Design Engineering & Project Management

Q. Describe the most common types of jobs you do for your clients.

A. Refurbishing existing systems is the primary work right now. Both in the area of improving efficiency for lower operating cost and in the retasking of used equipment instead of buying new. In many ways this is more challenging that building from scratch.

Q. What important information should buyers have thought through before seeking you out?

A. They should know how the existing equipment is intended to be used. If they are looking for a new equipment solution, they should know precisely what they want to accomplish, not necessarily how they want to accomplish it but what the end result needs to be.

Q. Why does your work stand out from others who do what you do?

A. Quick response to customer needs, a wide range of experience in thermal processing methods and materials, when you call you will speak with the person most responsible for providing solutions to meet your needs.

Q. Do you have a favorite story from your work?

A. Once a customer was having problems on a thermal oxidizer of my design. They could light it but it would go out when throttled up. After finding no hardware or electrical problems I went out in the rain to look through the burner peepsight to see what was happening. It appeared that there was an obstruction in the nozzle so I pulled the burner apart and found a well cooked pigeon carcass inside the velocity nozzle. It appeared that the bird flew in and couldn't get out. When the upturned burner output was raised high enough it would float the carcass up to the end of the convergent nozzle plugging the outlet and killing the flame.

Q. How did you decide to get in your line of work?

A. I found that this business requires that I use all the different engineering disciplines that I learned in college. Although it is a niche industry the actual work requires a broad knowledge base to accomplish efficient design and function.

Q. Do you do any sort of continuing education to stay up on the latest developments in your field?

A. Continuing education is what happens when you take on a challenging project. If you don't learn something from the project then you're in the wrong business. Other than that, as a member of NFPA, ASME and SME, I stay up to date on all the latest changes in process requirements, guidlines and codes as well as looking at the latest technological changes so I can offer my customers the best available solutions to meet their needs.

Q. If you were advising someone who wanted to get into your profession, what would you suggest?

A. Work for a small OEM for a while to get experience on many different types of systems and processes. Make sure you get a thorough understanding of the fundamentals in the various engineering disciplines of statics, dynamics, heat flow, fluid flow and electrical power and controls.