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Joel Derk

Newsletter Editor's Comments

I had little response to last month’s Newsletter.   Perhaps you were all involved with your holiday activities.   I did hear from Frank Proske of Sun Spot Solar ( http://www.sssolar.com ) who informed me that he has signed up for the ASME Ementoring Program ( https://secure.asme.org/signin/ementoring.cfm ) which was described in the September Newsletter.   Frank has promised to keep me informed of his experience with the program and I will relay it to you.  Perhaps Frank’s initiative and experiences will inspire others to participate.

 

I did not receive any input for the Members’ Forum section of this month’s Newsletter.   As stated last month, I will be happy to publish comments from you.   This is your chance to express your views and get them out to the other members of   the Section as well as the leaders of ASME in Region III and at the National level who receive this newsletter.   Here is your chance to sound off so take advantage of it.

 

This month I decided to add a section for those members Seeking Employment.   If you are unemployed and would like to have a short piece placed in the Newsletter which describes your background and the type of position you are looking for, send me about 100 words and I will publish it.   If you or your organization are looking for someone, or  if   you know of an open position, I encourage you to consider your fellow members for the positions.  Networking is one of the main benefits of ASME membership, so let’s help each other out.

 

In December we had a great tour of the Flowserve Pump Parts Manufacturing Facility in Scranton , PA.   Individuals attending the meeting included: Doug Robertson, Jeff Daniels, Tom Reilly, Richard Merz, Alan Battaglia, Dave Bowser, Rick Barlow, John Cox, and Kelly Stemmler .  Be sure to read the Tour Report below.  Our other activity in December was the presentation of our 2002-2003 Industry Award to Lockheed Martin Naval Electronics Surveillance Systems.   You can read about this award and see a photograph of the presentation at http://www.asme.org/sections/a-lv/g alleries/200312_Lockheed/Lockheed_Award.html .

 

ASME’s Continuity and Change initiative is continuing.   Various meetings are being held around the country to explain the initiative.  You can see the presentation that is being made at these meetings and read the discussions that have taken place at http://www.asme.org/change .  The future existence of our section, regions, and technical divisions is up in the air.   In a message that appears below Ken Kroos, our Regional Vice President, has called for our input to this process.   Be sure to read it and contact your leaders with your ideas and concerns.

 

ASME will celebrate its 125^th anniversary in 2005.   Preparations for this event are already underway.   To kick-off   the celebration a special 125^th Anniversary Logo was introduced at the ASME Congress last November in Washington , DC .  We now have a swoosh and a globe to show that we are a dynamic and global organization.    You may read about the anniversary and view this logo at http://www.asme.org/anniversary/ .  While this new logo is intended to mark our Anniversary, don’t be surprised if it replaces our traditional clover leaf logo after the anniversary is over - at least that was the rumor circulating at the Congress.

 

Finally, I hope to see you at this month’s meeting, the Engineers’ Week Banquet on February 20, 2004 in Bethlehem , PA.   Details are given below.

 

Anyone not receiving a hardcopy who wants one needs to notify me at merzr@asme.org .  Please keep ASME up-to-date with your preferred email at https://www.asmeny.org/memberaddr/html/security.htm .

 

Richard Merz, Newsletter Editor

 

Members Seeking Employment :

 

John Cox: Seeking employment in Project Management / Project Engineering / Consulting.

Project Manager / Project Engineer with over 20 years of successful domestic and international projects, often leading more than one project at a time.   When not functioning as a Project Manager / Engineer, I have been a Proposal Manager, which required and utilized most of the same skills.   Advanced skills in planning, technical oversight, problem analysis and solutions, mentoring, client interface, and vendor coordination and management.  Licensed Professional Engineer.  MSME, New Jersey Institute of Technology.

 

Contact:           John Cox, (610) 317-6310, jfcox6310@aol.com

 

 

December Tour Report– Flowserve Parts Manufacturing Center :

 

Flowserve Corporation is the world’s premier single-source provider of flow management products and related repair and replacement services. The Flowserve Pump Division is one of the world's largest suppliers of industrial, engineered, and special purpose pumps and systems.   Flowserve's products can be found in various process industries including: petroleum refining, oil & gas production, pipeline, chemical, power generation, pulp & paper, mineral & ore processing, water resources, pharmaceuticals and general industrial applications.

 

Our December 2003 meeting was held at the Flowserve Corporation’s Scranton Parts Manufacturing Center , in Clarks Summit, PA. The meeting began with a discussion of the facility’s operations, lead by plant manager Richard Lenahan. He explained the importance of quality control and making continuous improvements to the in-house manufacturing processes. For example, Six Sigma statistical tools are utilized to generate data for tracking plant performance and making operational decisions. As he explained, by making simple improvements to the lighting in the shop, machining errors in certain manufacturing areas decreased. Thoughtful, yet simple changes such as these have impacted the plant’s bottom line. Rich’s approach – to me – was like applying “engineering problem-solving” to successfully run a business. Following the discussion, our group was lead through the shop to see impellers, shafts, sleeves, pump assemblies, etc. in their various stages of manufacturing. These parts will eventually ship to locations around the world.  Photographs of the tour may be viewed at http://www.asme.org/sections/a-lv/galleries/200312_Flowserve/index.htm .

 

Thanks again to Rich Lenahan at the Scranton Parts Manufacturing Center for hosting our section meeting. Also we thank our Alan Battaglia (Anthracite Area Manager) for coordinating this event in this Scranton area.

 

Doug Robertson, Section Chair   

 

 

Continuity and Change at ASME – Message from Region III Vice President :

 

For the past year, the ASME Board of Governors has been examining the structure of ASME.   With Arthur D Little Assoc. (who helped develop the current structure) they have developed a plan for reorganizing ASME. This plan was presented at the 2003 Congress & Exposition in Washington, DC and will be presented at other meetings around the country this winter.   “Continuity and Change” will significantly change the way ASME is organized and operated.  Many of our volunteers and members are not aware that this is happening.   I urge you to take a look at the details of this plan, called “Continuity and Change,” which can be found on the ASME web page http://www.asme.org/change . This plan will be voted on (approved) by the BOG at their March meeting.

 

My main concern with the plan has been that the new structure had no provisions for continuing the sections, student sections, regions, and technical divisions.   This past week I have learned that the structure for the lower levels of ASME, the sections, regions, technical divisions, etc, will be developed by the existing councils; specifically the Council on Member Affairs and the Council on Engineering. This work will take place over the next year and a half with a final plan to be developed by the Summer of 2005.  The Vice Presidents from the Regions and the Technical Divisions will meet in March to begin discussion on what existing units of ASME will continue , what might be sunset and what new units might evolve.

Since the future of our sections, students sections, regions, and technical divisions will be determined by the actions taken by the Vice Presidents, it is extremely important that ASME members and volunteers have input on the restructuring of ASME.   Please contact me or your section leaders with your concerns and questions. Thank you.

 

Kenneth Kroos, PE, Ph.D.

Vice President Region III

kroosk@asme.org

610-519-7309  

 

 

Lehigh Valley Engineers Council : ( http://www.lvengineer.org/ )

 

IDEA FAIR

 

The Engineer’s Club of the Lehigh Valley will be sponsoring an IDEA FAIR on April 3, 2004 at Lehigh University’s Rauch Business Center.  The mission statement of the fair is to increase awareness in the areas of mathematics, science, technology, engineering, and motivate students in grades 6th through 12th to pursue careers in these fields.   For more information or to volunteer, please contact Tom Bradley at 610-865-5731.

 

MATH COUNTS

 

The Pennsylvania Society of Professional Engineers (PSPE) will be sponsoring this event on Saturday, February 7, 2004 (Snow date is Feb. 14^th).  MATHCOUNTS is a national math coaching and competition program that promotes middle school mathematics achievement through grassroots involvement in every U.S. state and territory.  Please call Rishikesk Sawant, Coordinator, at 610-871-3935 for information.   Volunteers are needed!

 

Engineer’s Week Banquet (see announcement below)

 

The Lehigh Valley Engineering Council (LVEC) will be coordinating this event for recognition of Engineer’s Week, Feb. 22-28^th.  The location is the Radisson Hotel, Bethlehem, PA.   The National theme is “New Faces in Engineering”.   The local Engineer of the Year, Young Engineer of the Year, and 5^th-8^th grade LVEC essay winners will be presented awards.  

 

The guest speaker is Thomas L. Koch, Ph.D. of Lehigh University, and formerly of Agere Systems.   This talk will recap some of the remarkable achievements of modern optoelectronics and market issues in this field to date, and take us to the applications and breakthroughs we may experience in the new millennium.

 

Please visit www.lvengineer.org to register for the event, but first contact Jeff Daniels (DanielsJ1@asme.org ) to coordinate and to sit at the ASME table if space is available.

ASME February 2004 Meeting Announcement

Friday, February 20, 2004

 

Engineers’ Banquet 2004

 

Reservation Sheet

Make checks payable to:       LVEC

 

Mail reservations to:                          LVEC
                                                            P.O. Box 308

Hellertown , PA 18055

Phone:                                                 Brad Osborne  (610-782-2618)

E-mail:                                    brad.osborne@geosc.com

 

Sponsorship and Display Opportunities for Companies & Organizations

 

The Lehigh Valley Engineering Council offers the following sponsorship opportunities:

 

·          Silver - One display table and mention in the Banquet Program.  Cost is $100.

 

·          Gold - One display table, mention in the Banquet Program and banquet seating for 10.   Cost is $500. Please contact Brad Osborne (610-782-2618 or brad.osborne@geosc.com ) to become a sponsor.

 

Awards

 

The Lehigh Valley Chapter of the Pennsylvania Society of Professional Engineers will present their awards for Young Engineer-of-the-Year and Engineer-of-the-Year.

 

Awards will also be presented to the Engineers’ Week Essay Contest winners.