What I learned working remotely as a Mechanical Engineer for a startup
Remote work is said to be a new workplace revolution: flexible schedule, zero commute time, autonomy in work-life. When faced with the decision of accepting a remote work offer from imagiLabs, I didn’t hesitate much. I knew I couldn’t move to Sweden, but I was sure I wanted to dedicate my time to building tools to empower girls in technology.
I was very aware of the many challenges I, and the rest of the team had to face. Working across different time zones (8 hours difference!) would require a lot of planning and time management. Morning standups would actually happen around 5 PM for me. Some meetings would run until 11 PM. Loneliness and missed opportunities to connect with people are also inevitable. No face-to-face interactions, no team dinners, no parties. But being an introvert by nature, I didn’t mind all of this. However, something I wasn’t at all prepared for was the challenge of making hardware remotely. I didn’t realise that I was about to become a full-time remote Mechanical Engineer.
After more than a year of remote work and the successful production of our first physical product, I would like to share some troubles we faced as well as ways in which we were able to overcome them. Long story short, making hardware remotely is hard, but possible at the highest quality level!
Lesson #1: Communicating about hardware is VERY difficult.
Hardware is by definition a physical product, it’s not a written document or a block of code on the screen. It’s offline. It needs to be touched, measured and evaluated physically. While Google Hangouts and screen sharing have made verbal interactions much easier, it is still impossible to communicate things like the surface texture or feel and strength of the material (still waiting for VR technology to solve this problem).
Having to rely on verbal communication, language becomes the limiting factor since there are only a few words to describe the vast range of physical properties. For example, we can have a smooth surface, a rough surface, a very rough surface, an extremely rough surface…?
Talking about 3D objects over calls is also tricky. I remember several instances when I would go on explaining a problem on “the front side of the product” only to realise that I never clarified which side I am referring to as the “front”. Being physically together also allows you to point at something and say “here, it’s wrong”, while we might otherwise spend over 10 minutes taking screenshots and drawing arrows and circles around the part we want to talk about.
Here are some essential tools that made our communication as painless as possible:
- a 3D Printer is an absolute must for any team working with hardware products. It is impossible to agree on things like the size and shape of the product without holding the exact same object in your hand. Thanks to SolidWorks and Formlabs we have been able to replicate the same model in various environments and run identical tests regardless of location. I highly recommend investing in a maker-space membership or even buying a desktop 3D printer (you can find decent ones for as low as $300). The prototyping stage is vital to any product development cycle and it should not be tied to a specific office environment. Especially in small teams, it is very important for every member to be able to set up the prototyping process easily and replicate the product.
- GrabCAD workbench was another life saviour. This software allows users to view and manipulate 3D files without having to install any software. While screenshots are great, it is vital to be able to study the model: rotate, scale, make cross-sections or change the transparency of the material to view inner contents. GrabCAD workbench allowed all of our team members (regardless of CAD skill level) to easily examine the product whenever needed.
- a phone with a good camera. Communicating through visuals is much more effective than through words. We took photos of everything: 3D prints, product samples, packages, manuals, screws, strings etc. I think my Google Photos will soon add a new category “imagiCharms” to the Things folder. Physical products never turn out exactly like computer renderings, thus it is essential to capture every detail and be able to communicate it with remote team members. A good camera became especially important when examining pre-production units received from the factory. We had to spot and communicate very minute visual defects, such as distortions, discolouration, scratches, misalignment or any unwanted marks. Sometimes the imperfection was easily spotted by the naked eye, but required almost a professional lighting setup in order to be caught on camera.
Lesson #2 derives directly from the communication problem, and it is the importance of thorough documentation and a file naming system.
Something as small as mislabeling one file or part could lead to huge confusion and a lot of wasted time. Imagine missing one component in your BOM (bill of materials), and thus receiving a very misleading price quotation from the factory? Even though one piece might cost 0.01$, when it comes to thousands of production units, there is no room for carelessness.
The file name is also crucial, it needs to be unique and descriptive. For example, our naming system includes a product name, material, part, version and date: imagiCharm_Plastic_Bottom_v10[12–14–2019], not Plastic_FinalFINAL (I know we all are guilty of this).
When it comes to documentation, we kept a record of every meeting, saved every screenshot and render. Not only does it make communication easier, but also saves a huge amount of time in case you later need to access an older file.
At imagiLabs we also worked hard to keep all documents very organised and accessible for each team member. If I ever needed to find out the electrical specification, I knew where to look instead of waiting hours for a remote team member to wake up in a different time zone and answer my Slack message.
How did working remotely help me improve?
Lesson #3: Remote work greatly prepares you for working with overseas manufacturers.
Working with Chinese factories is basically remote work unless you are based in China. At this stage, communication becomes especially difficult due to the language barriers and various styles of the workflow. However, by the time I had to explain our design and specifications to the factory in Shenzhen, I felt fully prepared for every step of the process. Whether it is sending over CAD files, explaining features through a Product Requirements Document, communicating CMF (colour, finish, material) or even explaining the unboxing experience through videos — we have done it all within our team.
After a year of remote work with imagiLabs, I have just joined a new startup in Tokyo. I come to the office every day, commute 1 hour on the train, eat lunch with co-workers and am finally in the same time zone as the rest of the team. I am very excited about this change in my work style, specifically about the beauty of working together with other passionate engineers face-to-face.
If you ask me now whether I would recommend choosing remote work for Mechanical Engineers, my short answer would be no. However, I believe that remote work could be a great solution for many engineers who want to work from home or for an overseas company. With enough organisation, efforts to invest in the right tools and clear communication it is possible to produce great hardware on time without sacrificing quality. Perhaps career recruitment should be less tied to a specific location?
