amuck-landowner

Automate Everything at Work

KuJoe

KuJoe

Well-Known Member
Verified Provider
I have an awesome AutoHotkey script that handles all of the repetitive tasks of my job, I would quit my job if I could automated 100% of it though. That's just boring and a waste of time and energy (not to mention the lack of job security would be stressful).
 
drmike

drmike

100% Tier-1 Gogent
I love it.


Not being a coder and focusing on other stuff as daily work, there is little I can automate.


Things I could automate potentially:

  1. Tea kettle - would have to use electric model and tether it to Arduino and wall plug module.
  2. Blinds - opening the blinds and closing them is tedious and necessary (we like light right) - more Ardunio, more cables/power that don't exist.  Last time I looked for a built solution was like $100 per blind.
  3. Curtains - same as blinds - they make modules to attempt to automate this $100 per window.  Between blinds and windows I'd have thousands of dollars invested and a mile of cords.
  4. Power isolation - lots of devices here sipping power that shouldn't be.  Problem is I can't use proximity sensors because the gear isn't in front of me.  Timers probably would work though $15 per device. Might do this soon (goodbye thirsty laser printer eating power).  But I know I'll end up with other users trying to use such during off hours --- here goes me playing support team.
  5. Grocery list - definitely need something upside the fridge to log everything proactively that needs replenished (and need to move that to secondary storage where the unused warehousing is being done - yeah I am doubled up on groceries - most of them).   Probably can make do with a tablet slapped on the fridge.
  6. Mailboxes - definitely could benefit from sensors there to notify of when mail actually arrives.  Problem is no power.  Batteries suck, especially outdoors where they freeze and get cooked.  Mailman might get afraid with a box full of wires looking like a terrorist training kit.
  7. Notifications / reminders - I need reminders to tell me to exercise, to eat, etc.  Could probably do this on phone/tablet if I found an app that I actually liked, was open, could export data and import data from other things (we are automating right?  Need open conduits).
  8. Environmental conditioning - be it traditional HVAC or in my instance biofuels... lots of things need eyeballed for maintenance, monitoring the condition of the firing, cleaning cycles and detection, etc.  This one is complicated.  I am already doing a bit of optimization with monitoring air temperature compared to outdoors to figure out optimal settings and eliminate variables.  Same needs to be done for fuels and purchasing and storage, because all of it is not equal although commodity in nature.
  9. Light controls - yeah automated world needs to regulate those blinds and curtains, but also the interior lighting.... I like low lights, but enough to be comfortable reading.  At times I need a bit more depending on task (i.e. more when working on electronics, assembly, etc. less when looking at a bright monitor).  Light sensors exist as end products cheaply.  I use some intended for Christmas lights with a photosensor that is adjustable to turn on and off various fixtures.  Bigger and more unrefined than I'd like, but whatever, aesthetics I care little about.
  10. Human BS - I don't know, the automater in this story liked to lie to significant other, bosses, etc.  That's not my style and I am the boss, so we can skip that.  But I can see doing this for predictable things and for some that are cascading in nature.  Pinging other humans about project status, tasks that need done, etc.  Things exist for these, but needs to be hinged on other automation.. When this happens, there goes notification.   Same applies to any failures of the above, automation busts, contact the human to play janitor to the machines.
 
HalfEatenPie

HalfEatenPie

The Irrational One
Retired Staff
I'm in the process of automating a ton of my tasks at work...  But that's also because it's what I'm technically "hired" to do.  


Honestly, our office isn't as "advanced" as some of the offices out there, but it's enough that I could probably use stuff like this there haha.  


Overall, fairly hilarious. 
 
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