Our people are reinventing the way we work to keep things moving forward. Due to the restrictions in movement and social distancing measures, our colleagues in Estonia conducted the Factory Acceptance Test (FAT) remotely for the first time.
Sébastien Migeotte, Sales Support & Project Management Manager from Motors and Generators business line shares the details of their success.
What’s FAT and how is it usually performed in our factories?
FAT is a witness test performed in our factories in the presence of customers and a certification body to ensure that our equipment (in this case our generator) fulfil the initial quality requirements and can be certified as per the requested standards.
It is a critical step in our delivery process, as this is often the only time when the customers visit our facilities. This gives us a chance to showcase our state-of-the-art technologies and hopefully offer a long-lasting impression to help secure future collaboration.
As per the standard procedure, the customer usually visits our factory and we would perform the test program, which may take several days to complete. The FAT also includes a visual inspection. At the end of the test, we would issue a report that contains the punch list – a list of items to be corrected before we can ship the goods.
Jan Viigisalu – Project Manager 
What was the biggest challenge faced by the team?
We had a FAT planned with one of our customers, when the COVID-19 hit Europe and travel restrictions were announced. Fortunately, Antti Mattila, Quality Engineer, was already in talks with our customer on reducing travel costs and was considering the use of augmented reality goggles for FATs. Helsinki, China and Estonia MOMG factories received a pair of Realwear hmt-1 goggles already before the crisis and we took them for a spin.
Although we had some initial difficulties with the voice control, the biggest challenge came from the licencing and first configuration. Just a few days before the FAT, travel restrictions were imposed, and people had to work from home. This meant that, instead of 2 licences (one for the goggles and one for the customer), we would also need licences for each person attending the test from their homes.
Initially, we decided to share the augmented reality goggles environment screen through Skype for other participants. But it seemed like a hassle and we finally reached an agreement with our customer to temporarily use their licences. After the FAT, we purchased 10 more licences, helping us to be better prepared for future tests.
How did you implement the remote testing procedure?
We used a combination of Skype and augmented reality goggles.
- The screen of the test field control room was shared via Skype so that the customer could see the curves and other test results.
- The visual inspection and other “spot” investigations were done through the goggles by our Project Manager, Jan Viigisalu.
How effective was remote testing? Did you get the same rate of accuracy as the conventional method?
Our customers confirmed that they could witness all the things they wanted to, during the remote testing. They pointed out that while moving, the images produced by the goggles got a tad blurry, but fortunately, it was stable and clear while focusing on the details of the generator. Overall, the feedback was very positive.
I am proud to be part of the Motors and Generators family and our team. I know that our colleagues in Finland, China and Poland are also providing remote FATs for the customers and other manufacturing units are exploring this as well. We are here to support our customers as well as our business continuity.
