November AMP_Digital

A D V A N C E D M A T E R I A L S & P R O C E S S E S | N O V E M B E R / D E C E M B E R 2 0 1 9 2 3 Materials testing systems with inherent safety functionality helps protect sensitive transduc- ers like load cells. Even the simplest safety reminders to set mechanical travel limits on the system can prevent an accident. accidental or malicious falsification of results. However, not all mechanical tests are appropriate for robotic auto- mation, especially in cases where the throughput is not high enough to justify the financial investment. Furthermore, in cases where structures or compo- nents need to be tested, operator in- tervention to set up the unique product configuration is needed. USABILITY With the global popularization of smart phones, users have come to ex- pect all technology to be similarly in- tuitive with flat, simple interfaces. Most users can agree that having to “right click” on a screen to see more detail is not necessarily intuitive. Over the past few years, there has been a growing shift towards “touch friendly” software. However, there is a difference between touch friendly and touchable. With a touch monitor or computer with a touch screen, any software can be- come touchable. However, users must think about the experience of opening their browser and navigating to a web- page on their smart phone verses open- ing an app on their smart phone. When software is not designed for touch, the icons are smaller, press points are dif- ficult to interact with, and the intuitive advantages of touch, such as the elim- ination of the right click, tend to disap- pear. The trend in software programs is not necessarily tomake software touch- able, it is about making the software touch friendly, with all the intuitive ges- tures and functionality expected by us- ers. Having a flat, intuitive software program reduces the amount of train- ing required for operators and provides a more enjoyable user experience. DATA INTEGRITY Whether a materials testing pro- fessional is in the medical device, aero- space, food testing, automotive, or pharmaceutical industry, data integrity and results validation is constantly un- der a microscope. FDA 21 CFR Part 11, ISO/IEC 17025, and NADCAP accredited labs have always focused on ensuring data integrity and traceability so that labs know who tested what, when, and why any modifications to testing reci- pes or protocols were made. However, the desire to track changes to test meth- ods and require sign-offs on chang- es has become a trend in the industry for many quality control and produc- tion laboratories. Having an electronic audit trail from the testing system not only makes audits easier to pass, it also helps the lab manager troubleshoot is- sues and provides peace of mind that testing is being done correctly. Many software packages have the option to track test recipe history, provide an au- dit trail that tracks all uses of the sys- tem, and configure signatures to ensure people in the lab are not making un- authorized changes to methods. The trend toward focusing on data integrity is present across many different indus- tries, not just medical and aerospace, and stems from recent data integrity is- sues in the news where labs were falsi- fying results. For many companies, it is best to put measures into place to pre- vent problems before they come to the surface in an audit or quality complaint. Many labs performing coupon testing have shifted away from operator-based testing and implemented the use of ro- botic systems to run tests in hopes of increasing throughput and avoiding SAFETY Test equipment safety is not a new trend. Over the decades, compa- nies have always sought to make testing equipment safer, especially in the field of materials testing where the systems are, in fact, designed to break things. However, in recent years, companies have started to look more closely at the sources of injuries and accidents. They have discovered that systems with sim- ple, smart, built-in safety features are always superior. Systems with safety functions such as software reminders, soft- ware guidance, enhanced sensing, and hardware limits are becoming more popular. Not only do these fea- tures and functions help protect the operator from accidents, but they also protect the equipment. In the mate- rials testing world, force transduc- ers can be very accurate and sensitive, and can be easily damaged by over- loading or excessive force. A correctly set up system with hardware and soft- ware limits not only protects the oper- ator, it also protects the hardware, ulti- mately saving the company money by avoiding unnecessary costs associated with repair. Overall, barcoding, better integra- tion with laboratory information man- agement systems, data integrity, soft- ware usability, and safety are the top five current trends in testing equip- ment. These trends broadly encompass the higher-level trends of adding auto- mation to reduce operator error, lock- ing down system permissions to ensure data integrity, superior usability to re- duce the demand for operator training, and safety to reduce OSHA recordable incidents while simultaneously protect- ing sensitive hardware from damage. Adapting these features allows labs to increase safety and throughput while ensuring that test results are accurate and repeatable. ~AM&P For more information: Elayne Gordonov, software product man- ager, Instron, 825 University Ave., Norwood, MA 02062, 781.575.5000, Elayne_Gordonov@instron.com , www.instron.com.