All,

Some great points in the responses so far. I was a little surprised on how security / theft become a focus. When I mentioned that in my original email, my thinking was not so much about hacking accounts and the like, it was more about ‎having a device with removable SD card stolen or lost. Device wiping schemes may be ineffective in this case. I suppose it is the same issue with lost notebook computers.  

Thanks, - doug

Douglas Powell
http://www.linkedin.com/in/dougp01  


From: Ken Wyatt
Sent: Tuesday, February 18, 2014 9:22 AM
To: Doug Powell
Cc: EMC-PSTC@LISTSERV.IEEE.ORG
Subject: Re: [PSES] Mobile Compliance

Hi Doug,

I have no issues yet with the various cloud services, but I do maintain backup folders on a RAID drive. By avoiding keeping working files on my various mobile devices (plus the easy to use 'remote wipe" feature) if a device becomes lost or stolen, there's really little harm done.

For current client jobs, I place a working folder on DropBox. Once the job is complete (usually 2-4 days), I'll archive on the RAID drive.

As for time-keeping, invoicing and estimating jobs, I'd recommend a commercial product, rather than a spreadsheet. I use Billings Pro, with all data backed up on their cloud service. This allows me to access client records, update billable hours, and send invoices from any of my mobile devices. The data is automatically updated to all devices within a few seconds. The cost for the cloud-backup service is $10/mo. I'm sure there are equivalent packages for any OS.

As for compliance tools, you have some great ideas. There are many that can be developed using a spreadsheet. For example, a simple harmonic calculator is a real time saver for me when assessing a series of NB harmonics. A couple years ago, I blogged on several EE-related tools:


I also reviewed useful PC board viewers:


If you check my web site, you'll find another useful EMC tool...

If you're serious about independent consulting, you should make plans to attend the 2014 EMC Symposium in Raleigh, NC, this coming August. I'll be part of a team teaching the "EMC Consultant's Toolkit" workshop, which has been scheduled for Friday morning, August 8th.

Cheers, Ken
_______________________
Kenneth Wyatt
Wyatt Technical Services LLC
56 Aspen Dr.
Woodland Park, CO

Phone: (719) 310-5418

Email Me! | Web Site | Blog

On Feb 18, 2014, at 12:37 AM, Doug Powell <doug...@gmail.com> wrote:

‎All,

In addition to managing email and calendar, I have taken steps to actively use my smartphone while doing compliance work.  Theoretically this could include a number of ideas for Product Safety and EMC. I believe many folks now use memory cards to store standards in PDF form for handy access, but I'm now thinking about doing a little more than that.

For example, I am doing some consulting and I have saved an XLS spreadsheet in my dropbox folders for time tracking, quoting  and few other other administrative tasks. I can access these equally from my notebook computer and my smartphone. One advantage of the smartphone is its always running and I don't have wake up my notebook computer to update some bit of information. I have an HDMI Port for presentations and video. I also have the ability to print forms over WiFi from my smartphone.  With 32GB of memory, there's plenty of room to store files (I know, security is a concern and I am constantly aware of theft issues).  

I have considered doing some compliance engineering tools which can be run as a spreadsheet on a mobile device.  ‎Some basic examples might include lookup tables, quantity conversions, field strength conversions, interpolate antenna distances, altitude corrections, wire gauge, and spacings determination. 
‎ 
Is this something compliance professionals are doing now or have considered for the future?  ‎And are smartphones, notebooks, tablets or possibly thumb drives preferred?

Please, no discussion about brand loyalty (Apple, Android, BlackBerry, Samsung, etc.).

Thanks, - doug

Douglas Powell
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