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This is an Example Report for those
wishing to Join IMECHE, hopefully to
help those with the required
documented evidence for gaining
interview with the IMECHE. Also lists
the competencies based on IMECHE
framework.
Latest Applicant AMIMechE
Professional Review Report
for Election to Corporate Membership
of the
Institution of Mechanical Engineers
CONTENTS LIST
1. Purpose
2. Education and Career to Date
3. Engineering Projects
3.1 Dynamic Behaviour of Rotating Plant Systems
3.1.1 Investigation of Boiler Feed Pump Vibration
3.1.2 Main Turbo-alternator outage
3.2 Reduction of Output Losses
4. Continuing Professional Development
5. Continuing Professional Development
6. Personal Commitment to Professional Standards
7. Development Action Plan
7.1 Short Term Development Plan
7.2 Medium & Long Term Development Plan
APPENDIX 1 Engineering Division Organisation
1. Purpose
The purpose of the report is to :
Summarise my educational history.
Identify my main responsibilities as a mechanical engineer within the
organisations in which I have been employed.
Provide evidence of my initial professional development and the associated
development of UK-SPEC competences.
Report on my continuing professional development.
Present my Development Action Plan for the short, medium and longer term.
2. Education and Career to Date
I graduated from the University of Bristol in 2003 with a first class MEng
degree in Mechanical Engineering
During my degree course I undertook vacation work in a number of
engineering companies and gained valuable industrial experience to
complement my studies. These included working at a high pressure test facility
operated by Company A, detailed engineering design of paper rolling
machinery at Company B and automotive gearbox design & development at
Company C. I arranged these placements myself and made useful
contributions to the various work programmes, as well as gaining useful
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experience and self confidence in a real working environment.
Whilst at University I was awarded a Company D prize for my third year work
and results, and an IMechE ‘Best Student’ prize in my final year. The latter
award was based on my examination results and the outcome of my final year
project on the design optimisation of a supercharger and intercooler system to
improve the output and efficiency of an automobile engine.
After graduating I joined Company E as a design and development engineer,
working primarily on aircraft landing gear and associated hydraulic systems.
My area of responsibility widened over the next 3 years with the company,
both technically and in terms of my breadth of responsibility. My engineering
experience expanded to include stress analysis, system dynamic performance
modelling, prototype testing and final certification of systems for delivery to
the customer.
During this period I progressed from an inexperienced engineer, working on
specific tasks under close supervision, to independent working, with real
responsibility for technical and commercial decision making. I also built up my
skills and experience in the management of my time and project resources, in
order to deliver work and products to quality, time and cost.
Necessarily, I developed my interpersonal and leadership skills during this
period, and was promoted to lead a small team of 3 engineers and 1 technician
in the development department.
In 2006 I changed industries to join Company F, who own and operate 5 power
stations in the UK. I was recruited as a dynamics and performance engineer in
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the rotating plant area. This included the main steam turbines, feed pumps,
fans, cooling systems etc. I built on my degree level discipline knowledge in
the technical areas of the dynamic behaviour of rotating systems, bearing
design, condition monitoring, control systems and thermodynamic
performance of large turbo generator systems. During this time I became the
team expert in the development of improved condition monitoring systems for
the company’s rotating plant systems.
In 2008 I was asked to lead a team responsible for improving the performance
and availability of turbo-generator systems, which is an increasingly important
contributor to plant output losses. My remit has recently been increased to
include responsibility for the analysis and reduction of unplanned output losses
across all rotating plant systems.
3. Engineering Projects
3.1 Dynamic Behaviour of Rotating Plant Systems
The group I joined provides an operational support service on the dynamic
behaviour of rotating plant to all the company’s power stations. During my
time with the group I attended all of our power station sites to investigate
abnormal vibration behaviour of pumps, fans and main turbo-alternator
systems. During this time I progressed from an assistant role, working with a
more senior engineer, to someone who could be despatched to site to
diagnose problems and recommend design or operational solutions to
vibration problems. I also participated in a statutory triennial outage involving
a major strip and rebuild of the main turbine. The strip and rebuild process is
usually on the outage critical path, with the final part of the rebuild being to
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balance the machine and ensure that vibration levels are within prescribed
limits.
3.1.1 Investigation of Boiler Feed Pump Vibration
Power Station X had been experiencing high vibrations on one of its boiler feed
pumps at part load conditions. I was given the responsibility of determining the
scale and characteristics of the abnormal vibrations, investigating options to
reduce vibration and making appropriate recommendations to the
maintenance manager to manage the problem.
I arranged an initial visit to the Station to meet key operational and
maintenance staff, in order to gather data on the development and
magnitude of the problem. This enabled me to form a plan to address the
pump vibration, which I then used to establish resources required to
investigate it further, together with provisional estimates of the time and
internal and external costs involved. The latter aspects are part of the
company’s process for allocating Central Engineering manpower and revenue
costs to each power Station. I also identified a requirement for technician
support and agreed this with my line manager. This required me to justify the
technician being transferred to this work from a lower priority task. I then
produced a preliminary resourced plan for the work for approval by my Group
Head and agreement with Station staff.
I produced the necessary documentation for access to the plant and
approval for the data acquisition process. This included health and safety
issues, since we were working in a hazardous environment. The
measurements required a number of plant operational movements, which I
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specified. I had to design the test schedule to balance the benefits of acquiring
data against the potential for disturbing the plant’s steady running state and
incurring excessive generation losses. I then secured the necessary
authorisations to carry out the tests. This required me to present my proposals
to the senior Operations Engineer, to ensure that the secured plant
manoeuvres were practicable and justified, particularly as they would result in
lost output to the value of approximately £100,000. My proposals were agreed
with minor modifications to sequencing, in order to minimise the lost output.
This exercise improved my knowledge of plant operational issues, the
economics of generation and helped my presentational and influencing skills.
I carried out a comprehensive series of vibration measurements with the
support of the technician, using state of the art recording and diagnostic
equipment. This is capable of providing frequency domain and time domain
information for off site evaluation. I captured data from both the installed
vibration transducers and from temporary additional instrumentation whose
location I had specified, which was installed by the technician under my
direction.
I have been trained in the use of the data analysis system and carried out
frequency and time domain analysis in our laboratory. These revealed the
existence of excessive vibration at specific speeds, indicative of either a bend
in the feed pump shaft, or degradation of the thrust bearing. In order to
investigate this further I carried out some hand calculations, and developed a
finite element model of the shaft system, including the bearings to investigate
the sensitivity of vibration levels to realistic levels of shaft distortion and
bearing degradation. The output from the model identified further routes for
analysis of the vibration data. My conclusion from the data analysis and
modelling work was that the most probable cause of the vibration was
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deterioration of one of the thrust bearings, possibly cause by a hydrodynamic
lubrication problem. I presented my results to the Station, with a
recommendation that they install additional vibration transducers at the
bearing, and specified an additional monitoring and analysis regime to detect
any trend in vibration signature indicative of deteriorating performance. I also
recommended that a temperature transducer be installed and monitored at
the bearing to detect any increase in bearing temperature indicative of bearing
distress, and prescribed operating limits. Overall, I gave my judgement that
the feed pump could continue to operate until the next outage at slightly
reduced load , with the enhanced monitoring I had specified in place. This was
a successful strategy, since it minimised the cost of lost generation, whilst
minimising the risk of plant damage. Had the pump been shut down early the
lost generation cost would have been in excess of £500,000. The pump
operated successfully in this regime until the next planned outage. Throughout
this period I constantly reviewed the monitoring data to ensure that the pump
was still in an acceptable state and provided regular status reports to
Engineering Division and Station management teams. I was also on standby in
the event of any deterioration in plant state being observed by Station staff. I
was commended by the Station Operations Manager for my contribution to the
safe, reliable operation of the Station.
3.1.2 Main Turbo-Alternator Outage
My role in the triennial outage of the main turbo-alternator at Station Y was
less ‘hands on’, since the main refurbishment was being carried out by the
company’s principal partner, who supplied the turbine. I was part of a joint
team with a specific responsibility for specifying, overseeing and accepting the
final balancing and setting to work of the turbine at the end of the outage,
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including the run up to full power. In this role I was acting as the company’s
‘informed customer’ when dealing with the partner company and safeguarding
the integrity of the final commissioning phase.
I first produced a Technical Specification for the balancing of the turbo-
alternator, including the definition of acceptable overall vibration limits and
associated principal shaft order vibration levels. These are based on
international and company standards for large rotating plant, together with
company specific requirements based on our operational experience. I
presented these to the joint project team and discussed the detailed technical
requirements with my opposite number in the partner organisation. This
resulted in some fine tuning of the specification, which improved its clarity and
robustness. We jointly developed a timeline for the final commissioning work,
which was acceptable to both organisations, and secured formal approval from
the Outage Manager. Finally, I developed the commissioning documentation,
including Work Permits, in conjunction with Station staff. These took
account of national and local health & safety legislation.
I witnessed the whole of the final commissioning phase and formally accepted
the handover of the machine in terms of its vibration state on behalf of the
company. This was a valuable introduction to the execution of a tightly
planned programme with many complex interacting tasks. The programme
had, inevitably, to be adjusted as problems arose and I had to make a number
of critical decisions and adjustments to programme within short timescales. I
consulted other experts and used my own judgement as appropriate. On one
occasion I had to suspend further work to enable some additional analysis to
be carried out on data which appeared anomalous. This was not an easy
decision, but the anomaly was traced to a faulty transducer, so I learnt to
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stand by my judgement and experience, in the face of commercial pressure.
Another key learning point was the benefit of considering ‘what if’ scenarios
when planning critical path work of this type in order to be prepared for things
not going entirely to plan. Working with my opposite number in the partner
organisation also gave me a better appreciation of the task from the
perspective of a supplier/manufacturer to our industry.
3.2 Reduction of Output Losses
The unplanned lost generation income arising from a shutdown of a main
turbo-alternator can be up to £250,000 per day. Breakdown of smaller items of
plant can lead to similar losses if there is no plant redundancy, or to smaller
losses if output can be maintained, albeit at a reduced level.
I was tasked with leading a small team of 5 experts to evaluate the
contribution of the main rotating plant items to current unplanned output
losses in the power station fleet. Specifically, I was asked to:
Identify the magnitude of lost generation attributable to rotating plant
problems.
Determine whether there were common causes of such failures.
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Identify a strategy for reducing losses to an acceptable minimum.
Specify a corrective action programme to implement the loss reduction
strategy.
I first identified the skills I required in the Team, including technical experts
within the engineering function, a Station representative and an expert from
the Trading Department to provide advice on performance statistics and the
impact of unplanned plant outages on company income.
I convened a half day workshop to review the brief with Team members,
brainstormed the key issues with them and allocated responsibilities to each
Team member. I then developed a Project Definition Statement as a
framework for the task and asked one of the Team to develop a project plan
which we could use to monitor progress. This included the requirement for
£50,000 of revenue expenditure, for which I secured financial approval.
The project ran for 3 months, during which time I chaired a weekly meeting
with a standard agenda to review progress against the plan, implement
corrective actions where required and update the programme as new
information became available.
The work identified a number of common causes of plant unavailability,
including design deficiencies, inadequate maintenance regimes and
inappropriate plant manoeuvres. It also flagged up a major opportunity to
improve on line condition monitoring of critical items of rotating plant, in order
to provide forewarning of a deterioration in performance.
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On completion of the project, I chaired a ‘Lessons Learned’ workshop, which
identified a number of important lessons for future projects of this type. I
documented these and entered them onto the company’s quality management
system for future reference by Engineering Division staff.
I documented the outcome of the Team’s work and presented it to the
Engineering and Operations Directors and key members of the management
team. Our recommendations were accepted, particularly the option to improve
the scope and quality of condition monitoring systems for main rotating plant
items. As a result I have been asked to develop the company strategy for this
initiative, including costing the project and securing the necessary hardware
and infrastructure. The potential cost benefits of such a scheme are estimated
to be worth several £m /annum to the company. This is a very satisfying
outcome to the project which I led, and I am proud to be making such an
important contribution to the business. In executing this task I will also build
on my existing knowledge of sophisticated condition monitoring systems,
which have enormous potential in the drive to improve overall reliability and
availability of complex plant.
Arising from this task I have also been asked to review the performance of the
staff allocated to me as part of the company’s staff appraisal process. I have
found this a useful experience in assessing people’s strengths and
development needs and advising them on their future roles.
4. Continuing Professional Development
I have maintained my professional development since graduating. Key
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activities during this period are summarised below:
I presented a Paper to the 2007 annual conference on ‘Vibrations in
Rotating Machinery’, describing the use of modal analysis to optimise
an analytical model of a turbine shaft system.
I attended the 2006 ‘Essential Management Skills for Engineers’ at
Keele University, which I found stimulating. It was good to get together
with young engineers from other industries.
I have visited the secondary school local to my workplace and discussed
my role and careers in engineering with GCSE level students.
I assist with the induction of new recruits to the engineering function,
and have acted as a ‘buddy’ to two new members of staff in the last two
years.
I have organised a series of lunchtime seminars where an engineer
discusses his/her work area with peers.
I have participated in an exercise to improve the quality of technical
reporting of the Division’s work.
5. Personal Commitment to Professional Standards
I am familiar with the IMechE’s Code of Conduct for professional engineers and
with the legislative and regulatory regimes which apply to my current role. I
endeavour to maintain a professional approach to my work at all times and will
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contribute to sustainable development. I will maintain and extend my
professional competence and will support the development and promotion of
the engineering profession.
6. Development Action Plan
6.1 Short Term Development Plan
My immediate objective is to become a Chartered Engineer. If successful I shall
offer my services as a mentor to new graduates on the company’s MPDS
Scheme. I wish to complete the task to develop a strategy for reducing
unplanned output losses across all rotating plant systems in the company’s
power stations. I have recently joined the Young Member’s Section of my local
IMechE Branch and am leading an initiative to promote engineering as a
career, via involvement with local schools and colleges.
6.2 Medium & Long Term Development Plan
I am keen to expand the breadth of my experience within the power
generation industry. In the medium term, I plan to build on my knowledge of
power plant performance by transferring to a Station Systems Performance
Group within Engineering Division. I shall also seek a 6 month secondment to
one of our power stations to gain experience of operational and maintenance
issues of our plant.
I am keen to gain more exposure to project management, either on a major
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engineering task or in a power station outage and to develop my business and
financial awareness. I shall consider the benefits of enrolling on an MBA course
to support this objective.
The company has recently invested in a wind farm project and I am interested
in any opportunities to become involved in its activities in renewable energy. I
see this as an exciting new area for the company and for me personally.
I aspire to a senior management role, either in a technical function, such as
Central Engineering, or on one of our power stations. Achieving Fellowship of
the IMechE is a longer term goal and I shall continue to promote engineering
as a career and support young engineers in the company.
(Signed) L Applicant
I certify that I have read the Professional Review Report of Latest
Applicant and confirm that it is, to the best of my knowledge, a true
and accurate statement.
(Signed) I Mentor
APPENDIX 1
Local Engineering Division Organisation
