NEWSLETTER Anthracite-LV Website
Vol. XXXIII No. 1 www.asme.org/sections/a-lv/index.html
September 2003
September 2003 ISSUE
NEWSLETTER Anthracite-LV Website
Vol. XXXIII No. 1 www.asme.org/sections/a-lv/index.html
September 2003
September 2003 ISSUE
2003 – 2004 Meeting Schedule
September 2003 Delaware River/Easton Area Power Plant
October 2003 Allentown T.B.D.
November 2003 Anthracite T.B.D.
December 2003 Happy Holidays!
January 2004 Reading T.B.D.
February 20, 2004 Hotel Bethlehem Engineers Week Banquet
March 2004 Student Section–Wilkes Univ. T.B.D.
April 2004 Bethlehem T.B.D.
May 2004 Social Event T.B.D.
Chair’s Comments:
First, let me acknowledge Tom Reilly (outgoing section Chair) for his two years of dedicated service. Under his leadership, the Anthracite Lehigh Valley section continued its strong community presence and service to the mechanical engineering profession.
In addition, it is important to recognize Glenn Lunger, Jeff Daniels, Alan Battaglia, Mike Hopstock, Tobi Mengle, Joel Derk, Steve Ghoul and Dr. Richard Merz for their contributions over the last two years. It is their teamwork that makes the activities of the section possible. I’m lucky to have many of these individuals continuing in Executive Committee positions.
As incoming Chair, I have several simple goals:
Through this past summer, the Executive Committee was already hard at work on the first goal. Our September tour / meeting will be at the Green Knight generating plant in Pen Argyl on Thursday, the 18th. We look forward to seeing you there. There is limited space, so please respond promptly to Jeff Daniels (see enclosed announcement instructions).
In closing, I am honored to be serving as Chair for the next two years. I look forward to seeing you at an upcoming activity. - Doug Robertson
PS – Congratulations to Glenn (and Lynn) on the birth of their second child. Glenn, will he be an engineer…?
Continuity and Change at ASME:
ASME is allocating a significant amount of time and resources to redirect
itself as a knowledge-based, market-focused, learning organization.
This forward-looking process pulls together the necessary tools for an analysis
that will generate recommendations to enhance ASME's operational structure.
The goal is to develop a more agile, responsive and accountable organization.
ASME is striving for an open, respectful, participatory process that sustains
its core values and core assets, while looking to improve its operating structure
and become a more responsive engineering society.
Sincerely,
Reginald I. Vachon, Susan H. Skemp, Virgil R. Carter,
President, 2003-2004 Past President Executive Director
What is currently being done?
More than 20 years have passed since ASME has taken such a comprehensive look at how the Society operates.
Four elements are under review:
1. Alignment of resources with strategic directions
The Balanced Scorecard is the tool being employed by the Society's leadership to tie the budget together with the strategy and the performance of the organization.
2. ASME's organizational structure
A consulting firm is helping identify and assess the Society's options for organizational structure to maximize effectiveness and efficiencies.
3. A strategic marketing plan
A Strategic Marketing Task Force is providing recommendations for ASME leadership in key markets.
4. ASME's budget model
A new budget model is being developed to implement the results of the review.
"Enduring great corporations preserve their core values and purpose while their business strategies and operating practices endlessly adapt to a changing world," according to Jim Collins (author of Good to Great). "This is the magical combination of 'preserve the core and stimulate progress'."
Newsletter Editor’s Comments:
Printing and mailing this newsletter is the largest expense in the Section’s budget. It costs the Section $500 to $550 for each issue. Last year we spent over $2000 keeping in touch with you. The Section Officers are interested in reducing this expense while at the same time keeping you informed about the Section’s activities. One way to do this is to use email to send you the newsletter. In the past we have sent a hardcopy to every section member and an electronic copy to those members who have an email address. Our biggest problem with the email is that the addresses we have are not always valid. This year we plan to eliminate the hardcopy for those individuals with email unless they notify me at merz@asme.org that they still want the hardcopy. You can help us in this endeavor by keeping ASME up-to-date with your preferred email. This is very easy to do on ASME’s web site www.asme.org . Finally, if you find that you don’t read our newsletter and would prefer not to receive it, let me know and I will remove you from the mailing lists – hardcopy and electronic. Your assistance with this effort is appreciated and we look forward to keeping in touch and seeing you at our meetings.
Richard Merz, Newsletter Editor
Eddystone Station Historical Heritage Dedication:
On Saturday May 17th, the stars aligned and I had nothing planned to do- no recycling, home projects, or my daughter’s swim class. I was fortunate enough to call early in the week and get my name on the list to attend the ASME Heritage Site Dedication ceremony at the Eddystone 325MW Generating Unit 1 Station in Philadelphia.
The event was held under tent right next to the facility. I recognized our Region III VP, Ken Kroos, and our Regional Office Director, Cecilia Noblett. After some refreshments, we heard from executives, managers, staff and even equipment suppliers about the history, hurdles, and victories leading to this super critical plant coming on line.
Eddystone was the second supercritical pressure unit to be committed by the electric power industry, the first being Philo 6 of American Electric Power (known as American Gas & Electric at that time). Philo 6, in contrast to Eddystone 1, was a proof the concept design, an experimental or prototype design of modest size, 125 MW.
The Eddystone plant had design steam conditions of 5000 psig and 1200°F with two reheats of 1050°F. It now operates with initial steam conditions of 5000-5100 psig and 1130 F, still higher than any other steam plant in the US. The unit began commercial operation in 1960 and expects to continue operation into the 2015 to 2025 time period. At the time the decision was made to build the 325 MW unit, its size ranked among the largest conventional units (300 to 400 MW size range) being committed, all of whom had steam conditions in the 2000 to 2400 psig range. Eddystone 1 represented a sizable fraction of the PECO Energy capacity at the time it entered service.
We finished the day with a facility tour, starting on the roof. We saw the coal pits, supplied by barge shipments, feeding into the conveyor system. We had a better view of the scrubber stack system, and a stop by the control room. It was an enjoyable morning and I was back home by mid-afternoon.
I had a chance to quiz a few of the Philadelphia Section members to see how a site gets designated a historical landmark. I was told that the process is not simple because of the amount of information that needs to be provided to the ASME, reviewed, and revised. The presentation was the culmination of over a year’s work. I encourage anyone who knows of a possible site for our area, to please research the ASME website and contact your section officers with your ideas.
Tom Reilly, Bethlehem Area Manager
Green Knight Energy
Rt 512, Pen Argyl PA
September 18, 2003 – 5 PM
Green Knight operates a 9.5MW landfill gas generating plant near the Waste Management landfill in Pen Argyl. Our tour will include a technical discussion by Mr. Jim Policelli, ASME member, and a tour of the gas collection system, gas scrubber, compressor, and generator.
Directions:
Take Route 33 to the Route 512 Wind Gap/Pen Argyl exit. Off the exit, turn onto Route 512 North (a right turn if you’re coming off Route 33 Northbound).
Follow Route 512 through Wind Gap, turning right at the Turkey Hill in Wind Gap (3rd traffic light) to stay on Route 512. After 1.4 miles, turn right into Waste Management’s Grand Central Sanitary Landfill. The entrance to Green Knight will be ~1/4 mile on the right. The gray building has three turbine exhaust stacks.
For Detzi’s, get back on Route 512 heading south. Detzi’s is about a mile on your right.
Times:
Arrival & Registration: 4:50pm Please be PROMPT.
Tour: 5:00pm
Social hour 6:30pm
Dinner: 7:00pm Detzi’s Tavern
Business Meeting: 7:45pm
Dinner Choices:
Grilled chicken breast salad or chicken caesar salad
Rib Eye steak sandwich
Italian style chicken breast sandwich (roasted red peppers & provolone)
Cost: $15
Due to space limitations, the tour will be capped at 40 people. Please register with Jeff Daniels at DanielsJ1@asme.org no later than noon on Monday Sept 15th. You must provide your name, phone number, and dinner choice.
Plant safety information: No sandals or open-toe shoes. Please bring hearing protection if you have it.