Advice for a young engineer

[WickedJester]

Hello everyone!

Background:

I previous posted on here before about design for electric distribution pole. I interviewed for a position at a large utility company and believe I might be offered the position. The position would mainly involve distribution pole foundation design (software based) and validating the results (i.e. brohm, CLM, p-y charts etc.). In the interview I went over my experience and explained when I finished college I started at a construction company so I have almost no design experience since school, but would like to take on the challenge of learning the position. I was also asked if we didn't get the design software, what would be my process for putting a method in place to do the design work, my thoughts were to do a review of the different methods to model the foundation and create a spreadsheet for doing the calculations. My concern would be the geotechnical anaylsis of the soil, as I wouldn't feel comfortable doing that. I have been brushing up on my statics, dynamics, and materials as that seems to be the main topics that I would rely on in this position and reviewing approaches for modeling the foundation design. So I think this position would offer a great chance to improve my skills, obtain my PE (which I cant get at my current job), and it would also be a raise.

Question:

Do you think I should accept the position if I am offered it? My supervisor would be an EE major and I think he would help some but he has never done the design work either. There are CEs in the transmission division of the company so I plan on meeting them and seeing if I could find a mentor that I could ask for advice/questions.

So do you think I should accept the position and what do you suggest I do to help me succeed or do you think I should decline the position?

 

[zelgar]

You indicated that you'd be concerned about the geotechnical analysis of the soil. Odds are that you'd be taking the samples and sending them to a lab for grain size distribution, compaction curves, etc. If you're worried, see if you can review some of the ASTM Standards to see what's required for the tests (normally, they're not too hard to perform). If you pardon the pun, you're making a mountain out of a mole-hill

On the other hand, however, doesn't the design of the foundation need a PE signature? If your boss is an EE, I wouldn't think he would be capable of stamping your designs if HE wasn't qualified for reviewing your design.

 

[oldestguy]

By all means you need a mentor with varied experience and particularly in some of the details you will be involved with. Without it you may make some critical mistake. The company should have some outside consultant available that may be relied on for the more complicated aspects. For example, I know of a case where an employee of a large electric utility made an on the job construction decision that really was beyond his capabilities. The result was a catastrophic failure of a long line of transmissive towers, due strictly to that decision. Not a good position to be in when a simple request for some double checking would have prevented the failure.

 

[WickedJester]

Yeah I would think any foundation design would be signed off by a PE.

From my understanding of the position I would be supporting the design software used by the field engineers. So helping to provide training in using the software and performing calcs to validate the result of the program.

My plan is to find a mentor as soon as I start. Yes I will be realistic of my abilities' and let them know if I am not sure about something.

 

[SlideRuleEra]

I would think any foundation design would be signed off by a PE.

Not necessarily, look into the "Industrial Exemption" at this link:

http://www.nspe.org/sites/default/files/resources/pdfs/blog/Industrial-Exemption-Table.pdf

It specifically applies to electric utilities many times.

http://www.SlideRuleEra.net

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[WickedJester]

Not necessarily, look into the "Industrial Exemption" at this link:

http://www.nspe.org/sites/default/files/resources/...

It specifically applies to electric utilities many times.

Interesting I'll look into more.

I'm located in Ohio, so looking at that a design for the foundation would have to be signed off by a PE. "unless the same involves the public welfare or the safeguarding of life"

But it doesn't look to be an exhaustive list so I'll research some more.

Thanks for the info!

 

[SlideRuleEra]

It does look like Ohio's regulations are not clear about an exemption for utilities. Agree that further investigation is a good idea.

Do you think I should accept the position and what do you suggest I do to help me succeed...

Yes, based on both this and your previous thread, accept the position.

Take to heart Zelgar's advice about not making a mountain out of a mole-hill. You may have to refresh your memory on certain engineering principles and learn new ones... that's what engineers do. It won't be that hard.

Now for the "suggestions":

After getting your "feet on the ground" in the new job, take it upon yourself to learn the complete electric utility business. This is a long term exercise. Include the following areas:
1. Distribution (where you work)
2. Transmission Design
3. Substation Deign
4. Generation (where I worked)
5. Environmental
6. Operations (exactly how electric power is managed)
7. Purchasing (surprisingly important - an electric utility's greatest expenditure, by far, is routine buying of fuel)
8. Later, even Finance & Legal

Reason: You need to be able to have meaningful conversations with employees in other areas of the company. Your next promotion may take you there... and it even could be a (technically) worthwhile place to go - you would be surprised where civil engineering challenges pop up.



Another long term exercise, learn at least the basics of electrical engineering (power, not electronics) and mechanical engineering (steam & hydraulic turbines, pumps, fans, electric motor, etc.)

Reason: As you are already seeing (boss will be EE), electric utilities considered to be the realm of EEs and MEs. This despite the fact that many project have major civil engineering components. You need to be able to speak your EE and ME counterpart's technical language. After all, the distribution poles you are working on are there for only one reason - to support the really important distribution electrical wiring, transformers, switches, etc.


Learn to give a meaningful oral technical presentation to an intelligent, but non-technical audience.

Reason: From time to time, executive management wants to know what is going on. Be prepared.

There, probably more info than you bargained for. Just consider it.
Good Luck

http://www.SlideRuleEra.net

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[Lomarandil]

I'll second SRE's suggestions.

Regarding licensure, it wouldn't be unusual for your direct supervisor to be an EE, but to have a senior civil in the company to review your more technical calcs and to stamp any civil related designs. Or even for an EE to review and stamp distribution level "civil" works, as long as it's within his competency to do so.

It sounds like you're in a good place to take the job and start the real education.

 

[BigH]

Don't you hire a geotechnical consultant to determine the subsurface conditions? If so, then they would provide a report on the factual conditions and by extension, if requested, recommendations for the design and construction. This would/should provide you the information you need on the geotechnical parameters to use in your analyses. (by the way - you might want to find the manual on transmission tower foundation design by Phoon and Kulhawy (RIP)

 

[WickedJester]

Hey just wanted to follow up about my experience from starting at my new position.

I started yesterday, so now I am just getting my feet wet. I think I'll be in a state of shell shock for a little while lol. I am currently learning our design software and to understand the acronyms and terminology of the distribution industry.

I also asked my boss to introduce me to the other CEs in the company to hopefully find a mentor as there are none in our division. We will be working with the transmission side soon on a project so he mentioned that would be the best time.

 

[WickedJester]

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