Field trials are one of HSI®’s specialties. Our ability to plan and execute a scientifically rigorous field trial is what separates us from our competitors and keeps our clients satisfied.
So what’s the big deal? What our clients typically find when they join us for a field trial is that it’s not always rainbows and butterflies. Aside from sacrificing personal time to travel on weekends and spend weeks on the road, field trials are often a combination of long hours, inclement weather, sub-par food, and high pressure to succeed. Not to mention that, most of the time we are in a small town that most people would be happy to just pass on through. So when we do have free time, it’s pretty slim pickings on what to do.
What is weird is that when I go two or three months without a raw, kick-in-the-pants field trial, I kind of crave it. I crave the adventure. Never mind the cons. The realities are: I get to travel across North America, do things I would never do outside of work, and face technical and interpersonal challenges that develop skills in a way that sitting at a desk or in a lab would never accomplish. Strangely enough, even though our team of consultants is comprised of people with all sorts of different personalities, tendencies, and personal interests, we somehow manage to have a good time. Even if we are eating bland food, in a remote town, after working out in the rain for 12+ hours. It’s a testament to the importance of working with people you like.
So, when traveling home from a trial, it never fails that, even though I’m tired, mentally exhausted, and want nothing more than a home-cooked meal, I feel a sense of accomplishment and self-satisfaction that I just had an experience that most researchers in my line of work would never get. And that’s a pretty big deal to me.
Jordan Bray-Miners