By Kenneth Jessen, Hewlett-Packard Company
Here is an analysis of the changing opportunities for technicians, from the viewpoint of a major manufacturer of high quality test equipment. The repair of test equipment, both at the regional service centers and the factory facilities, is a part of industrial electronics.
What does the future hold for the electronic repair technician? To fully appreciate the answer to this question, one must understand some of the trends in the industry.
First, products are becoming more complex, forcing the technician to spend more time per repair. For example, the old discrete form of digital logic is fast yielding to microprocessor-based technology.
With discrete logic, the elements required to perform a task were distributed throughout the product. A bad IC could be detected by simple troubleshooting techniques.
------- This calibrator is operating a calculator-controlled, automatic
test system at the Hewlett-Packard plant in Loveland, Colorado.
With the automatic system, the operator can run complete calibration and performance tests in ten to fifteen minutes, compared to an hour and a half for the same tests that are run manually.
Some factory repair branches use similar systems to save time for the technicians, thus allowing more troubleshooting and component replacements to be done. Skilled technicians are needed in the factories to develop such systems.
With microprocessor technology, the logic is centralized. A digital feedback loop is used to send an address to an array of Read Only Memories (ROMs) then new instructions are sent back to the microprocessor. This sequence of new addresses and new instructions is repeated at megahertz rates.
With existing tools, this technology makes it difficult to find individual defective components.
Another trend in the repair business is that the labor rates billed back to the factory for products in warranty have increased at a rate far greater than inflation would dictate. This has not translated into higher pay for the repair technician, however. A great deal of this trend has to do with rising overhead costs at repair facilities (such as shipping, telephone, heating, computer services, etc.) The last element is a trend towards lower prices for electronic products. In the instrument business for example, a four-digit DVM costing well over $1,000 a decade ago now can be purchased with improved specifications, better reliability, and more features for around $400. More examples can be found in the consumer business with dramatic price reductions in hand-held calculators, CB radios, TV games, and so on.
The point is that increased complexity combined with higher labor rates has driven repair costs up. When combined with lower prices, rising warranty costs have put the manufacturers into a profit squeeze. Worst yet, customer complaints are growing as the cost of an out-of-warranty repair becomes a substantial percentage of the original purchase price. In analyzing repairs, it is the labor content that is causing the problem. In the instrument business, labor content runs 60% to 80% of the total repair cost. The major thrust on the part of the manufacturers is to make the repair activity less labor-intensive.
This leads to the question: what will happen to the electronic-repair technician?
Automatic Testing
More than half of the time spent on the repair of an electronic instrument involves either verification of the fault or checking out the instrument after the repair is completed. These portions of the repair process are being automated through the use of computer or calculator-controlled automatic test systems. Not only does automation result in faster repair times, but the technician can be replaced by a nontechnical person to run the tests.
Centralized Repair
Hand-in-hand with automatic testing in the field comes centralization of repairs. The number of repair centers which a manufacturer elects to set up depends on the exfiected repair volume, sales distribution, and the versatility of the automatic-test system in terms of its ability to check more than one line of products.
It is only logical that a technician working on the repair of one line of products becomes far more efficient than the technician in a "one man" shop trying to repair a wide range of products. Data indicates that the volume of repairs is inversely related to repair time. Centralization is a simple means of increasing repair volume, but it also offers some other advantages.
The repair center can afford to stock a higher percentage of heavily-used replacement parts. A lot of the paper work such as billing, inventory control, and payroll can be done at a center on a computer far more efficiently than a small office can hope to do.
For the technician, the repair center can offer more opportunity for advancement, since larger organizations require more levels of management. The specialization which comes with centralization allows the technician to become closer to the factory. This has resulted in opportunities to move from the field into a position with the manufacturer.
Exchange Boards
An effective means of reducing the labor content of field repairs is to use an exchange program. The technician determines which module is bad in a product and ships the defective module back to the factory in exchange for a good one.
At the factory, the defective module is inserted into the production process where it is remanufactured then placed back into the field.
This type of repair program began on a big scale in the computer industry, and was then extended to desk-top calculators.
With increased complexity as evidenced by the use of microprocessor technology, board-exchange programs are becoming more practical for all types of electronic products. Unfortunately, this has reduced the technician's job to that of a board-swapper rather than being a highly-skilled detective able to hunt down a problem to the one bad component.
Some products are becoming more complex, forcing the technician to spend more time per repair... portions of the repair process are being automated...Hand in hand with automatic testing in the field comes centralization 5 of repairs.
For example, one signal source involving new technology, if tested manually, requires 15 hours because of the numerous combinations of frequency and output levels. This same test can be done in 15 minutes automatically and with greater accuracy with the elimination of drift problems. The system automatically prints out the result of each test in the form of a test card.
There are several digital voltmeters where manual verification of the specifications requires an hour and a half. Automatic testing not only checks the specification, but the instrument can be completely calibrated, all in 10 to 15 minutes by a nontechnical person.
Automatic test systems which in the past had been restricted for use on the production lines in the factory now are rapidly finding their way into the field repair facilities. The effect on the repair technician has been to spend less time testing and more time on troubleshooting and repair.
When viewed from the customer's standpoint, module exchange has some advantages, such as making the cost of repair more predictable by reducing the labor content in favor of fixed material costs. For systems repair at a customer's facility, a board exchange program is almost mandatory since the only fast way to make a repair is to the modular level. Even for bench repair, board exchange can greatly reduce turnaround-time, especially if the boards are in the form of a kit.
The Future
The increased cost of repair is forcing changes in the electronic repair business which will have far-reaching effects on the future of the repair technician. As mentioned, manufacturers are moving away from the small, local repair facility in favor of larger repair centers. The technician must be willing to specialize and move with this trend.
Increased complexity has forced many manufacturers to use a board-exchange program instead of component-level repair, and the technician must be willing to do more board swapping. On the bright side, the opportunities in the factory for good technicians is improving continually. Technicians with both traditional troubleshooting skills as well as programming knowledge are needed to develop automatic-computer or calculator-controlled systems for use on the production line. Skilled technicians are needed to turn on the products, diagnose failures, and make repairs.
Educational requirements will continue to demand a good background in the fundamentals, but new emphasis must be placed on the use of microprocessors. Some programming knowledge also is becoming more valuable.
In summary, the job market for technicians remains strong but there is a definite shift from careers in the field to the factory.
(adapted from: Electronic Servicing magazine, Jul. 1977)
Also see: