With every problem, there is a solution, in some cases, more than one.
“I really miss spending time with the Westpak team. Can’t wait for my company to clear us to return for work travel!”
A customer recently dropped this note to our team after testing, and we couldn’t agree more. While we all continue to practice safety and precaution during the pandemic, we do miss our customers.
It’s worth noting that all of our test offerings come with an invitation to visit the lab, observe testing, and conduct any additional product testing. We still extend this offering but have limited the number of people on-site to protect and provide customer care during the pandemic.
Pivoting, Westpak has been able to view this as an opportunity to reconsider how we conduct such work. Instead of being stuck by this gap, we have created an opportunity to evolve and improve our services. Our team has found a way to leverage virtual technology and in-house human resources to support our customers with the tasks they usually are a part of. Moving forward, our new virtual solutions offer more hands-off testing, prioritize health and safety while saving you the time and resources spent traveling.
Here are a few of the test inputs and product offerings at Westpak that have exciting new virtual additions:
Visual Inspections
Pre and post-test inspections are a vital part of the testing process to verify adequate product protection. Our engineers have adapted to conducting this testing via video conferencing with customers. Webcams, Facetime, or handheld cameras are used to focus on any specific areas of interest. If the visual inspection elicits a suspected leak in a package, you can be virtually present to observe any additional bubble immersion or dye penetration testing as a means of secondary verification.
This method of virtual visual inspections can also be conducted with primary packaging between testing inputs. If you want to verify product protection between a distribution drop sequence, vibration orientation transition, or low-pressure testing, to name a few, your test engineer can schedule a virtual inspection time based on your needs. We know how busy the verification and validation phase of a product can be. With virtual inspections, you eliminate the time spent in transit to and from the site, giving you a little more time back in your day!
Whether you choose to be virtually present or not, Westpak engineers are equipped to follow your protocols and conduct thorough visual inspections. All testing results continue to include detailed inspection notes after each test input. Rest assured; no detail is left unnoticed.
Monitored Product Testing
Product robustness is all about understanding what impacts the critical components, a key benefit of monitored testing. Simply because you aren’t in the room to observe the testing, doesn’t mean you won’t know what is happening. We have created a way to monitor your products, in many cases, with improved proximity than before.
You can now watch your product testing in real-time via a live link to webcams mounted near or inside test equipment. The video content can be used to understand functionality better and showcase your product’s performance and/or robustness.
While there is often a great deal of downtime during testing, and the monitored set up can be labor-intensive, you can leave these for your test engineer to handle while you focus on other tasks or take a much-needed break without being on-site at Westpak.
Lab Tours
If you are new to the testing environment or are curious about any of our equipment, we can set up a virtual lab tour that will be conducted via video, webcam, or a live link. A test engineer will walk you through each area within the facility and answer questions about testing equipment, protocols, and procedures. We continually invest in new equipment to better serve your testing needs, so be sure to ask about what’s new at either our San Jose or San Diego location!
During this time, we hope to pivot more to your needs. Be on the lookout for more creative solutions and test offerings from your trusted test lab.
After all, chaos is the mother of invention. And we all love to be inventive.