Daily Inspection
Overview
An operator must have the basic knowledge of tunnel operations, the basic pre-operation safety inspection of the structure and interior components.
Pre-requisites
There are no specific minimum pre-requesites required to begin learning the facility inspections and understanding the basic maintenance of the facility. Having some small mechanical type background will certainly be helpful but everything will be taught during the training for this skill. You will need to have a basic understanding of how the tunnel operates, the airflow path and the generation of the airflow, again most of what you will need to know will be included in the training.
Objectives
The primary objective will be for you to understand how to conduct pre-flight inspections and basic maintenance of the wind tunnel facility, knowing which areas to inspect prior to running the fan equipment and which areas that may be prone to requiring attention. This function is key to daily operations to ensure that the facility is running at it's peak with no known anomolies and can clue technicians in to any downward trends in running which could lead to breakage.
Preparation
Understanding how the facility physically operates, how the airflow moves and what creates the airflow and the basics behind it's functionality are your biggest preparation points to learning this skill. Having a mechanical type background can also be helpful but isn't necessary as the inspections at the instructor level are only basic preventative type inspections.