formal quality procedures in FRC?

[evanperryg]

Originally Posted by wireties

Very frustrating - every match was a different issue. We changed to a 6-stacker for champs from a regional-winning 5-stacker so the machine did drive differently. Our driver had a few problems (a few matches) but most problems were electrical and mechanical. We had a CANbus wiring problem (2 matches) then replaced a TalonSRX but did not properly wire it into the PDB (2 matches). We didn't properly position the cube robot, ours is an active tether design, one match. We tied a critical piece into a position to enable a 20pt auto effort by an alliance member but it did not release as expected (we were dead that match). We had joysticks swapped (one match) then had one flake out (frayed cable) - just one silly problem after another. Arghhh!

I don't know how many matches "a few" is, but if your driver is messing up in more than 25% of your matches, you need a new driver. The #1 most important aspect of a driver is their consistency behind the glass. If you have one driver that can put up 100 points 50% of the time and another who puts up 80 points 100% of the time, you should always go with the second driver.

Whenever you make any changes to your electrical system, have at least two knowledgeable, experienced students check your work. This will ensure any mistakes are found. After every match, check your electrical system, especially places that are high-risk or would cause serious problems if they broke. (For example, CAN lines, Ethernet cables, pneumatics)

Sounds like some of it is just bad luck, but some of those problems are preventable. However, you don't need any kind of documented policy to have a reliable robot. Make the pre-match systems check a part of your team's culture. Attention to detail should be practiced in the pit, on the field, and in everything you do.