TestStand provides a range of tools that can be used to build a test platform tailored to the specific production and/or verification process desired within each company.
This high level of flexibility can make TestStand seem complex at first glance and, unfortunately, often leads many to dismiss the product before they have gained a sufficient understanding of what it can do. Some start developing a test executor from scratch, which always turns out to be a far larger task than initially assumed.
Read the case: “A new platform for production testing” – Siemens Gamesa
Typically, at the beginning you only focus on the need to be able to test and see whether the test passed or failed. That part is usually achieved in one way or another. After a short time, additional needs will arise, such as being able to create variants without changing or copying the test sequence itself, post-processing results into different outputs, or parallelising your testing. And perhaps it turns out that user management with different privileges for different users is necessary.
This is where it starts to become really difficult: If you have to build a system yourself that meets the needs beyond simply executing a test, while also maintaining and developing tests for daily production, it becomes difficult to keep an overview. The risk of ending up with a system where things are mixed together—and subsequently harder to split into reusable modules—is high. And this is where we often see that test departments in most manufacturing companies do not have the capacity to take on a task like this.
My recommendation, therefore, is to spend a couple of extra days familiarising yourself with what you actually get by starting to solve your test challenge with TestStand. You should not be intimidated by all the options available; instead, focus on all the resources you save by not having to facilitate the development and maintenance of an entire test management system yourself.
And if it turns out that you need a bit of help getting started, we at GPower are ready to step in. This can be anything from developing a test strategy to designing and implementing specific test systems.
At GPower, we deliver robust and scalable solutions across industries, from research to production. Our modular software helps you optimize and streamline operations, so you can focus on your core business.
