The United States Military is known as the most technically advanced organization in the world. And many of those technologies and scientific innovations enter our everyday lives without our knowing their origins. Aircraft engines, radio frequency (RF) engineering, ambulances, duct tape, weather radar, microwaves, digital cameras, and GPS all come from strategic military initiatives. Even the Internet evolved from work within the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA).
It’s not just about exceptional technology
But it’s not this exceptional technology that makes our armed forces extraordinary. Instead, millions of active, retired, disciplined, and patriotic people are the main reason for our nation’s military superiority. Exceptionally competent, highly educated sailors, soldiers, and airmen are behind these military innovations during wartime and peacetime. Their deep and unwavering sense of duty is the critical force multiplier that fuels the technically advanced armed forces.
As these troops retire from active duty, they bring valuable expertise to the civilian workforce. They play pivotal roles in advancing our public and private sector organizations with unmatched skills. I’ve had the privilege of working with retired US Navy, US Air Force, and other veterans during my 22 years in the high-tech industry. My primary work was in electronics, telecommunication, networking, wireless technologies, cybersecurity, control systems, and the Internet of Things (IoT). Each of my veteran co-workers brought a wealth of technical experience to every challenge.
Intelligent Spaces Group (ISG) is a trailblazer
Intelligent Spaces Group (ISG), as part of Acuity, is a trailblazer in these technology areas. Various ISG engineering teams have expertise in sensory networks, lighting technology, geographical information systems GIS, energy management control systems, mobile app design, and data analytics. The deployment and field services teams manage the critical tasks of optimizing these innovative solutions, comprised of all these technologies, for production and large-scale deployment executable across North America in a short timeframe. Field Service Engineers (FSEs) deal with a wide range of challenges, including
- Adoption issues related to complex solutions
- Frustration from bugs and product immaturity
- Customer expectations
- Systems integration tasks
- Complex sales cycles
Each solution must be operationally efficient, help our customers save energy, and facilitate making their spaces smarter, safer, and greener. Our military veterans’ combined skills and overarching work ethic are the driving forces catalyzing Acuity Brands to deliver unmatched customer solutions. Few people realize how much the company and customers benefit from their ability to shape ideas into viable technologies that make it into customers’ infrastructure.
The FSE team
The FSE team comprised mostly of veterans, have in-depth knowledge of cartography, networks, cybersecurity, RF/Radar, communication systems, and complex/nuclear electric power plants. They’re always applying their military management skills, technical expertise, and flexibility to deliver projects under constantly changing and challenging circumstances. The FSE team operationalizes the deployment of Acuity solutions for scalable deployment and ensures they meet customer requirements. They develop standard work instructions and comprehensive training programs to leverage a diverse and geographically sporadic team, including contractors, in a flexible manner to meet all SLAs. These men and women bring the same zeal and decisiveness to Atrius that they used to keep complex machines like nuclear-powered aircraft carriers operational during long deployments at sea. Their resourcefulness and creativity personify “the art of possible” every day.
My ISG colleagues and I are immensely thankful for the Field Services team’s veteran employees and their families. Thank you for your service then and your commitment to Acuity now.
