NATIONAL SERVICE REPAIR SUPPORT CENTRE

A large well-equipped hi-tech electronics laboratory is situated at Head Office in Wellington. This facility has three principal functions : printed circuit board fault diagnosis and repair, product research and development, and a limited level of product manufacture.

Machine and board repairs are carried out on a diverse range of Petroleum and Weighing and Testing Division products from a myriad of manufacturers. Skilled electronics technicians repair circuit boards from petrol pumps, scales, EFTPOS terminals and electronic cash registers on a daily basis.

Repairs are carried out using test beds designed to allow quick and easy access to components. Where required, the test beds are networked back to a controller to ensure that full communications are tested during the repair process.

The latest diagnostic and repair equipment enables technicians to work on surface mount and multi-layer printed circuit boards. To ensure a fast turnaround of repairs, a reconditioned circuit board exchange scheme is also in place.

The electronics laboratory undertakes research and development projects, often designing products where nothing suitable is available in the marketplace. Custom designed products such as multiple input/output peripheral control devices and access system data terminals owe their origins to just such in-house development work.

Manufacture of custom designed products is also carried out by the laboratory because manufacturing runs are of limited numbers.

A soak-testing room with a controlled environment is available where boards, in test rigs, and custom manufactured products are allowed to cycle for 48 hours prior to dispatch, simulating normal operating functions.