So much has happened in the past couple weeks, but I never got around to blogging about it since both work and living transitions have kept me busy. I’ve officially moved into my housing at Dominican University, which is about 3 miles or so from the office. The campus is really nice and surrounded by trees (not unlike Rice!).
As for work at 3SD, I’m not quite sure where to begin! The team has been working tirelessly to perfect the Pumani unit, both the units that are already abroad as well as those to be manufactured. Krister and I have continued to work on reconfiguring tubing sets and exhaust system to make absolute certain that there is no chance of compromising safety. The units in Malawi have been working very well, which is great to hear. I remodeled the tubing sets 3-4 times (both digitally as well as physically) before coming up with something that eliminated any chance of kinking while maintaining the proper back pressure. Initially I definitely felt quite disappointed and frustrated when I had to continue ripping apart all 20 tubing sets I had constructed to rebuild them, essentially losing 8+ hours of work. However, this feeling was short-lived. Every iteration that I went through was a learning process, and I feel that we should always strive for a more perfect model.
Here I’m working on developing the exhaust system for the Pumani.
With all these revisions and redesigns, there of course must be paperwork to follow. I worked through learning the process for documentation and just filed my very own Document Change Order this past week! Surprisingly, this was actually very exciting to me. I’ve had to jump into these projects with such a steep learning curve that I almost can’t believe it has only been two weeks since I arrived. Being able to complete an industry process that I was completely unaware of just two weeks ago by myself is so satisfying, and I can’t wait to learn more.
Speaking of industry, we very recently visited the Pumani manufacturing company, Pride Industries, in Sacremento this week. Pride is truly an amazing company. They provide great manufacturing and service solutions while also providing job opportunities for individuals with disabilities. We visited the site with an auditor and found no issues. They go through incredibly meticulous processes to document all tests and processes for the Pumani. I got to see and learn how to use the testing fixtures there and get a first hand view of how every unit is put together on the line. Sitting in on the meetings was also incredibly informative.
More exciting news: I’m now working at a work station! The computer is equipped with SolidWorks and Labview. I can now edit the design models and run pressure and oxygen level tests on every unit. Though the weeks have been busy, I really appreciate the work and am more than happy to be able to contribute. I really look forward to getting any feedback after Pelham takes some of our kits with him to Malawi!
In other news, every Thursday night there is an incredibly farmer’s market in San Rafael. I know where I’ll be eating dinner those days.
