Slashdot Mirror
A Toolbox That Helps Keep You From Losing Tools (Video)
Dan Mcculley, the interviewee in this video, works for Intel and claims they have "about 140" projects going on inside their fabs and factories, of which the Smart Toolbox is but one, and it's one some technicians came up with because Intel workers lose something like $35,000 worth of tools every year. This project is based on the same Galileo boards Intel has used to support some high-altitude balloon launches -- except this is an extremely simple, practical application. Open source? You bet! And Dan says the sensors and other parts are all off-the-shelf items anyone can buy. (Alternate Video Link)
It doesn't help you not lose tools. It helps you blame someone when a tool goes missing.
That sounds a lot cheaper than even a single one full-time engineer busy developing and maintaining this cool product. There must be some other motive...
Yeah, because all of Intel's other software has been open source.
What's not to love about the company — and its careful PR campaign preparing the market for the demise of AMD? What a lovable corporation — I think, I have a thrill up my leg again.
In Soviet Washington the swamp drains you.
I worked in a quartermaster type position during a student summer job for the Air Force once. I pretty much lived inside a giant steel cage when I wasn't scrubbing down the hangar (yes, a hangar. and the lockers inside, and the adjoining hallways. and I got to sweep it. and drive golf carts to take out the trash--which was actually a blast, just don't get caught by the SPs for skiing them).
Anyway, they had a barcode sticker on everything and every mechanic had an ID. They'd come up to the desk in the morning and ask for a set of tools. I'd trot around my cage and find them, put in their ID, scan each tool, and hand them over. At the end of the day, they'd bring them back. Then, we'd run a report showing which tools were still checked out and go hunt down the responsible mechanics.
Worked pretty well as far as I can tell. 100% recovery rate during my time there.
I watched the video, and this is actually the problem they're solving. Not solving "losing" tools, but solving "employees taking tools." You have to unlock the box with a device registered to you, and the box registers what tools you take.
There's 3 types of people:
1) People who lose tools by accident
2) People who steal tools on purpose
3) People who don't lose or steal tools
You might prevent or reduce losses from category 1. You will create a minor inconvenience for people in category 2. And you will piss off everyone in category 3 who will feel like they're no longer trusted.
In the Air Force, this is important. If you work on anything that ends up in, on, or part of an aircraft, keeping track of the tools prevents leaving them in an intake, flopping around an electronics bay, or flying up and hitting the pilot in the head during flight, all of which have happened.
I remember that, having to check my tool bag in as I entered the flight line, then checking it out. Counting the number of tools each time, and if the count didn't match having to go through the inventory to find what was missing and retrace my steps to find it. Nope I never lost any, but my teammate did, and we searched quickly. Delaying a mission for a misplaced wrench guarantees you problems. Oh, and empty pockets. Planes, sheesh.
Then there is the FOD issue.
And then the problem of catching technicians completing work without the proper tools. A hammer is not the right tool to use to press a pin into place, but if you forgot earlier, hammering it in on-equipment is quicker than removing the assembly and going back to the shop, wasting time and cementing your reputation as a screwup forever in your supervisor's mind. You never do anything clean again.
But I watched the video, and then I thought, this for $35k? Intel? No, they must be more concerned with the work not getting done.... I hope.
deleting the extra space after periods so i can stay relevant, yeah.
They're all in my son's room. These guys need a teenager, not a web server.
We are eternal, all this pain is an illusion.
So to chime in on the whole Tech owning their own tools. I hate to say this but that works fine for Auto Mechanics because they are working on random people's cars. If the Tech doesn't have the right size wrench he'll jsut use pliers or an adjustable wrench, face and corners be damned, won't matter not their problem. Same with a torque wrench, let them just tap it a few times, or use the air gun.
Move over to the industrial world and a real manufacturing/process plant where over torquing something can stop production, or damaging the bolt can cause delays in repair (lost of production) and we have a real problem. Most plants do not allow Techs to bring in their own tools. I know Plants that have banned adjustable wrenches (if you don't' have the right tool for the job don't' do it mentality)..
All that being said in real industrial settings, tool control is a big deal. The more sterile and regulated the environment the more important it can be. See the link below where it was a contractor failing to do a tool count that did some real damage.
http://defensetech.org/2012/01...
Tool counting is a basic thing, and should always happen. Things like this tool box can be used for good and bad, it all depends on the culture of the company and people using it. Sure they could use it to bash people over the head for loosing tools, but they could also use it as a safe guard/helper/checker to help the tech out in doing a tool count to make the work go quicker. I know places where this would be seen as yet another big brother in the plant, and places where they would love to have this because it would make their job easier and quicker. Its all about culture.
Personally i love the simplicity of it, although i will say that you have to have a solid 5S/Shadow boarding in place to use in place light sensors like this. It would work very well for specialized tool sets, but not your run of the mill mechanics toolbox. For that cheap RFID tags/single box reader might be more appropriate. (and could also be used for locating the tools if lost in the equipment).
Trust me that the cost of something like this is a drop in the bucket compared to the costs of real specialty tools, and the impact to production/operations when a tool is lost.
'...if only "Jumping to a Conclusion" was an event in the Olympics.'