Standardization of Testing Practices – How TITAN Makes It Happen!

Enforcing corporate-wide standardization is a challenge. Over the course of doing business, each engineering department has developed specific testing processes and protocols to meet their needs, processes that often consist of engineers and managers emailing spreadsheets and instructions. Some departments may have the luxury of working within a scheduling system developed in-house or purchased, but these applications only address one or two test request functions (like resource scheduling). Often, the test execution process itself consists of hard copy checklists and instructions.

While each department has its own unique process, the following issues can result in:

• Emails for requests or approvals are time-consuming and inefficient.
• In email-based processes, the issue often centers around a flood of incomplete emails, creating a challenge in managing test requests.
• Absence of standardized test request forms exacerbates the problem, leading to inefficiencies due to varying formats and missing data.
• Critical data is stored in spreadsheets.
• Maintenance of multiple systems to support each unique process is confusing and expensive.
• Engineering leadership can’t make decisions because each team process is different.

So where does the solution with TITAN lie?

• Smart Notifications: It transforms email notifications into smart triggers for specific actions, preventing information overload.
• Automation Expertise: The platform takes charge of critical functions like scheduling, resource allocation, and progress tracking, ensuring timely and precise notifications.
• Efficient Connectivity: Its interconnected system keeps stakeholders informed without drowning them in emails.
• Strategic Email Usage: It strategically employs email notifications within an efficient, standardized process, offering well-timed and informative updates.

When leadership recommends standardization to simplify the processes, they may encounter resistance. To make standardization attractive, the organization should provide an incentive, and that’s where TITAN can help. TITAN brings in a solution to engineering standardization by offering streamlined workflows and a vital feature—test templates. These templates ensure consistent testing by guiding engineers to follow established procedures. Engineers select templates tailored to their needs, reducing errors and promoting inter-departmental collaboration. Importantly, these templates enhance test repeatability, no matter the complexity. By incorporating TITAN's templates, you fortify your foundation for efficiency and data integrity, ensuring dependable, accurate results for confident decision-making.

From a forty-thousand-foot level, TITAN recognizes that each department process shares certain characteristics with other department processes:

• The request is made.
• The request is reviewed and approved.
• The test is scheduled.
• Resources are reserved to execute the test.
• The test is executed.
• Results are collected, reviewed, and stored for future use.

To illustrate, let’s look at the following example based on actual company practices.

XYZ Company has a Research and Development facility where three engineering activities take place: new battery development, vehicle body impact assessment, and electrical harness testing. After several years of operation at the facility, each department has developed a test request and execution process that fits their unique needs.

For all three teams, test requests are initiated via emails. Engineering managers review and approve the requests; two of the department managers maintain spreadsheets which they use to document and manage progress on the tests. The Electrical Harness technician manager uses an in-house application called the Harness Test Scheduling System (HTSS) to manage requests.

Two engineers on the Electrical Harness team built HTSS, but one of the engineers is retiring and the other is transferring to company headquarters. This system is not particularly complicated, but the tech manager is nervous about lack of support in case potential issues occur.

The Vehicle Body Impact team and the Electrical Harness team physically load test data into a company application called the Test Result Management System (TRMS). The Battery team maintains its own servers to store data and they provide links to the engineers for review.

Leadership has been besieged with funding requests for further testing automation at a departmental level, but they are wondering if there may be a way to standardize existing operations.

Let’s venture into the profiles of testing characteristics and cadences for each engineering team:

Battery Test Department

• Does extensive testing on materials and chemicals.
• Maintains procedures on 40+ different tests.
• Schedules multiple tests per week.
• A technician can execute multiple tests simultaneously.
• Engineering manager approval required before test data is stored.
• Averages 500mb data produced per test (including images).

Body Test Department:

• Executes tests on crash impact to physical structures.
• Maintains procedures on 20+ different tests, documented in spreadsheets, and executed with print-out hard copy.
• On average, three tests per month.
• Three technicians are required for every test.
• Tests are executed over consecutive days and require management approval after each day to progress.
• Averages 20gb of data generated per test (including images and video).

Electrical Harness Department

• Tests electrical performance of devices connected by wire harnesses.
• No management approval required to initiate a test.
• Maintains procedures for 25+ different tests.
• Schedules multiple tests per week.
• A technician can execute multiple tests simultaneously.
• Averages 200mb data produced per test.

This table will guide you through the current workflow for each department:

NOTE: Each department has its own approval workflow. Because of the unique Portal and Instance Design within TITAN, all three department processes can exist in one TITAN instance.

To illustrate, permissions are written for each department detailing who can approve or reject test requests, who can authorize resources, and who can execute tests. The workflow for each department can be different and custom designed.

Existing test forms are designed in TITAN and test instructions can be migrated from existing spreadsheets. Checklists currently on hard copy can be transitioned online.

Facilities and equipment are shared by all departments. Technicians and materials, on the other hand, can be reserved independently for each department.

Now, let’s use TITAN to standardize and enhance these processes.

Let’s review what the organization has accomplished using TITAN:

• ALL engineers now use ONE application to initiate a test request.
• Approvers for each request are notified via email that they have a request for approval in TITAN or can log in to the application and view the notifications directly.
• All engineers and managers can see a live schedule and the progress of all the tests within their department.
• Technicians can review instructions and designate completion of instructions within TITAN.
• All output is stored and managed (with additional workflows and approvals, of required) within the TITAN application.

Here are the organizational benefits:

All test requests and execution data are available and viewable in one application; Engineers and managers need to understand ONE application; only ONE application needs to be maintained.

• The organization has moved off hard copy to an automated state.
• Additional departments can be added to the TITAN instance in the future, each with their unique workflow and requirements.
• Engineering leadership can review data and make informed business decisions.

TITAN isn't just a solution; it's a transformative force that unifies and elevates your testing practices. By seamlessly integrating smart notifications, automation expertise, efficient connectivity, and strategic email usage, TITAN revolutionizes the way your teams work together. The result? A standardized, streamlined, and efficient testing process that enhances data integrity and empowers your organization to make confident, informed decisions. With TITAN, you're not just modernizing your workflow; it is your testing practices for whatever challenges lie ahead.

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