Regardless of personal opinion about global warming being man-made or part of a larger climate shift, it's fair to say that cleaner emissions and increased fuel efficiency is universal win-win scenario. Due to costs pressure around fuel and lubricants caused by post-COVID inflation and geo-political instability, fuel prices across the board have increase at an exponential rate. With these cost pressures in might, savvy companies have begun marketing fuel additives and catalysts bolstered by claims of 3-10% fuel efficiency improvements.
There is an old say, "If it sounds too good to be true, it most likely is", but risk reward for the idea generally is too great to dismiss outright in todays economy. Enter data analytics, Power BI, and SQL Server Management Studio; for those unfamiliar with SSMS, it is a tool to allow a user with limited knowledge of Microsoft SQL to still see where and how data is stored. Given a well structured database, with a few strategic mouse clicks through hierarchy a user can view their data through an automatically configured SQL statement.
With the raw data and SQL statements generated in SSMS, the user can then pull this data into Microsoft Power BI using step by step instructions in the program. Once the raw data tables are brought in, the user can then edit using standard DAX input, a language Power BI shares with Excel's Power Query. Personally, I was a bit overwhelmed with the functionality, but users across the internet have created how-to guides for almost every scenario i have dreamed up.
With the fuel data scenario in mind, it became relatively short work with tools named above to import data from a Sharepoint excel document, a SQL database, and an Azure database, create relationships between the 3 tables, and perform the calculations required to establish a consistent baseline reading with the intent to test real world results and verify manufacturer claims. It is important to note that I had no prior "coding" experience until roughly 3 years ago and received little in the way of formal training, so never let lack of experience keep you from trying something new!
For those curios about the how-to guides and advice, please follow this blog and my Twitter @Tim_white_eng for daily updates and reach out with any questions or success stories.
Comentários