After 33+ years at DTS, Steve Pruitt, co-founder and Chief Sales & Business Development Officer, has retired. Steve, along with two other crash test engineers, Tim Kippen and Mike Beckage, began DTS in 1990 in an office above a garage. Today DTS is a successful global company with headquarters in Seal Beach, California and 7 technical centers around the world.

In his parting email Steve said,

“I have enjoyed working with you all over many years of crash, blast, and other testing – WorldSID, WIAMan, dosimeters and many other product developments. This is truly a great profession and industry. I can honestly say that everyone I have worked with has been dedicated to helping to make the world safer for us humans, no matter what kind of vehicle or sport we subject ourselves to. I have helped test everything from roller coasters and Olympic bobsleds, to ejection seats and stunt men to athletes and race cars to tanks to rockets and many more I can’t remember. Truly the best job ever!”

Steve, thank you for helping to create such a phenomenal company that advances human safety. You will be greatly missed, but your legacy lives on!

DTS specializes in miniature data acquisition solutions and portable data logger solutions for product development, performance validation and safety testing. DTS DAQ solutions are engineered for extreme test environments and are reliable in even the most challenging applications.

For a fourth consecutive year Diversified Technical Systems (DTS), headquartered in Seal Beach, California, was named as one of the Best Places to Work in Orange County. The awards program was created in 2009 and is a project of the Orange County Business Journal and Best Companies Group.

“DTS is honored to be recognized by our employees as one of Orange County’s Best Places to Work. The annual survey from the Orange County Business Journal recognizes the great team we have at DTS,” says Rollin White, Head of DTS. White credits a combination of great employees, great teams, and interesting projects that all make DTS one of the best places to work. “We’re all very proud because this is the fourth consecutive year DTS has been recognized as a top company,” adds White.

One of the survey participants said it best, ‘Wonderful people and great teams who enjoy their work and work-life balance. Plus working on exciting industrial-grade and high-quality products that directly help improve safety in our daily lives.’

DTS is ranked in the mid-sized company category. The awards program works to identify and honor the best places of employment in Orange County, California, benefiting the county’s economy, its workforce, and businesses. The two-part application process includes evaluating each employer’s workplace policies, practices, and demographics, which is worth approximately 25% of the total evaluation. The second part is an extensive employee survey which measures the employee experience and is worth 75% of the score.

About DTS: Diversified Technical Systems specializes in manufacturing miniature, rugged data acquisition systems and sensors for product and safety testing in extreme environments. DTS data recorders and sensors are used for testing in a variety of industries including automotive, aerospace, injury biomechanics, sports, military and defense. Founded in 1990 and headquartered in Seal Beach, California, DTS also has technical centers around the globe and is part of Vishay Precision Group, Inc. (NYSE: VPG).

Congratulations Tim on your retirement from DTS after more than three decades of vision, passion, dedication and hard work! You will be greatly missed. 

Tim, along with Mike Beckage and Steve Pruitt, co-founded DTS in 1990. From humble beginnings working out of an office above a garage, the 3 engineers developed DTS into a global success. Today DTS headquarters is based in Seal Beach, California, and has 7 technical centers around the world.

Tim officially retired in December 2022, but was presented his retirement award at the DTS annual meeting earlier this year so the entire company could be present. Mike Beckage, CTO and Steve Pruitt, Chief Business & Sales Officer, presented the plaque to Tim which says, “Thank you for building a company that has made a real difference in the lives of all of us at DTS and has no doubt saved many lives through product innovation in occupant safety.” 

Mike shared, “Thanks, Tim. I was adding up the years – 38 years together, starting with Cal Poly Pomona. I just want to add, the first 12 years at DTS could have been terrible because it could have gone south but we stuck with it. Perseverance, like I always tell people.” Mike added, “These guys paid supreme attention to detail and it worked. So we are all here today because we were able to hang together and Tim, I really appreciate your work and your friendship.”

 Tim and Mike’s friendship first began in an engineering class at Cal Poly Pomona. Mike recommended Tim for a job at Mobility Systems, as a crash test engineer, and it was there that they also Steve.

 “Testing and crashing cars sounded like a really good thing,” Kippen commented in an interview for the Cal Poly Bronco magazine. “That’s how I fell into it. It’s the most fun thing in the world to set up a really big physics experiment, think about how something is going to wreck and then just do it. We thought the industry was underserved, and that’s how we moved forward,” Tim said.

 The rest, as they say, is history.

 DTS manufactures miniature, rugged DAQ, sensors and portable data logger solutions for a variety of applications including product development, performance validation and safety testing.

As we ring in a new year, here are a few of DTS’ innovation highlights and events from 2022 – just in case you missed anything!

The NFL & DTS
The NFL mouthguard sensor program which launched in 2019, is continuing to utilize mouthguards fitted with the DTS DDR (Dynamic Data Recorder) which is vital in gathering critical head impact data that will help in the development of rule changes and equipment designed to improve player safety.

You can read more about this program in Driven by Data – The NFL Player Safety Revolution and more about the DDR, a flexible standalone 6DOF data logger, in Meet the Smallest Most Versatile 6DOF Data Logger Available.

NASA’s Artemis 1 & DTS
Talk about rugged – DTS equipment has now been around the moon and back!

What a year it’s been for both NASA and DTS. A big highlight was the Artemis 1 mission. A 25 ½ day uncrewed flight successfully went around the moon and back, then had a textbook splashdown on Dec. 11, at 12:40 ET. This text flight used the most powerful rocket in the world, known as the Space Launch System Rocket (SLS) which propelled the Orion spacecraft for the first minutes of the mission. You can read more about that in Taking the Next Leap to the Moon.

And the DTS equipment that went on this historic mission? The TSR PRO data logger. This compact data logger was embedded behind Captain Moonikin Campos’ seat (the test manikin that went on the mission). When the hatch doors closed the TSR PRO was trigged into action to record acceleration and vibration data which will help NASA better understand forces astronauts may experience on the first scheduled crewed mission of the Orion spacecraft – the Artemis 2 mission set for 2024. Read more about Artemis 1 and DTS in “To Boldly Go Where No TSR PRO Has Gone Before.”

Crash Test/Blast Test Dummy News
The WIAMan blast manikin, which was developed in partnership with DTS, the U.S. Army, and top Universities, is designed to measure vertical loads from a blast impact that comes from below the occupant. The incredible amount of data collected from the integrated DTS data acquisition system is processed by a software analysis tool called AMANDA, or Analysis of Manikin Data. AMANDA received a final stamp of approval when it was accredited by the U.S. Army Test and Evaluation Command on Feb. 2. Read more about this in “Blast Test Dummy Assessment Tool Receives Stamp of Accreditation.”

GM (General Motors) is aiming for a goal of a world with zero crashes and recently introduced their safety brand, Periscope, which is a more holistic approach to vehicle safety. DTS and GM have a long-standing partnership to help make the world safer. DTS data acquisition (DAQ) are designed to support crash safety. Read “GM is Boldly Aiming for a World with Zero Crashes” for more information.”

DTS Employee Happenings
DTS welcomed 11 new people onto the DTS team this year, and are proud to be named one of the best places to work in Orange County for the 3rd year in a row by Best Companies Group;

“DTS is proud to be named one of Orange County’s Best Places to work again. Our success starts with our employees, and we’re honored that they have put us on the list for the third year in a row,” said Rollin White, Head of DTS.”

And congratulations to all those who were promoted!

One intrepid group of DTS employees got together to run the 190 Mile Ragnar Race. Dubbed the “Dapper Dummies,” they completed the race in just over 33 hours. 

We have no doubt that 2023 will be an exciting year full of innovation, testing breakthroughs, and a whole lot of fun. Hope you’ll join us on the journey. If you don’t already please Follow Us on Facebook and connect with us on LinkedIn.

Here’s to a happy, prosperous and safe 2023!

DTS is excited and proud to be part of the Artemis 1 mission – take a look! Yes, that is a DTS TSR PRO shown onboard Artemis 1 – to the moon and back!

UPDATE Dec. 11, 2022: Success! After 251/2 days, the Artemis I mission made a successful splashdown on December 11, 12:40 ET in the Pacific Ocean off Mexico’s Baja California.

UPDATE Dec. 2, 2022: After successfully completing the retrograde departure burn using the main engine on the European Service Module (https://blogs.nasa.gov/artemis/), Orion is on the return journey home. The burn was one of two maneuvers needed prior to Orion’s splashdown scheduled for Dec. 11.

We are proud to announce that a DTS TSR PRO data logger is traveling beyond the moon onboard Artemis 1, to help capture vital acceleration and vibration data that can help improve astronaut safety on the upcoming crewed mission, Artemis II.

Space, the final frontier… now, as we reach further into space, exploring that “final frontier” is no longer an if, but a when. With the recent launch of Artemis 1, part of NASA’s Artemis program developed to return us to the moon and beyond, we are that much closer to glimpsing more of what is ‘out there.’

Artemis 1, crewed by a manikin, is a mission of testing new technologies. The new technologies include the Space Launch Rocket (SLS) system, the most powerful rocket in the world. According to NASA1:

The crew is expected to experience 2.5 times the force of gravity during ascent and four times the force of gravity at two different points during the planned reentry profile. Engineers will compare Artemis I flight data with previous ground-based vibration tests with the same manikin, and human subjects, to correlate performance prior to Artemis II.

To help gather this data, the manikin’s seat is outfitted with sensors designed to record acceleration and vibration data during the mission. The DTS TSR PRO data logger, which is embedded in the seat back, is triggered to record when the hatch door closes. The vital acceleration data captured by the TSR PRO will help NASA better understand what forces astronauts may experience on Artemis II, the first scheduled crewed mission of the Orion spacecraft set for 2024.

“It’s critical for us to get data from the Artemis I manikin to ensure all of the newly designed systems, coupled with an energy dampening system that the seats are mounted on, integrate together and provide the protection crew members will need in preparation for our first crewed mission on Artemis II,” said Jason Hutt, NASA lead for Orion Crew Systems Integration.

The DTS TSR PRO is a compact rugged data logger that makes it easy to measure acceleration forces in extreme test environments such as rocket launches, space flight, and splashdowns. The data logger has a built-in data recorder and sensors and is self-powered for unattended monitoring of acceleration and vibration. When the hatch door of the capsule closes it triggers the TSR PRO to begin recording to capture that key data which can help contribute to astronaut safety on future missions. 

Congratulations NASA on this historical enterprise. We can’t wait to see what’s next!

To read more about the TSR PRO & NASA’s Artemis 1 Mission go to Taking the Next Leap to the Moon.

Resources
1. https://www.nasa.gov/feature/purposeful-passenger-artemis-i-manikin-helps-prepare-for-moon-missions-with-crew

UPDATE: NASA successfully launched the Artemis 1 moon mission on the first Space Launch System rocket at 1:47 am EST (0647 GMT) on November 16, 2022 and after a 25 1/2 day journey the Orion capsule slashed down on Dec. 11, 2022.

On July 20, 1969, we made that first giant step and landed on the moon. Now, Artemis 1, part of a series of missions – missions that will bring us back to the moon and the hope of establishing a human presence there, is about to take off. The launch date for this historic event is scheduled for August 29. (UPDATE – the first two launch attempts were scrubbed due to issues NASA could not troubleshoot within the launch windows. “We do not launch until we think it’s right,” NASA Administrator Bill Nelson said.)

Lift off will be at NASA’s Kenny Space Center and Artemis 1 will be the first to use the most powerful rocket in the world, known as the Space Launch System Rocket (SLS) which will propel the Orion spacecraft for the first minutes of the mission. Artemis 1 will travel beyond the moon, further than any spacecraft built for humans has gone before. The 42-day duration mission will function as a demonstration of Orion’s systems prior to sending up a manned mission. Expected splashdown date is currently set for Oct. 10, 2022, at a reentry speed of 24,500 miles per hour – hotter and faster than any reentry before.

For these new missions, innovative technologies have had to be designed and tested. As part of assisting with future crew safety, the DTS TSR PRO data logger was used to help quantify the acceleration profile of the crew seat backs on launch. The closing of the hatch door triggers the TSR PRO to record and capture vital data which helps contribute to the success of these missions.

This first Artemis mission will be “manned” by Commander Moonikin Campos, a suited mannikin strapped in the commander’s seat on Orion. “Some data collected from Artemis I will be used for Orion crew simulations and to verify crew safety by comparing flight vibration and acceleration against pre-flight predictions, then making model refinements as necessary,” said Dr. Mark Baldwin, Orion’s occupant protection specialist for lead contractor Lockheed Martin.¹

DTS would like to wish NASA and all organizations that have contributed to these upcoming missions, good luck! We are proud that DTS data acquisition equipment has been chosen by NASA for more than 3 decades to support their aerospace testing.

For more details on Artemis 1 and the moon missions go to https://www.nasa.gov/specials/artemis-i/.

Resources
1.https://www.nasa.gov/feature/purposeful-passenger-artemis-i-manikin-helps-prepare-for-moon-missions-with-crew

For a third consecutive year Diversified Technical Systems (DTS), headquartered in Seal Beach, California, was named as one of the Best Places to Work in Orange County. The awards program was created in 2009 and is a project of the Orange County Business Journal and Best Companies Group.

“DTS is proud to be named one of Orange County’s Best Places to work again. Our success starts with our employees and we’re honored that they have put us on the list for the third year in a row,” said Rollin White, Head of DTS.

DTS was named 27th in the medium-sized company category. The awards program works to identify and honor the best places of employment in Orange County, California, benefiting the county’s economy, its workforce and businesses. The two-part application process includes evaluating each employer’s workplace policies, practices and demographics, which is worth approximately 25% of the total evaluation. The second part is an extensive employee survey which measures the employee experience, and is worth 75% of the score.

As DTS has grown over the last 32 years and as the world deals with a global pandemic, it’s been even more important to continue to find ways to create an environment that fosters personal growth and wellness. “Encouraging creativity, initiative and a team spirit, along with our dedication to our customers, and to each other, is what makes DTS special,” added White.