Student at FOSS

Andreas Emborg is currently undertaking his Bachelor in Electronic Engineering at the Technical University of Denmark (DTU). Andreas got a internship with FOSS through his student councilor at DTU prompting him to consider undertaking a FOSS internship.  

- When the student councilor rang me and asked if I would be interested in doing a project on an environmental data logger, it sounded very interesting. I was already doing a similar project as a hobby during my spare time so hence this type of work was well suited to me, says Andreas.

Andreas has been working independently on the project with the help of a mentor to monitor and give him guidance. The project has been quite engaging and has given him a closer insight into the trials and tribulations of development within an organization.

The goal for now is to get some data out of the data monitor and make it into a working prototype. Some employees have already worked at this project previously, however they did not use all the parts that FOSS uses today which caused problems. So I started out using their boards, changing some of the parts on it so it is compatible and functions well with the parts available at FOSS today, explains Andreas.

- Due to the technology involved in manufacturing the data logger, it has been a challenge to locate parts. For instance there was a accelerometer that was suppose to come out on the market in January but they kept on postponing the launch and this was frustrating as you have to wait for such components in order to move forward. This is perhaps the most challenging part of the project so far; sorting out what are the best components to use and how to obtain them. Although in the end it will be a worthy wait, as high quality units will generally last for many years, says Andrea

Andreas found it exciting to be apart of a project which will be a central part of many FOSS instruments within the future and he has already started to plan his bachelor project around the further development of the data logger.

My idea is to come back to FOSS and carry out my bachelor paper here and continue on the path to getting the environmental data logger developed and into the instruments successfully, says Andreas.

The Business and Product Development department decided that Martin and Mads would work alongside the Protec team and develop a new interface between the instrument (ProFoss) and the process line. It was new for FOSS to take on students within their area of specialization; design and innovation, with many not knowing what such students were capable of. During the project it became apparent that the skills, methods and inputs from the students were very useful for project work at FOSS.

Martin and Mads made the project in three phases; an analytical, a conceptual, and a detailing phase. They began with an analysis deriving from the word ”Interface” and ended up with a mock-up solution ”Optic-Out” which met several identified problem areas in other ways than FOSS had anticipated. The solution made it possible to disregard several areas earlier regarded as critical issues.

- One of the great things about this project was the opportunity to work together with a project team in developing a product. Our project was taken seriously and everyone gave very constructive feedback. There were even expectations from the project leader to the outcome of our project, which was a tremendous motivation factor.

- It has been a good experience working on our bachelor paper at FOSS and we can only recommend other students to do the same.

Rune Nielson studied his Bachelor of Science of Engineering in Manufacturing and Management at the Technical University of Denmark (DTU). As a part of his study Rune undertook a five month traineeship at FOSS.

Whilst being a FOSS trainee Rune participated in the first flow project for the implementation of lean. Towards the end of his traineeship the question arose as to what he was going to write his bachelor paper on and where? Rune decided that he would like to write his bachelor paper on the implementation of lean processes within FOSS, stating that it was ‘a natural progression’ from his traineeship work.

The P&SC (Production and Supply Chain) department gladly accepted his proposal to write a bachelor project on the implementation of lean processes at FOSS. Rune was given the opportunity to not only write his bachelor paper on the lean process but also become actively involved in the implementation process once more through the role he was given as project leader during implementation. This gave Rune the opportunity to actively implement changes to the organization and its effectiveness.

Rune loved the challenges the project provided and was very glad he was given the opportunity to write his project on a process he actively worked on and which provided benefits for FOSS.

- I have always had the idea that it would be boring to just look at something and make a big report about almost nothing, deliver it to a company only for them to say that it was nice and then find it on the shelf a week later collecting dust.

It has been much more fun to work with something that can actually create meaning for FOSS and broaden my knowledge on workplace practices. Whilst figuring out how to implement new processes within a company has been a massive learning curve for me.

Rune found that the most confronting and challenging part of the project was conducting workshops where he had to present to approximately twenty people stating that:

- That was a prime example of a practical component of the project which I had not much training in at university and what I have learnt a great deal from.

The implementation of lean processes within FOSS was tested on one instrument – the Meat Master. The FOSS lean task force which Rune was a part of went through five phases to introduce lean into the organization: Educate, Diagnosis, Design, Implement and Stabilize. It is in the last stage of implementation now, and so far it has been a complete success.