Utility/Financial benefit of writing application notes 1

[ELEcontrol3e]

Hello and thanks in advance;

This is a follow up, in part to my thread,
"Advice for engineer in a technician job thread# 731-122346.

At this position I am at, I feel I could do a lot writing application notes and troubleshooting guides. I have a very hands-on, on location, connection with the customer by doing commissioning and troubleshooting.

How can I "dollarize" for my supervisor the benefit of developing application notes, troubleshooting guides, and field-testing procedures?

I think I may have to reduce my travel time, the department is currently using me as a technician, despite my engineering title. I think splitting my time between customer phone calls, supporting our reps and field service techs, and developing these procedures would make our department much more efficient. Plus yes, I hate living out of a suitcase. Although I don’t mind it right now as a training vehicle.

 

[MikeHalloran]

I suppose you could point to the semiconductor industry, where app notes are SOP as marketing tools. But that's not quantitative.

If you could write a couple of app notes on your own and put them in the hands of cooperative customers, maybe you'd be able to come with numbers like 'man-hours to install with app notes' vs. 'man-hours to install without app notes', etc. It will be hard to extract defensible numbers, because you'll always be comparing apples and oranges, i.e. crews of differing skill levels, and trying to evaluate the hypothetical cost of the path not taken against the real cost of the path taken.

It might be easier to sell as a pilot program, where you and your boss evaluate your own productivity for a while to establish a baseline, then start distributing app notes, etc., and measure to what extent things change. I.e., give the customer a little help up front, and you can spend less time on the road ... or ....

.... the boss will decide that you should be able to support more customers while spending the same amount of time on the road.

What happens if your workload goes up for unrelated reasons, and your productivity goes down, despite your best efforts?

The whole deal could backfire, badly.

I'd suggest doing what you can to be helpful, on your own, and when and if it actually helps, hope that the boss gives you a few attaboys when he takes the credit.






Mike Halloran
NOT speaking for
DeAngelo Marine Exhaust Inc.
Ft. Lauderdale, FL, USA

 

[ELEcontrol3e]

Thanks Mike good suggestions!

I guess I should keep tracking my progress, and work on the documentation issues tangentially.

My real goal is to get out of the service department and get into the engineering department; I’m hoping that taking the initiative, I can make the jump more quickly. My company 9/10 will send out a product that is not fully tested, and it makes for a rough commissioning process. We are starting to travel on weekends, and I am not interested in traveling so much as I mentioned previously. Plus I think I could offer so much more as an engineer to the company and department.

I'll definitely try your suggestions.

Thanks again.
jt

 

[MikeHalloran]

If they would sent out a product that's not fully tested, they need techno- literate top managers much worse than they need engineers.

If you have the stomach for it, skip the whole engineering career ladder; that doesn't go anywhere near the top anyway.



Mike Halloran
NOT speaking for
DeAngelo Marine Exhaust Inc.
Ft. Lauderdale, FL, USA

 

[ELEcontrol3e]

Mike;

I that is a good observation, we definitely have a surplus of engineers and need more technically astute management. However the problems also stem from where the parent company wants to spend, or more accurately, not spend. Its situations like these that make you want to go out on your own, but thats a whole other can of worms and a different forum....

thanks again.