Thinking out-of-the-box: remote Factory Acceptance Test for S1850M radar

The S1850M Long Range Radar that came from HMS Dauntless of the Royal Navy's Type 45 class is officially completely revised as of last week. The overhaul was a part of the ship's 'Upkeep 2020' program and included a digital Factory Acceptance Test!

Test and Support manager Bernard Haanappel: “Such an overhaul entails the exchange and refurbishing of so many components that it basically has become a new system and needs to be requalified at the end of the process. We prove that it complies with the customer’s requirements by means of the so-called Factory Acceptance Test (FAT). Normally, we run these tests in the presence of the customer, but the COVID-19 restrictions made that practically impossible. We agreed with the customer to perform the FAT using our new Video Capture process.”

What is this Video Capture process?

David Reid, the team’s video expert: “It is quite complex but what it boils down to is that we share all documents and tests with the customer using video and a secure data connection. We developed the Video Capture process in our XR Innovations Lab over the past year into an easy and efficient tool. Essentially, we create small snippets of video for each step in the FAT and then link the videos to the text in a mini website. This makes navigation easy for the customer, and it is far better than having to watch a full 4-hour long video.”

Will this become the new normal?

Bernard: “There is a growing trend that Product Teams and Projects ask for more video content creation. Because it is effective, captures knowledge in a way that other content creation cannot, and it is efficient. There has been a lot of interest from other Product Teams who would like to video their product and provide extra services like Video Assisted Documentation (VAD). Already, more teams have requested time and resources in the coming months. This is good news for Thales and will greatly improve our knowledge retention.”

And the outcome of the FAT?

Bernard: “Thanks to the team, the overhauled S1850M passed all tests. Naturally, there are still a few minor issues that need to be addressed, but we are happy with the test outcome. This was the first of the S1850Ms on board of the Type 45 vessels and I hope the others will be just as successful.”