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Bret Williamson, SFC Technical Support Engineer
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Bret Williamson, SFC Technical Support Engineer
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This traveling technician visits an average of 40 to 50 customer's in person per year at the customer' own facility. When he's not on the road, Bret Williamson writes and reviews technical documentation, provides tech support by phone, and conducts training and tours at SuperFlow.
How long have you worked at SuperFlow?
Since March 1997; I took a break from January 2001 to October 2002.
Why did you choose to work at SuperFlow?
The job fit my vocational skills and fit in with what I do as a hobby which is any kind of motorsports activity--mostly motorcycles and cars.
What are your responsibilities as a technical support engineer?
I primarily perform field service work, commission new engine and chassis dyno systems, and provide training to these types of customers.
I feel my expertise is when I work face-to-face with customers. I get a chance to work with them when they get this brand-new piece of equipment. They're very excited, and they want to feel that they spent their money wisely. In 2 days I fill them full of information--sometimes overwhelming them. But at the end of those 2 days, when they realize what their equipment can do beyond their expectations, the gleam in their eye tells me they're a satisfied customer and I did my job."
What do you teach customers?
How the equipment works, theory of operation of equipment, how to operate the equipment, and then how to analyze and interpret their data obtained from using our equipment.
What other types of training do you conduct?
I provide in-house training for our other service engineers on topics such as understanding how our firmware works, how the WinDyn application works, and theory of operation of our products. At one time I performed board-level repair and troubleshooting, then trained our team how to troubleshoot an SF-901 board.
I also train large groups including teaching seminars at the Advanced Engine Technology Conference (AETC) and lead group tours here at SuperFlow for colleges and other interested organizations. During the tours I also teach, giving students an idea about what SuperFlow does and educating them about how the dyno works. This gives them a deeper understanding of the dyno capability so they understand results and where the numbers come from. I try to explain what the numbers mean so it's not just magic.
What are your thoughts about using SuperFlow products in the educational field?
One of the biggest advantages of using SuperFlow products in the educational field is that we allow you to see the math and the process used to calculate the numbers in the software. The student learns not only how the equipment works, but where the numbers actually come from and how they came about.
SuperFlow does not hide the facts about our numbers--the math and calculations are available for the student to dive into. Students can create additional calculations based on information they learn from an external source and then apply them to the dyno system.
SuperFlow sells educational dynos at an affordable price yet provides engineering-level information. For the same price, you won't get that kind of information from any competitor. For instance, you wouldn't be able to manipulate calculations to suit your needs or script an automated test to meet your needs on a comparable product.
We're giving you an engineering-level capability at a bargain-basement price.
Most people only scratch the surface when using a dyno or flowbench. For those interested in digging deeper with a SuperFlow product, there's almost no limit to what they can learn or have the dyno do for them.
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Bret teaches a group of IntelliTec students during a SuperFlow tour.
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What is involved with commissioning a system?
I ensure the system is assembled properly with all components functioning as advertised, help finish installation such as wiring, tailor the software to meet the customer's needs, write specific tests that meet the customer's testing requirements, and define data channels to acquire data the customer wants from the vehicle or engine being tested.
What assistance do you provide customers regarding test cells?
I evaluate the cell for compliance to our specs and advise the customer about areas that may need improvement--specifically looking for airflow in the test cell. If the customer is using a water brake system, I check how well the closed-loop water system is functioning, and of particular interest both in engine and chassis dyno cells, how well the exhaust is being extracted.
Do you support any other areas?
Yes. I'm primarily responsible for the layout of the default channel definitions SuperFlow ships for engine and chassis dynamometer systems and write all the default test profiles shipped with them.
I also write service procedures and information for some of our manuals, review technical documentation prior to publication, provide tech support over the phone when I'm in the office, and provide tech support via e-mail even while I'm on the road.
What was your background before joining SuperFlow Technologies Group?
Twenty years in the United States Air Force, retired; my background is in electronics hardware maintenance--primarily computer systems. The first computers I ever worked had vacuum tubes; the last ones serviced were desktop PCs. So my experience runs from first-generation to current-generation computers.
I spent the last 10 years of my service in Technical Documentation (both writing and reviewing) and managing large work centers of up to 200 people. From 1993 to 1997 I worked at NORAD at Cheyenne Mountain in Colorado Springs managing the maintenance and operation of mission systems--air defense, missile warning, and space surveillance/defense. In 2001 to 2002, I was the NORAD computer maintenance work center chief supervising 20 computer maintenance technicians. We maintained 24 different mission systems and managed all desktop PCs used by 1100 people.
You obviously understand computers and software. What impresses you most about SuperFlow's WinDyn™ software?
You can configure it to fit your needs and adjust it as needed. I like to use the analogy of a wife with furnishings in a new home. She might hang a picture in one place and move a piece of furniture to another. After a while, she may change her mind and move it around some more. She keeps making adjustments until eventually everything is in place and then she's set.
That's the way it is with the WinDyn™ software. You change it until you're satisfied, and then after a while it's set up the way you want it--not how an engineer says it has to be.
The dynamometer is an amazing piece, especially because of the WinDyn™ software. WinDyn™allows you to tailor the dyno specifically to you--how you want to see it, not how we say you should see it.
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