed barcode scan to
'copy' IDs quickly for minor changes (without
fully employing the autofill feature in the ID
setup within CMU). This has proved to be a
huge time savings. Having the printed
barcode scan of the ID also serves as a reliable
source when retrieving data from the Data
Extractor software. In addition to the 2D
barcode, we employ linear barcodes to fill in
individual fields with project names, etc.
for sample ID entry.
AcquiData:
How do you feel these 2 features have impacted
your
production/business?
Diana:
First and foremost, it has saved many
man hours for putting in IDs by using barcode
scanning. In addition, it has improved the
accuracy of the sample ID to avoid typos.
The wireless setup has given us flexibility in the
setup of equipment.
AcquiData:
In what way do you feel Testream/CS, overall, has
contributed towards Avery Dennison's
success?
Diana:
The benefits are both tangible and
intangible. Not only have we been building a
database of test knowledge over the past 2 1/2
years, we have significantly increased our testing
capability with automatic data collection.
The archiving of data in a central place was a
revelation versus historical protocol whereby
individuals had stored data on their individual
PCs. Not only was the data hard
to retrieve in the old environment, data was
lost over time as PCs were replaced,
individuals left,
etc.
