THE ULTIMATE GUIDE TO TRULY AUTOMATED TESTINGTHE FUTURE OF CONSTRUCTION MATERIALS TESTING.

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THE ULTIMATE GUIDE TO TRULY AUTOMATED TESTING 2

INTRODUCTION

Spend just a little time in any testing lab in the country and you’ll notice something. A few things, actually. Samples tagged by hand. Results written on clipboards. Data entered, line by line, into a laboratory information management system (LIMS) or quality control (QC) system. And then everything hand-delivered to the next stakeholder. Add it all up and the problem becomes clear: Construction materials testing systems are fragile, and too dependent on human hands.

This is the reality for many third-party testing labs, manufacturers and others

involved in the construction materials space today. Despite notable strides in

machinery and software, the industry is falling behind the rest of the auto-

mated world. The bad news? Labs that don’t automate more of the testing

process will soon be replaced by ones that do.

The good news? Automated testing – truly automated testing – is accessible

to any lab, manufacturer or company, right now. And the purpose of this guide

is to show you how. We’ll cover (1) what truly automated testing is, (2) why it’s

so important in today’s testing environment, and finally, (3) how your organiza-

tion can achieve it.

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WHAT IS TRULY AUTOMATED TESTING?

Truly automated testing is all about eliminating manual influence from the construction materials

testing workflow – from the time samples are created through testing through results dissemination

and storage.

Truly automated testing, then, can be defined as a construction materials testing process or workflow

that is free from the bias of human hands. Without it – and the platforms that enable it – you invite

the potential for human interference into dozens of failure points. This exposes your business, lab and

employees to serious legal and financial risk.

To fully grasp this concept, let’s trace previous testing workflows, where they are now and where they

will be in the future.

Manual Testing

For years, construction materials testing was conducted on manually operated machines. Specimens

were labeled with markers. Load settings were adjusted by hand. Results were recorded and trans-

ferred manually. And significant test detail generally went unrecorded.

But fully manual testing is tedious, time-consuming and vulnerable to human influence.

This prompted the industry to incorporate a bit of automation into the workflow, leading to the next

phase: semi-automated testing.

Semi-Automated Testing

Up until recently, the industry standard in materials testing has been some version of “semi-automated

testing.” This differs across organizations, but in a semi-automated testing workflow, you typically see

one or both of the following components:

1. Automatic machine

Instead of a manually operated machine that requires the skill, attention and time of a

technician, many labs have installed automatic compression, flexural, tension or specialty

machines that allow you to preload and run the test with the push of a button.

A single technician is more efficient, because he or she can run multiple machines, or can

perform other work while the test is running on a single machine. Automatic machines are

a significant step in the right direction because of how effectively they demonstrate the

advantages of automation.

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2. LIMS, custom software or database

Many labs have graduated from a paper-based system to a database that’s either home

grown in Excel or part of their LIMS.

Labs that utilize these tools can record, visualize and report on results more efficiently.

But, technicians still spend time writing or typing. Even a system that pulls results off of the

machine requires human effort to identify which results belong to which specimen.

Automatic machines and LIMS packages are vital to semi-automated testing, but there are still steps

in the workflow that require human intervention. For example, technicians have to manually label

specimens and make sure to bring the right specimen to the right machine on the right day. This is

because the machine doesn’t “know” what it is testing, and the setup and control are still entirely

dependent on the technician. Finally, technicians also have to transfer and enter data manually from

the machine to their LIMS or database.

This means there’s still plenty of opportunity for error – and exposure to risk. But that’s no surprise.

Because, as the name implies, semi-automated testing is not truly automated testing. For this, some

key adjustments need to be made.

Truly Automated Testing

Truly automated testing provides a testing environment in which data can flow seamlessly. Human

hands only have to interfere at three touchpoints:

■ Preparing the specimen

■ Determining the specimen parameters for testing

■ Physically loading the specimen into the machine

Data entry only happens at the beginning of the testing process. The rest can run seamlessly.

1. At the click of a button, your automatic machine runs the test.

■ If any parameters are off or abnormal for the chosen specimen or sample,

your machine will flag the test, asking you to double-check everything is

correct before proceeding

■ If any parameters are impossible (e.g. a parameter is greater than the capacity

of the machine, etc.), the machine will not let you click the “start test” button

■ If you inadvertently attempt to run a test on the wrong day, the machine will

warn you and require confirmation before proceeding

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2. After the test, the machine automatically exports the results, first to a cloud-based database, and the information is subsequently passed along to your third-party database or LIMS

This produces an unbreakable link between your machine and a searchable testing database that

contains results, project data, test setups and untested specimen data.

While technicians still have to physically bring the correct specimen to the machine on test day, truly

automated testing provides a benefit that is not possible in a semi-automated or manual configura-

tion. And that is if you bring the wrong sample on the wrong day, your machine will know it’s wrong and

prompt you with a warning.

How is this possible? In a truly automated testing process, the sample or specimen parameters live in

a cloud database and are tied to a unique identification number. A barcode that contains this ID is then

applied to the specimen. When a technician takes the specimen to the machine, he or she can scan the

barcode on the label, and the machine automatically recognizes the specimen, including its age and

expected strength.

For these reasons, truly automated testing is now the new standard in construction materials testing.

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WHY TRULY AUTOMATED TESTING MATTERS

We’ve looked at what truly automated testing means, but what is the real impact of this process? Why

does removing human hands matter?

It all comes down to removing variance.

Variance measures the spread of a data set. The higher the variance, the more the numbers in the data set are spread out. In construction materials testing terms, this means results are all over the place – not good.

Every human interaction within a process introduces inherent bias and variance. In fact, many ASTM

procedures have been specifically designed to reduce this bias. But they’re limited where human inter-

action is concerned. The ideal state for an engineer is minimal variance, which naturally means minimal

human interference.

The mission of eliminating variance can be broken into three core pieces: accuracy, productivity and

transparency.

Improving Accuracy

The sad reality is, humans make mistakes. We make small mistakes that compound into bigger ones.

We preload too high or too low. We rush and skip a step. We write sample numbers down incorrectly.

We smudge Sharpie. We lose paper.

Sometimes, our mistakes are just noise in data and for the most part insignificant. Other times, it can

become an operational risk. At the extreme, it costs not only jobs, but lives.

Eliminating human interaction improves accuracy simply by virtue of robotic precision. This is not to say

that software and machines should replace humans – humans still have to manage the testing work-

flow – but with truly automated testing, the majority of accuracy issues can be mitigated.

Errors in the CMT Workflow

Consequences from errors in the CMT workflow run from everyday to extreme:

1. Redo test

2. Core drill

3. Loss of reputation and future business

4. Critical field failure

5. Lawsuits or legal trouble

6. Higher insurance premiums

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Boosting Productivity

Most people can only do one thing at a time. Lab technicians are no different. Every number entered

into a spreadsheet is a non-zero number of seconds or minutes. Every test run on a manual machine is

time not spent preparing another sample or analyzing data. All of this affects a lab’s productivity.

Truly automated testing allows a lab to optimize technician time and shift focus to more strategic tasks.

This means you can conduct more tests and take on more clients. Truly automated testing can make a

lab more competitive in an industry where time and margins are always in short supply.

Automatic machines, which produce more consistent test results and allow labs to conduct more tests

per day than a manual machine, play a crucial role.

For example, one truly automated lab we work with has five Forney VFD automatic machines. They

barcode all of their specimens and have their barcode scanners mounted to the sides of their machines.

This allows them to pass specimens in front of the scanners as they load. As a result, a single technician

can run more than 100 cylinder tests per hour.

Promoting Transparency

Labs must be able to stand behind their work product. They must be able to prove they tested, checked

and recorded results correctly.

This is why truly automated testing is a disruptive force for good in construction materials testing.

Because unlike labs that follow a semi-automated testing configuration, truly automated labs can

prove their work.

In an industry plagued by fake data, falsified tests and the consequences they bring about, transpar-

ency has never been more critical. Truly automated environments provide an unbreakable, permanent

record when a regulator wants to see detailed test results to verify compliance.

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HOW TO ACHIEVE TRULY AUTOMATED TESTING

The only way to fill in the missing pieces and fix the broken links of a manual or semi-automated test-

ing environment is with ForneyVault®, a cloud-based construction materials testing platform that links

testing machines, LIMS packages and ancillary equipment (like barcode scanners) via a private cloud

database.

First, let’s address exactly what these missing pieces and broken links look like and why they’re dis-

ruptive to your workflow. Then, we’ll dive into how ForneyVault can transform your process into truly

automated testing.

Eliminating Broken Links in the Materials Testing Workflow

In a basic testing workflow, you have a sample of material you need to test, whether it’s rebar, a mortar

or grout cube, a CMU or ready-mix concrete you pour and cure into a cylinder or beam. Prior to testing,

you need to identify the proper specimen, measure various properties like length, width, depth and

diameter, and adjust machine settings based on the specimen and test types. After you conduct the

test, you have to collect, store, disseminate and use that data. In each of these steps, information has

to get from point A to B. In manual or semi-automated testing environments, human hands have to fill

that role.

This type of workflow reveals two major broken links: dark data and blind machinery.

Anytime data “goes dark” – or the process has to stop for human hands to intervene – you can’t

verify the data has accurately moved from one place to another. Because someone has to manually

enter and transfer data, there’s no way to go back and validate the movement. It can’t be seen or

traced. This is a major broken link. It’s also why testing labs, at the end of a shift, will routinely find a

few untested cylinders that somehow have results recorded on the clipboard.

Without truly automated testing, results are not transparent – putting your reliability and reputation at risk.

In manual and semi-automated testing, there’s no way to transfer test and specimen data to the

machine prior to testing. Without this missing piece, a machine can only perform a test and show

results that the technician assumes are accurate. But what if the results are based on a specimen

that was incorrectly pulled from the curing room? No matter how advanced your machine or robust

your LIMS package, in a manual or semi-automated testing environment, you’re still missing out on

the ability to verify a sample before it’s tested. Your machine can’t help your technician.

Is your testing machine blind to the sample it’s testing?

To achieve truly automated testing, you must eliminate these broken links in your testing workflow –

and you can only do this with the right platform.

PART 3

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Deploying ForneyVault Construction Materials Testing Platform

Truly automated testing is all about eliminating as many manual actions from the testing process as

possible. Without ForneyVault, there is no way to automate the connection between your testing ma-

chines and LIMS, from sample creation to data transfer. Human hands have to intervene.

ForneyVault unlocks the potential of technicians and machines, helping them get more done in less

time, with accuracy and transparency.

The good news is ForneyVault can link to automatic or manual testing machines. This means almost

any lab can achieve truly automated testing. Here’s how:

1. Sample and machine integration

Sample and test protocol data can be preloaded into your machine interface. Your machine

knows what it’s testing. If any parameters are unusual, the machine interface will provide a

warning that you have to clear before proceeding with the test.

After the test, records are automatically sent to the cloud database and other systems of

record. Test results cannot be altered or entered into ForneyVault by hand, promoting data in-

tegrity by creating an unbreakable, auditable link between sample, machine, test and database.

2. Private cloud database

ForneyVault’s private database provides structure for any lab’s testing, analytics, access

and security needs. Results are accessible by authorized users from any device, at any

time. Forever.

With ForneyVault, you can export results to a PDF and send to stakeholders. If someone

were to alter results on that PDF, for example, the unique specimen ID stored in the database

will still be intact. You can trace back to the original, real results with that ID. Forever.

3. Third-party integrations

While ForneyVault is the only path to truly automated testing, that doesn’t mean you have to

scrap your existing LIMS package. ForneyVault connects to third-party systems with near-plug-

and-play convenience via our API. This means you can access and analyze your data without

risking its integrity.

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CONCLUSION

Truly automated testing reduces the risk of errors, increasing compliance and

driving more positive outcomes for labs of all types. This is the necessary new

standard in the construction materials testing space.

ForneyVault is the final piece – the only path to truly

automated testing.