EVERETT, WA — Fluke Corporation invites students enrolled in two and four-year colleges, universities, trade/tech schools and apprenticeship programs in the United States to demonstrate their skills and innovation in the 2016 Fluke Connect Student Contest. Student teams use Fluke Connect wireless tools and software to collaborate and solve real-world operational problems. The first place team and its advisor will receive an all-expenses paid trip to visit Fluke Park for three days and two nights plus $3,500 worth of Fluke tools for the school’s department.
Last year, the team from Northwest Iowa Community College won with a project to increase maintenance efficiency in ethanol plants. “It was a good experience to get everyone to work together, to be part of a team, and meet deadlines,” said Team Member Blake Odle. “To talk in front of these higher up people in the business chain was a really good experience and something really valuable for me to take to my future career. I feel like I have a leg up on someone who has never done something like this before”
Watch the video of the NICC team’s project.
“The industrial internet of things is such a great connector between people entering the workforce and their future employers,” said Toffee Coleman, Fluke education program manager. “This contest challenges students to figure out why maintenance data is useful. What data should they collect and how can they use it to drive improvements? When teams collaborate with neighboring facilities on the project, both sides inevitably experience multiple ‘ah hah’ moments that are so rewarding to see.”
To enter, student teams design a project that uses Fluke Connect to improve operations for a facility or client. Applications and business cases are due by November 18th. A panel of judges will select five teams to compete, each of which will receive up to ten Fluke Connect tools plus Fluke Connect software to implement their project. The teams have until March 31st to complete their projects. Winners will be announced the week of April 10.
Fluke Connect
Teams receive full access to the Fluke Connect app, cloud software, and selected wireless test tools. They’ll use the tools to electronically collect and tag maintenance data and the app and software to store and analyze the results and recommend actions.
Fluke Connect allows maintenance teams to:
- Eliminate data entry errors by saving measurement data directly from the tool and associating it with a work order, report, or asset record
- Assign work orders to an asset and team member, and schedule it for completion
- Make confident maintenance decisions with data you can trust and trace
- Access baseline, historic, and current measurements by asset
- Move away from clipboards and spreadsheets and work collectively from one web-based data set, from anywhere on site or in the field
Applications and business cases are due by midnight PT Nov. 18. For Fluke Connect Student Contest rules, timeline, video invitation, and application, visit www.fluke.com/fcstudentcontest.
