1. Blue Ridge Metals, 09/03/14 to 08/28/15
Electrical Engineer
I utilizedLabVIEW software to designa real-time system that monitored and reported the real -time status of a complex
network of machine tools andoperator workstations. Byinterrogating machine PLC’s, this system provided supervisors the
informationtheyneededto optimize technicianallocationandmaximize asset uptime. Before I startedmyproject, a supervisor
had to walk around the entire plant to see the green, yellow, or red light on the side ofthe machine to determine the status of
the machine. Blue Ridge Metals hadover 20 machines all runningat the same time. Soessentiallyusing the network that was
alreadyinplace, I designeda system that wouldlet supervisors know if a machi ne went down, why it went down, who the
operator is, howmanyparts it hadproduced that shift, and its status. I developed the project with LabVIEW which allowed
multiple “screens.” The operations manager could now lookat the entire floor plant from his office laptop, each machine
representedin the form of an LED (G-Y-R). This allowed for maintenance to be alerted quicker which quickly increased
productivity and efficiency while decreasing machine down time.
A secondaryfunctionof the program wasto take real data coming off the machine’s PLCand create charts that were evaluated
everymorning in a meeting. It took the operator (or humanerror) aspect of recordingdowntime codes andparts produced, so
efficiency graphs were generated every shift and automatically send out via email at shift change.
I had onlytakenone NationalInstruments LabVIEWclass for mydegree soI hadsome knowledge but I went in way over my
head. I learneda lot about myself, the societyof a manufacturing plant, and my capability to learn quickly and on the fly
(sometimes) if I put my mind to it. The project was a success.