Gordon-Darby, Inc. - Testing Equipment

Testing Equipment

Competitive Advantages
Equipment Manufacturing
Equipment Manufacturer Interaction
For-Sale Equipment
Equipment Features

Gordon-Darby is the only I/M contractor that produces all of its own hardware and software systems. We combine a limited number of hardware components obtained from outside vendors with internally manufactured equipment to create our own systems. Except for some commercially available third-party applications (utility programs, word processing packages, etc.) that are integrated into our systems, all software code is custom designed by Gordon-Darby as well. Test equipment designed and manufactured by the company includes:

Decentralized Idle, OBD-only and OBD/Safety test systems and repair shop carts
Centralized Idle, loaded mode and OBD test systems
Vehicle chassis dynamometers
Vehicle and gas cap evaporative integrity test systems
Diesel vehicle snap idle test systems
Automated vehicle safety test systems

Competitive Advantages

This puts us at a decided advantage to our competitors from many standpoints. We are not heavily reliant upon third-party vendors and are therefore not subject to their scheduling constraints. By manufacturing and assembling our own equipment, we are not subject to implementation delays due to equipment non-delivery or other supply problems that our competitors face.

The fabrication and manufacturing of our own equipment also means we have control over the quality and durability of the equipment. This allows us to choose what compromises to make between durability and cost, whereas our competitors are at the mercy of the choices made by their suppliers. As an example of the benefits provided by this approach, we involve both vehicle inspectors and equipment repair technicians from our existing programs in designing any new equipment, to ensure the equipment is easy to use and maintain. New equipment technicians are also brought in during the manufacturing phase to increase their familiarity with the equipment. If the technicians know how to build the equipment, they will have little problem maintaining it after installation.

Another advantage of manufacturing our own hardware and software systems is that we know exactly what is in the systems, down to the last dynamometer bolt and line of computer code. As a result, if something goes wrong with one of our systems or we decide an improvement is needed, we can easily make any necessary hardware or software modifications. Other contractors must rely on equipment suppliers to effect such changes. This makes them much less likely to unilaterally decide to improve their hardware or software (since they have to pay the supplier to do so), a decision that Gordon-Darby has made several times in its programs. In addition, the senior hardware and software designers who created our first program, and every program thereafter, are still with Gordon-Darby. They have been and continue to be involved with upgrades to the systems, thus maintaining a knowledge base that is unequalled in the industry.

Equipment problems may also result in finger-pointing between a contractor and its suppliers as time that should be used to resolve the problem is instead spent on figuring out whose responsibility it is to fix it. This situation can also be exacerbated by the use of so-called “smart systems” by some of the contractors. Software incorporated into these systems is designed to provide a data stream from the suppliers’ emissions analyzers that can be captured and used by a contractor’s operating system. However, the software that is incorporated into such a system creates a “black box” that is a complete unknown to the contractor’s programmers. If a problem is found in the results recorded / reported by the contractor, significant time and resources can be expended determining the source of the error. Conversely, if we encounter a problem in our system, we are able to fix it immediately.

Equipment Manufacturing

Because Gordon-Darby manufactures equipment on an as-needed rather than continuous basis, substantial flexibility has been designed into our manufacturing process and procedures. The company’s primary manufacturing facility is co-located with Gordon-Darby’s corporate offices in Louisville, Kentucky, while additional program-specific facilities are used on an as-needed basis. During non-manufacturing periods, the Louisville plant doubles as a warehouse for staging and storage of replacement equipment and components prior to shipment to our program-specific warehousing facilities. During program implementations, activity at the plant and / or the program warehousing facilities increases tremendously. As noted previously, this includes bringing in the equipment technicians that will work in the new program. Not only does this ensure that the technicians are completely familiar with the equipment, it also results in improved quality control in the manufacturing process. Since the technicians are going to have to work on the equipment, they have a vested interest in making sure it is built correctly.

Once the best mix of assembly and staging facilities is determined, a phased process is used to manufacture all of the required equipment. This process was used in successfully equipping all loaded mode lanes in Arizona and subsequent IM240 lanes in the Phoenix area, and assembling over 1500 decentralized OBD-safety test units for the New Hampshire program. It is a proven, cost-effective manufacturing approach that incorporates the flexibility needed to address any possible program implementation.

Equipment Manufacturer Interaction

Gordon-Darby’s role as an equipment manufacturer also provides the company with significant insight into the hardware and software development and checkout processes that are required whenever I/M program updates or other changes occur. This in turn significantly facilitates the development and acceptance testing effort that may be needed in updating electronic transmission systems and VIDs as part of new program implementations. We know which elements are important to check and what types of common problems (bugs) occur, leading to a much more efficient and therefore shortened acceptance testing process.

For-Sale Equipment

While most Gordon-Darby equipment is built for use in the company’s decentralized and centralized programs, previous projects have included manufacturing centralized emissions and safety test systems for sale and use by others.

Equipment Features

Specific features of Gordon-Darby-built equipment is described below.

Chassis Dynamometer

Constant Volume Sampling (CVS) System

Gas Analyzers

Evaporative Test Equipment

Safety Test Equipment

OBDII Equipment