|
RONALD E. SIMNER Summary I provide consulting services specializing in Collision Avoidance of Personal Watercraft (PWC). Also known as Off-Throttle Steering Loss (OTSL) and Off-Power Steering Loss (OPSL), this is an inherent handling characteristic of PWC that occurs when the throttle is released or the motor is turned off while the craft is moving. This loss of steering control contributes to a significant number of PWC accidents each year. Ten years ago I designed and patented the WaveTrax™ multi-rudder steering system for PWC, which provides positive steering control during OTSL situations. WaveTrax has been tested twice for the US Coast Guard, once by Underwriters Laboratories and was featured on Inside Edition. Experience PWC Safety Consultant I provide consulting services involving Collision Avoidance in Personal Watercraft. I also design, develop and test Collision Avoidance systems for specific PWC applications. I provide expert witness testimony describing the operation of PWC under on-throttle, off-throttle and off-power conditions, along with the effects of technologies such as rudders and throttle reapplication during collision avoidance situations. I have been working with the National Association of State Boating Law Administrators (NASBLA) since August 1997 in identifying and addressing Off-Throttle Steering Loss issues in PWC. For the 1997 NASBLA Annual conference I provided the PWC Subcommittee Chairman a presentation on WaveTrax, as well as a working model. Consequently the committee and the Executive Board passed resolution 97-3 calling for the US Coast Guard to “review and test available emerging technology... and establish an off-throttle steering standard/regulation for the personal watercraft industry”. This resolution resulted in the US Coast Guard issuing a grant for the OTS study. I worked very closely with the USCG grant manager in reviewing the proposed test procedures and in providing general assistance and information as to the handling characteristics of PWC. Because of discrepancies between the conclusions and the data in the report, the Coast Guard has decided not to release the test results, even under the Freedom Of Information Act. On April 4, 1998 I was asked to give a WaveTrax presentation to the NASBLA PWC Subcommittee, followed by on-the-water collision avoidance testing for members. As an invited speaker at the 1998 NASBLA Annual Conferences, I gave a presentation on OTSL and WaveTrax, speaking opposite of Roger Hagie who represented the PWIA. On July 6, 1997 I assisted in collision avoidance testing of WaveTrax, which was videotaped for Inside Edition. The test objective was to determine the effectiveness of WaveTrax in providing steering control to a novice rider during off-throttle operation. The test results were broadcast nationwide on Inside Edition on June 1, 1998 and clearly show the effectiveness of the technology in side-by-side accident avoidance simulations during off-engine operation. I was asked to participate in the USCG-sponsored testing of PWC Collision Avoidance performed by Underwriters Laboratories (UL) in 2000. Their testing included evaluation of WaveTrax on three PWC models. The test results were used in developing a UL Collision Avoidance Performance Standard. I am a member of the Society of Automotive Engineers (SAE) Personal Watercraft Subcommittee and have been actively involved in the development of a Collision Avoidance performance standard (J2608) along with the review of standards for fuel, floatation and electrical. President, Ride Technology I founded Ride Technology in 1992 to design, develop and market WaveTrax steering systems for PWC. In 1992 I patented WaveTrax and then brought design to production. Product development included model making, prototyping and testing. Moving the design to production included the development and verification of drawings, evaluation and selection of materials including injection molded composites, vendor selection, delivery schedules and incoming quality assurance specifications. Product marketing included logo design, packaging design, advertising campaign, press releases, literature design, trade show booth design, trade show experience and customer product demonstrations. I worked with editors in trade publications to generate three product evaluation articles. Current work includes development of a retractable rudder system for PWC, patent pending. Other Experience Software Support Process Manager Analyzed, improved and automated the software support process. Worked with technical support managers and engineers to identify, prioritize and fix problems in Clarify call tracking system and to create requirements and specifications for Clarify bug tracking system. Interfaced with MIS administrator and Clarify account representative to address call tracking product and support issues. Examined organizational structure within the support group and its relationship to the level of customer service. Proposed work group structure aimed at reducing response time for customer inquiries, reducing call-backs, improving internal support levels and assigning responsibility for escalation procedures. Analyzed current and future staffing requirements required to improve the level of support. Replaced labor-intensive customer phone surveys with computerized e-mail scripts including automated data collection, filtering and analysis. Improved customer survey coverage from 2% to 82%. Also created improved survey to more closely address customer needs and concerns with respect to support capabilities. Analyzed process flow for automated call distribution system and its integration with the call tracking system. Created specification for web site "mirroring" of call solutions database. Director, Program Management Defined and maintained project specification files. Worked with engineering, sales and marketing to develop and establish a team approach to project management. Defined project requirements including project leader, kickoff meeting, design reviews weekly progress meetings and customer status reports. Defined project roles and responsibilities. Facilitated weekly scheduling meetings. Resolved resource conflicts and projected resource horizon. Served as customer liaison for critical projects. Created and implemented engineering change order (ECO) procedure addressing late specification changes. Created and maintained database of project schedules. Worked with engineering and marketing to evaluate new business opportunities. Developed plan for a technical alliance and product distribution with major CAD vendor. Responsible for design, purchase, setup, and tear down of trade show booth. Selected promotional materials and advertising slogan for DAC trade show. Reviewed product literature and documentation for Access standard cell product release. Analyzed customer database for potential sales leads. Developed UNIX script to email information to customer database. Performed analysis of cost of schedule delays and rework. Manager Software Quality Assurance Managed four software quality assurance (QA) engineers and one database administrator. Formed software testing group initially with volunteers from software development group. Demonstrated results to management and convinced them to create permanent QA team, eventually growing the group to six people. Interfaced with engineering and customer support to develop comprehensive test suites. Held bug prioritization meetings with marketing, applications engineering, customer support and development engineering. Developed concept of QA specialists in each product group. Held new product test strategy planning meetings with engineering and implemented sign-off procedures for new product testing. Established minimum acceptable defect level for product releases. Developed and implemented integration testing and regression testing for existing and new products. Created automated test results analysis package. Established a software test methodology and defined flow for bug tracking system. Responsible for design, specification and implementation of new bug tracking system. Trained all employees on use of bug tracking system. Attended and drove process improvement meetings. Developed capital budget for QA group and purchased capitol equipment. Responsible for coordinating software releases, including scheduling, verification of bug fixes, beta testing, release notes, installation guides. Direct software support of strategic accounts and technical alliances Supervisor, ASIC Applications Supervised two applications engineers and one technical writer. Responsible for technical review of all ASIC quotations including evaluation of gate counts, logic optimization, design partitioning, electrical specifications, packaging criteria, power consumption, and oscillator requirements. Also responsible for creation and revision of all data sheets and design manuals for 1.5µ Sea-of-Gates, 1.2µ Channeled Gate Array, and 1.2µ Standard Cell CMOS products. Designed turn-key Standard Cell IC for automotive application and supervised qualification, evaluation, and testing of engineering samples. Worked with marketing, sales, FAEs, and customers on a daily basis to resolve business issues such as non-recurring engineering (NRE) charges, nondisclosure agreements, development schedules and design interface levels. Assisted in the development of a 1.5µ Sea-of-Gates product line including cell size, gate counts, routability and scan test. Provided training to FAEs and sales and developed and gave technical customer presentations. Education Bachelor of Science, Electrical and Computer Engineering, 1982 Professional Organizations Member — SAE PWC Standards Subcommittee Other Achievements Inventor of WaveTrax patented steerable rudder system. Publications "Evaluating Silicon Compilers: Process Calibration, Density, Design Verification," References Available Upon Request. |
|