The Journey to 2022 FIRST Championships: Part 2
In Part 1, I discussed the roadmap to getting to 2022 FIRST World Championships. Now, in Part 2, the excitement level really kicks up with competition time! This year the …
The Journey to 2022 FIRST Championships: Part 1
“We’re back!” Those were the first words the emcee spoke at the 2022 FIRST Championships in Houston, Texas, this past April. It had been three long years since the last …
DISTek Attends Women Lead Change Conference
What an exciting time to be a part of a flourishing organization like DISTek Integration! With all the growth that is occurring, we strive to create focus around Diversity, Equity, …
Sharing Our Why With Our Clients
Since our Why Statement was rolled out, most of the focus has been placed on how it applies to us internally here at DISTek. However, recently the Sales Team got together to discuss how we can present it externally in a way that resonates with our clients, as well. This not only equips our team with the knowledge and background when we are talking with current, as well as potential clients, but it also allows us to share more about who we are here at DISTek and what we believe in so passionately.
Recent AEM & AEF Happenings
I had the opportunity to attend two major events in March that involved both AEF and AEM participation. The first event in New Orleans was a joint AEF Plugfest at the same venue and overlapping with the Commodity Classic show which is partially sponsored by AEM. A little over a week later was another event sponsored by AEM: Ag on the Mall.
Cheers to 30 Years!
30 years ago DISTek founder Matt Dickinson took a leap of faith and stepped away from his Monday – Friday job at a company in the St Louis, Missouri area and started a consulting business from his basement. It is those humble beginnings that would lead to the formation of DISTek and pave the way for what it is today.
What are DISTekians Saying about Working at DISTek?
Love is in the air…. Alright, so yes, I’m a little late for the Valentine’s Day cliches, but here at DISTek we pride ourselves on continuous improvement and growth, in order to keep up employee morale, maintain an employee-first culture, and retain the best and brightest in our industry. We truly value all employee voices and strive to maintain open communication and transparency at all levels throughout the organization, to continue to be a premier workplace where our ESOP continues to flourish and benefit our employee owners.
So, what are DISTekians saying they enjoy most about being a part of the DISTek team? Check it out!
Arduino Saves the Day
In my work, I build Hardware-In-The-Loop (HIL) test benches. We connect prototype vehicle Electronic Control Units (ECUs) and their software to the HILs. The HILs replicate the various electronic actuators controlled and monitored by ECUs when they are connected to vehicles. We try to use the actual devices that would be used on the equipment, but there are a myriad of different reasons why this is not feasible for testing. A lot of the devices would take up too much space on the HIL. Some can be rather noisy when operating and others require complicated cooling systems to operate for extended periods of time. That is why I often create electronic circuits that will simulate the current feedback characteristics of the actuators.
2021: A Year in Review
If 2020 was the year that COVID-19 hit us like a tsunami wave, 2021 seems like it was the year we all tried to figure out how to respond to it. In the news, companies would roll out back-to-office plans only to have them postponed or modified. In-person events would get scheduled and then change to virtual or be cancelled, or in some cases, held in person but with restrictions or mitigations. If nothing else, the COVID-19 pandemic has at least improved our knowledge of the Greek alphabet.
Functional Safety Training
Every good software developer in the off-highway industry codes with safety in mind, right? So, what’s all this functional safety stuff about and why do we need to know it? DISTek continuously strives to stay on top of things like this, and recently DISTek engineers were lucky enough to get answers to all their functional safety questions in a 3-day training session. We received training on Functional Safety Standards ISO 13849 and ISO 25119 by the experts at UL. Being familiar with these standards will help us add structure and consistency to our software engineering work on safety-critical systems.
Our Team Based Approach
Here at DISTek, we value collaboration, teambuilding, and delivering unmatched value. We provide our clients with dedicated engineering teams that provide unparalleled value by freeing our clients’ time up so they can focus on broader business challenges. Our proven approach is not only extremely beneficial to our clients but brings significant value and meaning to our employee-owners, as well.
DISTek’s Why Statement
When I hear the term “why statement”, I think about a defining, short proclamation that explicitly states my purpose – the reason I get out of bed in the morning, what fuels my passion, what motivates me, and why I do what I do. Why statements can be personal in nature, but they can also exist at the company level.
