Henry,

Shoot me your email address and I will send you the dwg's.

Best regards,

Bob

Not sure I caught them all. Had to turn the volume down cause the subwoofer was trying to push me out the window when that effect kicked in from time to time.

It's been a while for me but I can't shake the memory of a PChem lecture where someone raised their hand half way through a semester and asked if anything leaned in the class had any practical application in the future. The professor basically said no. I was like, dude, you just asked what everyone in here has been thinking. Schroedinger's equation? Come on, I can't even spell it right.

Fasteners are a key component of a comprehensive piping and material specification. This is based on the service (material, P/Temperature) and structural considerations. Additionally, one may encounter "classes" of service where, for example, a particular line may have a specification up to a certain P/T but another class for a more severe condition. On the point of cables and wires, this is altogether outside the realm of process engineering scope and is not an area of expertise for me. I can say that, similar to materials, there are a host of considerations, NEMA, NFPA, combined with site-specific issues (corrosive area, etc), that makes this as challenging an endeavor as defining line specifications. I hope I left you with a better understanding of the problem you are attempting to solve!

Yes, you are correct. I can tell you were paying close attention. This is the kind of attention to detail that really pays off in the long run. Thanks for pointing it out.

You speak of my hometown. It has been said that in Pittsburgh, folks don't cross rivers (to visit family on the other side) let alone leave the city. I am the exception to the rule, having left for Houston in 1998. I take with me everything I know about engineering and it has served me well so far. I still miss her, especially the evening in the boat around the point, just drifting with friends.

I've been at this for a while (25+ years, where + means I stopped counting) and agree that we are at an inflection point in terms of the ChE discipline brought about mainly via the proliferation of educated consumers of technology. The internet has made everyone, regardless of degree--quasi-experts in a relatively short period of time. As a result, the "E" part of ChE has necessarily had to bolster the science and development component upon which it is based to provide innovative solutions that go beyond the proprietary and know-how based practices that have served many well for years.

Applications make it easy to run mass/energy balances without really knowing what is happening. Control systems can make you forget what the I variable in a PID loop does. The list goes on. SAT scores in reading are dropping across the USA and pundits are blaming the computing age, 1-minute attention spans and the never ending need to consume popular content.

In this era of fast-paced innovation with readily digestible content that is forgotten soon after reading, we need to remain that which has kept us on top in terms of our value to society and that is through our unique ability to develop and apply science in a pool that is bigger than the proverbial "mile wide" and do so in a manner that is far deeper than "an inch".

ChE's have always been privy to a plethora of opportunity regardless of industry, economic climate or era.

I look forward to reading everyone's thoughts on this.

Best,

Bob

Much of the feedback touches on how the points of this article are "common sense". But for engineers, the details are easy to spot, the obvious takes more time. So I find this article to be a very good roll-up of how to behave.

Rational folks that seek to excel in meeting the company's mission and vision will not intentionally behave poorly as it compromises their own career, well-being, and livelihood. An investigation into the root cause of such behavior may turn up structural or other circumstances that lead to an opportunity to correct endemic structural or divisional roadblocks.

You are quite welcome Hanieh. Please refer to my response to FJ BLACK above regarding a broken link to the example files. If you would like a copy, send me an email as well.

Best regards,

Bob

FJ,

Thanks for the feedback. I have notified the operators of this site about the broken link. If you wish to send me a private email, I will send the files directly to you. I've obscured the @ symbol below to keep the spammers at bay.

robert.cook AT veoliawaterna.com

Best wishes,

Bob

ram,

Thanks for your note. Regarding explanation of simplified loops, have you looked at any of the companion videos I provide at youttube? This is at least a start. Take a look and let me know if that helps. - Bob