Survival Techniques for the Practicing Engineer

Anthony Sofronas, DEng, PE, has spent the past forty years troubleshooting field failures, designing machinery, and fixing equipment for ExxonMobil, Bendix, and General Electric. He is currently a consultant and presents seminars worldwide through his company Engineered Products. He has published forty-one technical papers and articles, along with a bimonthly column for Hydrocarbon Processing magazine on engineering case histories.

• About the Author xiPreface xiiiAcknowledgments xv1 Getting Ahead 11.1 Finding your Niche 11.2 Twenty Rules to Remember 51.3 Calculated Risk Versus Reward 81.4 Advancement 91.5 Learn from Observing Failures 101.6 Keep Good Records of what you have done 121.7 Flexibility in your Career 171.8 You’re Known for Your Work 171.9 Ethical Behavior in Engineering 191.10 Humor in the Workplace 201.11 Self-Preservation when Documenting your Analysis 211.12 Don’t be Overwhelmed 221.13 Providing Guidance to Others 231.14 The Technical and Managerial Ladder to Advancement 24References 262 The Politics of Engineering 272.1 What to do 272.2 What not to do 282.3 Disenchantment with your Job 302.4 Conducting yourself in a Meeting 332.5 Organize and Prioritize 352.6 Do as much as you can for your Colleagues 362.7 The Catch 22 of Engineering Project Work 372.8 Arrogance, Humility, Favors, and Courtesies 382.9 Be Curious and Inquisitive 402.10 Striving for Perfection 43References 443 Utilizing the Input from Others 453.1 Just out of College 453.2 Mentors and Colleagues 463.3 Interaction Between Disciplines 473.4 It’s Nice to be Appreciated 483.5 The Funny Look Test 493.6 Uncluttered Thinking 493.7 The Art of Visualization 513.8 The Importance of Alliances and Networking 52References 534 Communicating Effectively 554.1 Speaking Effectively at Meetings 554.2 Effective Writing Skills 574.3 Learn to Listen 585 Problem Solving and Decision Making 615.1 Why is this Section Important? 615.2 The Simplest Solution First 625.3 The 80–20 Relationship 635.4 The Five WHY’s used in Problem Solving 655.5 Being the Devil’s Advocate 665.6 An Engineering Approach: Use the Scientific Method for Problem Solving 665.7 You Need to know the Whole Story 705.8 Failure Analysis and Accident Investigations Differ 725.9 Why Decision Making is Important in Engineering 735.10 Decision on Several Choices 745.11 The Importance of Personal Checklists 765.12 Confirmational Bias or Self-fulfilling Prophecies 78References 796 How an Engineering Consultant can help your Company 816.1 Why Use a Consultant? 816.2 What a Consultant can do 826.3 The Cost of a Consultant 837 Consulting Engineering as a Career 857.1 Consulting as a Career 867.2 Compensation will Probably be less than you Expected 877.3 How much should my Billing Rate be? 887.4 The Job Contract 887.5 You must Understand the Companies’ Politics 887.6 Documenting the Consulting Effort 907.7 Useful Equipment for a Mechanical Engineering Consultant 907.8 Verifying an Analysis 918 Precautions on Purchasing First of its Kind Equipment 938.1 Initial Design Specifications 948.2 Question Everything and Understand the Design 948.3 Document all Changes and Trust no one 958.4 Assign Responsibilities 958.5 When things don’t Work as Expected 96References 979 Useful Information to Consider 999.1 Various Types of Equipment and their Failure Loads 1009.2 Cracking of Welds due to Cyclic Stresses 1019.3 Remember to Consider all Forces and Moments 1049.4 Phantom Failures: Some Failures are very Elusive 1079.5 The Art of Hammer Tapping 1089.6 Development of Some Simple Energy Equations 1099.7 Maintaining Proficiency in your Analytical Abilities 1119.8 Safety Concerns to be Aware of 1159.9 Should I Pursue a Patent? 118References 11910 Case Histories using Analytical Models 12110.1 Building an Analytical Model of a Material Processor 12310.2 Determining the Loads on the Processor Structure 12910.3 Determining the Life of the Processor 13110.4 Discussion of Failure and Potential Fix of Processor 13210.5 Understanding the Sloshing Equation 13510.6 Failure of Agitator Coupling Bolts 13810.7 Causes of Auger Feeder Screw Failures 14010.8 Temperature of a Blocked in Centrifugal Pump on Bypass 14110.9 Heat up Rate and Rubs on a Steam Turbine 14310.10 Pneumatic Testing Dangers and Beware of Safe Distances 14410.11 Containment of a Wrecked Internal Part 14710.12 A Catastrophic Disaster 15210.13 Why are Parts out of Tolerance on the Production Line? 15510.14 Failures Caused by an Impact Force 15710.15 Design of an Aircraft Tow 15910.16 Shaft Failures and Crack Growth 162References 16611 Benefits of Continuing your Education 16711.1 Benefits of an Advanced Degree 16711.2 Importance on Selecting your Academic Advisor 16811.3 Difference between an Engineer and a Scientist 17011.4 Benefits of Continued Education 170Reference 17112 Closing Guidance 17312.1 Determine what you want to Achieve 17312.2 Most of my Success was due to others 17412.3 It’s not so much what you do as what you Haven’t Done 17412.4 Become a Mentor to Someone 17412.5 Remembering those before us 17612.6 Thoughts on the Future of Engineering 178References 180Index 181