April 1, 2009

Valuing “where to look” for solutions

Recently, I was visiting a customer’s plant as a follow up to earlier work.  In the general conversation, the customer had asked me a basic question as to the principals of operation of one of his process equipment units at his water treatment plant.  The question required a basic understanding of how his water filter operated and a related question as to the operation of his backwash pumps during the backwashing/cleaning of his filters.

Having been involved in both design and operation of the specific type of filter installed at his plant, I asked if we could go the filter building and observe the operation during backwash.  It turned out that, in doing so, I was able to help him understand how he could backwash without the need to operate a 40 hp backwash pump (the pump had been turned on for backwash for the entire plant history of more than 30 years) – thus, saving this energy and relevant costs and “demand” charges.

Since I was visiting the plant on my own volition, it seemed inappropriate to “invoice” for the solution I had just provided.  And, yet, I think that this is part of the “problem” with engineering…..it seems that many of the answers are simply practical and not theoretical or equation defined.  In other words, the supposition might be that any person could see the solution – given the same knowledge which I had acquired.  Yet, isn’t this the base of the conundrum which all engineers face….at any given time, we arrive at solutions which – in some circumstances and with some individuals – the answer could be provided by a casual observer or simple lay person or mechanic.

Is an Attorney's knowledge of Law helpful?

Now, this, I realize, sounds elitist but isn’t it the preparation, the background, the many hours at the drawing board, and even the mathematics in differential equations solutions which are embodied in such a solution?  The pump had run for 30 years – and survived the scrutiny of many previous witnesses and tours by dozens (hundreds?) of engineers and bystanders and no one “knew” what to look for.  My background and my arduous history of working in the internals of design and operation of this type of filter led me directly to the solution/resolution.  Luck?  I suggest that it is the embodiment of engineering knowledge that led me to the solution.  And, why do we feel that this is “un-billable work”….while we are so ready to pay an attorney’s invoice where she/he renders an opinion with much less productive results?

I don’t have the answer for this rhetorical question…perhaps you do?

Regards,
Don

Thomas Friedman’s latest book – Hot, Flat, and Crowded – is another best seller. Similar to his previous book – The World is Flat – he shares a worldwide perspective on changes which are occurring in a very dramatic shift in world demographics and related political evolutions.

From his perspective the world is warming at an alarming rate caused by overuse of fossil fuel. He points out that Europeans have been energy conscious for decades and properly treat fuel as a limited resource.

Whether it is his book or other sources that stimulate us to look at our energy usage, it is clear that there is a trend in communities to become energy conscious and sustainable.

Wind energy offers a renewable alternative to fossil fuels all acros the U.S.

Energy conservation, whether to save costs or to save the planet, is a concept every community embraces and encourages. It will not be long before the success of water and wastewater facilities are measured by the energy efficiencies. As the world becomes hotter, flat and crowded, what can water and wastewater designers and staff do to maximize the energy efficiency of their facilities?

For the new plant designer:

• Select motor starters for energy conservation and peak power demand reduction
• Select the very highest motor efficiencies
• Select Variable Speed Drives (VSD’s) based on total system efficiencies
• Place watt meters on “screen savers” on SCADA systems
• Design facilities which provide for “benchmarked” minimized carbon footprints – from beneficial utilization of biogas to use of energy mass balance equation

For existing plant staff:

• Assign a key staff person as “energy Czar” and provide her/him with a budget and decision making powers
• Monitor Power trends, plot it, and report on it…for every possible meter site you have. This may be only one meter (main facility meter) but monitor it and report it to all members of the staff – on a prominent bulletin board and – of course, if you have it – on SCADA screens
• Require your engineer to integrate energy conservation and efficiency in your next design or upgrade
• Request an evaluation of power consumption at your facility and compare it to world standards for equivalent treatment (often available at no charge by people such as “Focus on Energy” or your power provider)
• Implement one or two key energy reduction initiatives at your facility and bring these to the attention of your management or city mayor or village president – and, the local newspaper
• Ask your regulatory agencies (such as EPA or DNR or your power company) what they can do to help you make an incremental improvement in power reduction
• Engage your local schools/teachers in projects where they can help you monitor changes/improvements. Children are very “green” these days…we all can learn a lot from them and they want to help.

Together, all things are possible. And, we are on this small planet, together. So lead, follow, or get the “h” out of the way! But do something about it…water and wastewater utilities are consuming () 5 to 7% of your community’s power!

Don

(This post was originally published in November 2008)

"P.E." behind the engineer's name brings value to your project

In the world of water and wastewater systems, most of us interface with engineers – most of whom have a “P.E.” after their name.  This message is not to depreciate the value of P.E.s nor to call for any change in who we are interfacing with…the point of this note is to help all of us better understand the big picture in how things get done in our water and wastewater world.

It is a little known fact that less than 10% of all  graduate engineers are P.E.s.  This is due to the fact that most engineers are not asked to produce a license or P.E. registration.  The reason that some engineers become P.E.s and others don’t is involved in the fact that only “public construction” typically requires a P.E. to stamp/submit plans for approval.  And, though it is ironic, extremely few P.E.s require submittal or transmittal on all of the construction related materials for public construction.  It’s like the “don’t ask, don’t tell” conundrum.

The vast majority of engineers – therefore – go completely unrecognized in our day to day routines.  Yet, nearly every major manufacturer of equipment and controls (and even pipe and concrete reinforcements) have engineers employed by the manufacturer at various levels within the organization.

“So what?”, you may say.  Well, it costs almost nothing for your engineer to require that transmittals and submittals on subsystems for your utility be transmitted or stamped by an engineer or professional from the supplier.  And, when such a request is made by the P.E., it raises the bar of competence – since the acquiring of a P.E. is a time consuming and expensive process…and, any licensed engineer is bound to be cautious (careful in her/his review) in providing data, designs and associated equipment.  Thus, the real question should be, “Why not”!

No one objects to requiring their attorney to be a licensed attorney (almost no attorneys are not licensed).  Why would you accept the complex equipment and integration of such equipment in public infrastructure to be assembled, designed or built without a P.E. at the manufacturing/construction end of the project?

It is up to you.  Cost is nothing.  Value is an established level of competence.

Don

All of us have had the experience of making a change in one part of a network or puzzle and finding that the apparently small change has affected the entire system….often in ways we did not desire. This fact – called systems heuristics – affects many engineering/equipment insertions at water and wastewater plants.

There is an exceptional expert in this field – Draper Kaufman – and he has been kind enough to share some of his presentations with me. My favorite slide from his presentation reads as shown below:

Everything is Connected to Everything Else

• Real life is lived in a complex world where all subsystems overlap and affect each other.
• The common mistake is to deal with one subsystem in isolation - this almost always backfires as other systems respond in unanticipated ways

Belt thickeners are "mini-systems" within treatment facilities.

In our industry – water and wastewater utilities – this awareness is crucial to successful equipment applications. Here are a few examples:

1. Installing a centrifuge for dewatering can affect plant performance in the amount of “fines” being returned to the treatment process and subsequent settleability issues.
2. Installing a belt press or thickener will bring significant demand for water for spray bars and must be accounted for in systems hydraulics.
3. Adding a pump – especially a larger pump – can affect the plant’s electric bill by increasing “demand charge” for the plant and subsequent monthly power costs can be dramatically impacted.
4. Converting coarse bubble aeration to fine bubble aeration may reduce power but it can also create settling issues in tanks if the “roll pattern” is not properly accounted for.

A new Water booster pumping station can have a dramatic effect on water utility operations. Shown is a Bellmer Turbodrain, installed at Grafton, Wisconsin.

And, the list goes on and on. Again, it is foolhardy to believe that a change in a component process step does not have secondary implications. Caution is the word!

Don

Operators are key to good design and proper maintenance

The Design Engineer and Operators of utilities need to meet often during the engineering phase of a project.

Who is the very best resource for designs of new (or upgrades of old) water/wastewater systems?…of course, the answer is…it depends as to what is meant by “best resource” and at what point in the evolution of a project.

Recently, I was reading an article on pumping station design and the author – a very competent and seasoned engineer/designer – stated that the most crucial element in design can be the operator or operations personnel. How can this be? Well, the truth is that pumping systems are nearly always complex beyond their initial or preliminary needs. Frequently, there are field circumstances which are far beyond the vision or knowledge of the design engineer. And, the knowledge of the operations staff is always crucial to maintenance of pumping stations – both new and upgraded stations.

The author, further, went on to state that operations staff should be involved in at least 3 stages of design (minimum) and – where practical – might be an integral part of the design team at all stages of design.

Pumping Station designs are often complex and involve interrelated systems

Who is better qualified to determine the ability of local staff to do the required maintenance of the pumps and controls equipment? It certainly is not prudent judgment to design a pumping station and – after it is started up – find that no one within 300 miles can maintain the system. Controls, in particular, can be misapplied – even if they are the most efficient in design – if the owner cannot service the controls or cannot depend upon the local service people who normally service his system to do service on new controls.

Likewise, pumping systems can be shown – on paper – to be most efficient and, upon startup, it is found that the owner is not set up to service such pumps (for instance submersible pumps requiring large hoisting equipment). Of what value to the owner is a very sophisticated and efficient pump system if the system cannot be readily serviced locally? An example might be a submersible pumping station where State or local code may require sophisticated setup procedures for maintaining this equipment. In smaller utilities, in particular, it may be that the owner must call upon a neighboring utility or an expensive service provider any time any alarm system is activated. This is a very costly experience for this particular owner – while it may be a routine call or maintenance issue for another utility. “It depends.”

Pumps and Controls for water and wastewater are integrated 'machinery'

Thus, in any pumping system design, begin with a defined teaming relationship with the owner/operators of the installed equipment. And, involve them at crucial milestone meetings along the way. It is with this type of engagement that you can expect a reliable and readily maintained final system…not to mention the “buy in” by the operators who will be maintaining these vital elements in each utility. Good designs begin with the end in mind. And, the “end” is the day-to-day operations and maintenance so crucial to lowest life cycle cost of ownership.

Don Voigt, P.E., M.S.M.E.

don@equipintegration.com

Russian space shuttle ‘Buran’ bears an uncanny resemblance to the U.S. space shuttle design, and illustrates the “space race” issues which drove engineers to explore and develop like never before.

Since the early years of my engineering education were filled with an air of “space war competition”, we “mid 60’s” engineers can remember heady days…days when engineering was the focus of huge efforts – both within and exterior to NASA walls. Back then, we had an emotionally common goal – to “beat the Russians” in the race to the moon. I can still feel the tingle of the challenge and I still recall the near patriotism of “doing well” in engineering analysis of the many impediments to success. Sputnik was “out there” “beeping” at us. And, we took up the challenge.

Today, we are faced with equally daunting challenges. We are being held hostage by those who “own” the oil fields and the related speculators who are the direct beneficiaries of their financial machinations. And, even if the cost were not creating the market chaos, we know – intrinsically – that our carbon footprints are affecting all manner of earthly life and future happiness.

Technically elegant and financially responsible solutions to water/wastewater infrastructure needs require that we challenge the “status quo” in our approaches to the solutions we desire. From design efficiencies to construction effectiveness to operational efficiencies….we need to team for the solution. Our industry (water and wastewater) has had a long history of clouded approaches in single file marches to end products and procedures which are – at the very least – inefficient. Europeans have been suffering from the many symptoms we now have (have you seen the BMW commercial where they speak about gas prices in Europe as having been 6 to 10 dollars a gallon for a decade?).Many Europeans have seen the handwriting on the wall and have been focused on efficient solutions and effective methods of construction for decades. We need to embrace and team with their many innovations and move forward with our own. In many ways, we can see the parallel to the German rocket development and our subsequent Saturn Moon rockets. We have the basis for many innovations in our grasp and – with the help of world compatriots, we can meet the world’s needs for the next generation…a generation of eco friendly energy with the implementation of “green” designs from construction to operational excellence.

Be challenged. And, challenge the “old ways”….. it’s the patriotic thing to do.

Don