0262 1762/04 © 2004 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved WORLD PUMPS November 200440

As engineers is it possible that we treat our pumpsbetter than ourselves? It's a

question I had asked myself repeatedlyover my 18 year tenure as plantengineer. I noticed the equipmentaround me was getting a better lifethan I was. How could that possiblybe? What would a better engineeredlife look like? Over and over I heardthe laments rising from the cubiclesaround me. "I wish I had more freetime to….." To what? Attend morelittle league games? Play more golf?Eat more dinners at home? Have aconsistent work out schedule? Maybea few more date nights?

The first question you will ask yourselfis, "How do I get more free time andstill remain effective at work?" Manyof us have bought into the idea thatlonger hours on the job make us abetter employee. The truth is workinglonger hours is not the answer.Engineering more efficiently is.

Look at our process pumps. What do weexpect from them? They should workreliably, have a consistent output, be anasset to our companies and provide areturn on investment. Not so differentfrom what is expected from us asengineers. Our companies haveinvested time, training, and salariesdeveloping us. In return they expect toreceive reliable, consistent technicalservice.

Efficient running

First we design for smooth operation.We provide straight runs of suctionpiping creating laminar flow. Often weinstall variable frequency drives toprovide smooth continuous operationrather than start/stop loading. We alsoneed to understand the pump's mostefficient operating point. Where on thepump curve does it run the best? Andfinally, we never underestimate theneed for preventative maintenance.

Knowing how to get the most out ofour pumping systems, can we applythe same methods to engineerourselves into higher performance?

Smooth operation

Like our equipment we can design our system for smooth operation.Eliminating turbulence in our work byreducing start/stop operation will helpus to make better use of our time. Wecan start by managing our dailyinterruptions.

Industrial engineers have shown thatthe average interruption lasts sevenminutes, with another three minutesto regroup and focus on the originalwork, for a total of ten minutes(Figure 1). It is simple mathematics.How many interruptions do you haveeach day? Six per day? More? If onlysix that amounts to a total of one hourlost per day, or 20 hours per month.How many little league games, or datenights could you have with an extra20 hours per month?

Begin managing interruptions bytracking them. Only 20 per cent ofinterruptions are actually importantenough to justify disrupting your workat hand. An interruption log willhelp to track who comes to youlegitimately and who your TimeBandits are. You may be surprised by what you find. Who is causing the majority of your wasted time? Co-workers? Staff? Clients?Boss? Yourself?

The interruption log will identifywhether interruptions are external or

Engineering more efficiently withprofessional coaching

While we hear a lot a about improving the efficiency of pump systems by using betterequipment, variable speed drives, external monitoring, pump optimization etc., little hasbeen said about the lot of the engineer. Sandy Baker argues that coaching, organising andpreventive maintenance can do a lot to improve the performance of the pump engineer.

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Figure 1. Theaverage interruptionlasts 10 minutes. Sixper day will amountto 246 hours per yearor ten full days.

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internal. Are you the victim of yourown distractions? You know….trips tothe vending machine, personal phonecalls, surfing the internet, visitingwith co-workers? The log should listwho is interrupting you, the purposeof the interruption, its length and itslevel of importance. It should onlytake a week of tracking to begin toidentify trends. Remember, you cannot change what you can notmeasure.

To reduce internal interruptions keepa pad of paper near your work area. Jotdown ideas as they come up that couldotherwise distract you from yourimmediate work. On the same padkeep a list of people from whom youneed information. As you workthrough your tasks, record yourquestions to each individual. This willallow you to batch your questions toothers. Not only will you be savingyour own time, but you will also berespecting theirs by reducing thenumber of times you interrupt them.

Start/stop operation can be furtherreduced by grouping like tasks.Continuous smooth operation is themost efficient way to run equipment.The same is true of engineering work.By grouping like tasks we can be fourtimes more efficient than working instart/stop mode.

The engineering professional has bothtechnical and administrative work.Begin by identifying the differencebetween the two. Technical work willbe responsibilities such as drawingreview, running calculations, studyingoperating procedures, or writingtechnical manuals. The admin-istrative work will be answering e-mail, returning phone calls, writingpurchase requisitions, or orderingparts.

Next create a weekly schedule thatprovides blocks of time for bothtechnical and administrative work.Friday afternoon is a good time tocreate the schedule for the followingweek. "Block and tackle" is theapproach. Creating blocks of time forlike tasks will enable you to tacklethem more effectively.

Technical work should be scheduledduring a closed-door Power Hoursession. Forward your phone calls.Turn off the pager. Stop the "You'vegot mail" beep. Close the door andhang the sign, "Power Hour inSession - Please Do Not Disturb. Joewill be available at ___o'clock." ThePower Hour concept works best if itis presented to co-workers, staff andmanagers before it is implemented.Most people will recognize thatengineers and technical professionalsneed defined time to focus on thedetails of technical work. Remember,you are like the pump. You will workmost effectively in a continuousoperation rather than in a start/stopmode.

Most efficientoperating point

Imagine yourself living on the pumpcurve. Your work style can vary dayto day along that curve. Some daysyou produce high quality work, butnot much volume. In othersituations you produce high volumesof lower quality work. At oneparticular point you are your best.That is your most effective operatingpoint. The challenge is to work at

that point the majority of the time.What type of person would you haveto be?

Highly efficient engineers are notadrenaline driven. They work thesystem without creating more stress, having mastered the art ofresponding to needs rather thanreacting. Often as engineers ourstress comes from setting expect-ations of ourselves higher than isactually required.

Stress can be reduced by underpromising and over delivering.Unlike pump motors, we do not havebuilt-in motor overloads to protectus from burning out at peak loads.Getting into the habit of buildingcontingency into our work schedulewill protect us. The next time youare asked, "When can you get thisdone?" Respond as if you were apump motor. It is not sized to run at full load amps all of the time. Neither should you. Build in a safety factor adding ten or twentyper cent to the delivery. If you cando it running at full load in five days, commit to doing it in six. Early delivery will only result ina win for both you and yourcustomer.

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Figure 2. Sometimesit’s better to look at

working practicesas well as pumps

out into the open.

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Preventativemaintenance

Possibly the single most important partof keeping any piece of equipmentrunning is preventative maintenance.You are the most important piece ofequipment you have. What can you doto keep your motor running?

• Whenever possible create a standardwork schedule. Set boundariesaround your work day. Do not allowweekends and evenings to be used asmake up time. If we manageourselves efficiently during the day,we can eliminate the need forweekend and evening work.

• Practice extreme self care. Getregular exercise and plenty of sleep.Maintain a healthy diet. Relax awayfrom the job on holidays andvacations. Schedule regularmassages. Spend more time doingwhat you love. A professional coachcan help to make these goals realityin an engineer's life.

• Develop bigger personal andprofessional ambitions that alignwith your values. What do you reallywant to do with your life?

• Create enough space in your life toseize opportunities

Self-maintenance is not always a top priority. The distractions of workand daily life keep us from focusing on our own upkeep. Working with a professional coach can provide the structure to make regularmaintenance a habit. Seminars, books and articles provide insight for approaches, but action andimplementation rarely occur withoutthe on-going support that a coachprovides.

The engineer’s coach

Coaching is not just for athletesanymore. Professionals, businessowners, technicians, and yes, evenengineers are adding coaching to their lives. Working with a coach the engineer focuses on personal maintenance and professionalgoals. Exploring the options togetherthey create an action plan for achievingthose goals. The coach promotes thediscovery of possibilities andalternative solutions.

A key aspect of coaching is account-ability. In regularly scheduled tele-phone calls the engineer agrees tocomplete action steps towards personaland professional goals. The coach holdsthe engineer accountable for achievingthat work before the next call.

We know that working like a machineis not the answer. Longer hours do notmake us better employees. To providebetter work for our employers we needto make self-care a top priority. We cando that by implementing the sameconditions we provide a pump: smoothoperation, our most effective operat-ing point and on going personalmaintenance. ■

CONTACTSandy BakerP.O. Box 1274Davis, California 95616, USATel: +1-530-757-6808Fax: +1-530-757-6808Email: sandy@exceedance.com

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Sandy Baker is a professionalcoach and professional engineer.For a free time managementassessment contact sandy@exceedance.com