IEST Education and Support to the Testing Community
When new personnel assume leadership of testing labs without the benefit of previous experience or a qualified support network, problems often occur. The Institute of Environmental Sciences and Technology (IEST) is helping to bridge this knowledge gap with structured training programs, resource publications and networking events.
IEST, a not-for-profit organization, has provided a broad spectrum of education and leadership through its primary areas of expertise - Design, Test and Evaluation/ Product Reliability (DTE/PR) and Contamination Control (CC) - for more than 50 years. A recent focus on Nanotechnology by LEST is benefiting both these areas. The DTE/PR segment specifically contributes technical support to the Environmental Testing community through many of its activities.
ESTECH 2008. Taking place at the Hilton Chicago/Indian Lakes Resort near Chicago May 4-7, ESTECH is a forum for technical topics addressing the many issues faced by professionals in the DTE/PR and CC areas. Participants also can network with industry experts and visit the exhibition hall where companies show the latest technology - one venue for people to learn basic-through-advanced topics from leading experts. Testing personnel can attend three ESTECH tutorials and receive an attendance certificate in Advanced Environmental Testing. Individual tutorials on many subjects are also available. The IEST is host to the working group on MIL-STD-810G, which contains many methods of interest to the testing world. Please visit www.iest.org for more information on ESTECH 2008 and future conferences.
Recommended Practices (RPs) and Working Groups. IEST Recommended Practices are must-have resource documents for your lab and library. Developed through consensus by dedicated Working Groups, some of the topics of interest to testing professionals include:
Recommended Practices
* IEST-RP-DTE 009 Vibration Shaker System Selection
* IEST-RP-DTE oil Mechanical Shock and Vibration Transducer Selection
* IEST-RP-DTE 012 Handbook for Dynamic Data Acquisition and Analysis
* IEST-RP-DTE 013 Vibration and Shock Test Fixturing
* IEST-RP-DTE 026 Using MIL-STD-810(F), 519 Gunfire
* IEST-RP-DTE 032 Pyroshock Testing Techniques
* IEST-RP-DTE 040 High-Intensity Acoustics Testing
* IEST-RP-PR001 Management and Technical Guidelines for the ESS Process
RPs and Working Groups in progress
* IEST-RP-DTE 022 Multi-Shaker Test and Control: Chair Tony Keller, Spectral Dynamics
* IEST-RP-DTE 033 Shock and Vibration Testing: Chair Gus Cutting, Honeywell
* IEST-RP-DTE 041 Climatics Fundamentals: Chair David Gibbons, Agilent Technologies
* IEST-RP-DTE 043 MIL-STD-810(G): Chair Ken Thompson, US Army
* IEST-RP-DTE 044 Time Waveform Replication: Chair Nigel Linden, Re-Test Consulting
* IEST-RP-PR 002 Automotive Issues: Chair Dustin Aldridge, Delphi Corporation
* IEST-RP-PR 003 HALT and HASS: Chair Geoff Cmar, TD Test
You can join a Working Group to learn, contribute to shaping the future and assist others. Please visit www.iest.org for more information on the availability of IEST Recommended Practices,
Online Courses. Through the IEST "Access the Experts" online courses, your personnel can learn at their desks or you can set up training for your entire site in your meeting room. IEST charges only one fee per viewing site, not per student, saving travel expense and stretching your training budget. IEST, through its extensive professional contacts, brings a wide range of topics to you from Industry experts. Visit www.iest. org for details and courses or contact IEST about a custom program for your organization: 847.981.0100; iest@iest.org. The 2008 DTE/PR program began February 20 with "Earthquake Testing Following Guidelines of Telcordia GR-63-CORE."
Tutorials. In addition to tutorials at ESTECH and the Fall Conference, IEST is developing a program of two-day Select Site courses including Vibration Testing A-Z scheduled for November 2008 in the northwest Chicago area. Visit www.iest. org for information on tutorials and watch for announcements of future Select Site courses.
Technical Interest Groups (TIG). IEST is establishing a TIG program that features a combination of online information and courses in conjunction with laboratories and universities in major cities. The intent is to bring the Vibration Basics A-Z course to local areas in either a one- or two-day format. TIGs will bring together people with similar interests. IEST is also developing custom events for facilities in order to meet the education and training needs of their personnel and their customers.
Journal of the IEST. A highly regarded technical publication, the Journal of the IEST includes peer-reviewed topics relating to IEST disciplines as well as Tech Talk articles dealing with day-to-day issues. The Journal of the IEST is a benefit of membership in IEST or can be received by subscription. The Journal of the IEST is available on-line with a detailed search feature to allow access to more than 20 years of previous articles.
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