Upskilling and Empowering the Test Engineering Team at EI Electronics
Client Overview:
EI Electronics faced the challenge of upskilling a team of engineers to meet the demands of their growing projects. The team had fundamental skills in LabVIEW programming but needed to be brought up to speed to develop projects independently, utilize existing frameworks, and enhance their proficiency in LabVIEW Core and TestStand.
Challenges:
Skill Gap: The team lacked comprehensive LabVIEW skills to develop and sustain projects effectively.
Framework Understanding: Existing frameworks were not well understood by all team members, hindering collaboration.
Lack of Self-Reliance: Engineers required external involvement for project execution, affecting productivity and autonomy.
Approach:
Makkal, in collaboration with EI Electronics, took the following approach to address these challenges:
Comprehensive Training: A mix of professional off-the-shelf training (LabVIEW Core-1, Core-2) from National Instruments was organized to build foundational skills.
Customized Sandwich Training: On-the-job training supplemented the professional training, enabling engineers to directly apply their learning to real projects.
Framework Improvement: Existing LabVIEW frameworks were enhanced and made accessible to the entire team to promote consistency and collaboration.
Advanced Skill Development: A roadmap was designed for the team, outlining Core-3 and TestStand training for further skill enhancement.
Results:
Enhanced Skills: Engineers progressed from fundamental programming to advanced aspects like error handling, state machine development, and API creation.
Framework Utilization: Engineers gained a deeper understanding of existing frameworks, enabling effective utilization and contribution.
Self-Reliance: With improved skills, the team became more self-reliant, reducing the need for external involvement and streamlining project execution.
Improved Productivity: The team's ability to build and reuse libraries minimized redundant efforts, increasing overall productivity.
Future Outlook:
Continued Learning: The team is on track to complete LabVIEW Core-3 and TestStand training, further enhancing their capabilities.
Autonomous Project Execution: With advanced skills and framework understanding, the team will be capable of independently executing complex projects.
Efficiency and Autonomy: The engineers' upskilling journey led to a high level of self-reliance, reducing external dependencies and boosting project efficiency.
Conclusion:
Makkal's strategic approach to upskilling the LabVIEW team at EI Electronics has yielded remarkable results. The team's progression from fundamental knowledge to advanced skills, coupled with improved framework understanding, has elevated their self-reliance and project execution capabilities. With ongoing training and a commitment to continuous learning, EI Electronics is positioned for continued success and innovation in LabVIEW-based projects.