How do I create an engineering department and become head engineer? 14

[v1vr]

Just recently, I started a job as an engineer/draftsman with a company that is in the aerospace industry. I have always wanted to work in aerospace and I finally got my foot in the door. This is a small company that has been around for decades and is in a very small niche. They are somewhat old school, but want to take the steps to transition into the future and become a modern company.

There is one other engineer on staff, with decades of experience in various industries. He is quite old school and set in his ways. There are numerous technical people on staff that work in the machine shop, with composites, building prototypes, etc. Besides the latest project, the past several decades of work are all in 2D and inside peoples' heads. The current way the whole operation works is old school and inefficient.

I really like this company and the industry and plan on staying for a while. I'm a mechanical engineer who has been in the trade for approximately 3 years now. The previous companies I've worked for have been smaller or not much larger. It has always been a game of playing catch-up and flying by the seat of your pants. I rarely had a chance to innovate and bring new ideas to the table. I never got a chance to work for a company large enough where the engineering department was very well established and there was process in place to do things the "correct" way.

There are a ton of things that I would like to do at this company. I want to establish CAD standards and templates and begin designing all future projects in 3D. I would like to setup a CAD file management system because currently the files are spread across multiple computers. I want to establish a system for tracking the phases of a project. I want to eliminate the wasted time and material spent on bad parts because obsolete or incorrect drawings are floating around. I want to optimize the machine shop's time and become better at determining the best manufacturing method for a part. I would like to bring in new equipment into the machine shop to increase productivity and create better parts.

The problem is I have never had a mentor at my previous companies. None of the other companies I worked for used CAD file management systems or had standards in place. My machine shop knowledge is limited. I know very little about composites. I only know so much about manufacturing methods in this industry. Now the smart answer would probably be to hire someone who has years of experience in these areas and can lead the company in the right direction.

But, I want to be that person. I'm hungry for knowledge and I want to make something of this company and of my career. I'm willing to put in the time. I have my eyes set on being a chief engineer.

Do you guys have any advice, tips, or resources on how I can achieve my goals without burning myself out or biting off more than I can chew? Is it possible to apply from scratch the engineering culture and organization found in modern, well established companies without actually ever having worked for one?

I would also love to start reading books engineering management or organizing an engineering department. Any recommendations would be greatly appreciated!

 

[berkshire]

If you really want to go to the " Dark Side" start with the one minute manager .
B.E.

You are judged not by what you know, but by what you can do.

 

[CWB1]

s it possible to apply from scratch the engineering culture and organization found in modern, well established companies without actually ever having worked for one?

I'm a firm believer that anything is possible but I would say that is highly unlikely. You really do need a wide variety of experience seeing firsthand how different companies implement the same process to begin to analyze why some work and others fail. You also need to understand the entire value stream within the company and all of the processes contained therein as most processes impact others. If you go to work for a major company today you'll spend weeks (often bored to tears) in formal classroom training learning the basics.

 

[DGrayPPD]

v1vr,

Although I do not have any knowledge or experience in the aerospace industry, I understand your situation. I come from a similar one. I too work for a small engineering company in the oil and gas industry, who has been around since the early 70s but, up until the past 5 years or so, has worked primarily as a process engineering consultant. They decided to try and expand into the detailed engineering/design side of things, and so far have struggled. Coordination is bad, document control is almost nonexistent, communication is terrible, projects are vastly underestimated, and planning/scheduling is not taken as seriously as it should be.

I was tasked with the responsibility of trying to create numerous standards and procedures from scratch, and I saw the opportunity as a challenge with a high potential reward at the end. I spent countless hours reading, researching, speaking with colleagues and mentors from other firms, and documenting everything I could find. CAD drafting standards, P&ID drafting standards, coordination procedures, change management procedures, QA/QC procedures, 3D model review procedures, etc., etc..

So far, I can honestly say I do not believe it has made as much of a difference as I would have liked. The other challenge I face is that, as you have said, most of the higher ups and more experienced individuals are set in their ways and don't want to take the time and effort to read and implement the procedures I have created. They are either "too busy" or they believe staying ignorant to the documented procedures will excuse them when questioned as to why they're not following them. There has also been too much of a "figure it out as you go" mentality, and not enough emphasis on continual development and training for all employees. Even when I was hired as a Piping Designer, there was not a single individual who had any experience in the piping world and barely any experience in the CAD world to receive mentorship from. Their hope was that I could "figure it out". Everything I have created has been forwarded to the owner/CEO of the company for review and approval and even from him, I cannot receive feedback. There are also no consequences for anyone who is not following the provided procedures. The company has grown from a small 4 man operation to about 40 people within the past couple years, but most of the new individuals are fresh college graduates who also lack the experience to know the right and wrong way to do things. This is all the more reason why procedures are needed. Due to the "figure it out" mentality, everyone pretty much comes up with their own way of what they feel it should be and this has provided many consistency and communication issues.

So my point, and advice to you, is that before you spend countless hours trying to create basically an entire department, be sure that you have the full support of your management staff behind you. Be sure that you will receive ample feedback, and that management is willing to force implementation if they believe in you and that your procedures will benefit the company and help propel them forward. It will begin at the top and will trickle down the rest of the company to the men on the floor. And there should also be consequences for people that do not follow them. I'm not saying people should be fired, but if there is no consequence for not following the procedure, there is no reason for someone to change their way of thinking. You may end up deciding that you'd rather go fishing, or maybe try an employer that has most of this figured out already.

But if you truly enjoy the company, and feel that they are with you on this issue, it will be a rewarding experience when it is over. It will be a challenge, and will not happen overnight. So be patient, and be willing to fight for your beliefs if challenged. Not everyone will always be happy with every decision that is made, but that is just the way it goes.

Good luck to you.

Regards,
DGrayPPD

 

[truckandbus]

Sounds like you want to be an engineering manager versus a chief engineer - the former ensures the processes and resources are in place to let a chief engineer do their job effectively; the latter understands the market and the product and the technology and works within the processes set up by the manager to stay within budget and mitigate risk

Sounds like the company is small enough that you ought to be able to sit with the powers that be and say here are 5 areas of opportunity. Which if any should the company pursue and in what order and timeline? Then you can pursue studies of best practices based on those priorities

 

[ashtree]

Sometimes a business is successful because of the people they have and the work they do despite the lack of system that they should have. I think that most people would agree in principle with what you are saying about standards etc but if the business is currently successful it will be difficult to convince anyone that they should change what is currently working.

Having all the corporate knowledge in peoples head is bad. But if those people don't change jobs too often , are very experienced and capable and are committed to what they do it may well be a better result for the customer than having a whole bunch of inexperienced people following strict design standards from the book but not knowing too much about what they are actually doing. Many of us in this forum would have seen that before.

You have to strike a balance. The head knowledge people have to see that what you are doing will help them, whilst not annoying them to the point that they leave. People such as yourself with no industry experience need to work out what is important to the company, the staff, the product and the client and develop systems that add value to everyone in the chain.

This will be hard work but you have said that you are prepared to put in the time. I don't think you should be advertising the fact that you want to be chief engineer or whatever. Do the hard work, make the difference, add the value and if you are worthy those opportunities will come to you.

Regards
Ashtree
"Any water can be made potable if you filter it through enough money"

 

[MikeHalloran]

So, all you want to do is move a pyramid, eh?

No problem.

Well, there are a few details to work out.

You can't lift it, because it's not bonded.

So all you need to do is remove all the blocks,
starting at the top,
mark them uniquely,
set them aside,
keep track of them,
then rebuild the pyramid from the bottom up.


Which is kind of a long winded way of saying

CHANGE MUST START AT THE TOP.


It's probably easier to build a completely new pyramid in a new location.


Mike Halloran
Pembroke Pines, FL, USA

 

[rotw]

I think the OP wants to build a small pyramid next to the main one. As an improvement...

 

[oldestguy]

Big ideas, but you need a bunch of experience first. You might be able to work in a few improvements, but in no way can you expect the old guard to change in a major way. Likewise starting your own company this early on is unrealistic. There will be situations that you have not seen before and you may really stub your toe disastrously. Very rarely have I seen this sort of thing as a success and I have seen many.

I will add: If you have to ask for advice, you are not ready. At the proper time,you will then know.

 

[Sparweb]

Hi V1vr,
Try to start from your strengths. Your OP listed a few weaknesses - very good for you to be clear about what they are - but to put your best foot forward you should focus on something else and build around that. Perhaps you are an affable person and can build some team cohesion before trying to draw the group onward and upward. Get them to buy into your ambitions before expecting them to act upon it. This makes it easier to delegate the changes to others - which is difficult if not impossible even under ideal circumstances.


STF

 

[12345abc6ttyui67]

Great example MikeHalloran, I'm stealing this one

 

[TheTick]

Why do you feel you need to be a department head in order to effect the changes you wish to see?

 

[ProEpro]

It sounds like nothing is stopping you from working the way you think is best rather than the "old school" way. You don't have to change the world.

Fill in the gaps that you identified. Get out on the floor and make some parts. Learn what documentation is needed and who is suffering from not having it. Then you can build a case to start working on the systems you want to put in place. If you are the only one doing 3D make sure everything you do is establishes the standards you want.

If you demonstrate the benefits of what you want to do they will ask for those benefits on future projects and will start to be self supporting. Maybe by then the other guy will be promoted or retired and you will be in charge because you are the entire department.

Every company handles ambition differently. Last place I worked I was told during the interview I wouldn't want to work there if I had ambition. They were right. The new place requires everyone to have a development plan and manager are required to see that their reports get the training and experience building assignments they need. That is probably all because of size. At the right time ask about how you can increase your value and let them know you are interested in taking on more responsibility. However, don't give anyone the impression you don't want to earn it or want to take over because they are all over the hill.

 

[v1vr]

Thank you everyone for the responses, especially the people who took some time to respond to my question!

I'm worried about overwhelming myself. On top of my personal life and hobbies, I have day to day work tasks, I'm learning a completely new industry, and I'm trying to learn 1000 new topics unrelated to the industry that will help me in my job. I ask myself hundreds of questions day.

What CAD standards do we incorporate going forward to make sure the design department works as efficiently as possible? How do I incorporate design validation and FEA into the design process? What's an organized and efficient way to keep track of a 300 component product during manufacturing and assembly? What is the most cost effective method or machine for manufacturing this part? There are much better vendors than McMaster for these components, how do I find them and negotiate a special price? What is the best way to move the product around the warehouse? What is the best way to tie the avionics and assembly department together? What jig can we build to improve this step in the process and how much time and money will it save? What new products can we bring to market for this aircraft and how do we do it? How do I eliminate the kinks of this current design and create a new product with the functionality the customer is looking for?

I'm trying to be marketing, sales, purchasing, design engineer, draftsman, FEA engineer, manufacturing engineer, R&D engineer, etc. I'm trying to put a mile-long stack of hats on my head. After taking a step back, I think my mentality going into this is trying to be the person who single-handedly grows the company into the likes of giants in the industry like Boeing, Airbus, and Sikorsky. I'm trying to gain hundreds of years of experience spanning millions of individuals. Essentially, I'm trying to find the Machinery's Handbook on organizing a program like the 787 or S-76 with only 30 people. I want to read it and implement everything in one month. It's just not going to happen.

I'm in a fortunate situation where I have management (only two people at this time) that is very supportive of bringing the company into the 21st century. I suggested upgrading the CAD system and it's on the table and we're going to make an investment in the latest version of our CAD platform. We're exploring new manufacturing methods that haven't been tried before. We're looking at new technologies like 3D scanning which we will most likely invest in this year. Management said if I come to them with an outside training request, they will be supportive of it. The possibility is there, I just need to begin biting off smaller chunks. I also need to take some time to digest and implement all this knowledge instead of trying to eat it all up at once.

Truckandbus, I really like your suggestion of identifying areas of opportunity and sitting down with management to address them. Instead of trying to fix everything at once, pick out the most critical areas or areas that will provide the most benefit to the company or process. We can identify what is a priority and what steps we can take to achieve the goal. I think that technique would also really help me narrow down what topics I should focus on and become more knowledgeable in.

ProEpro, you expand on what is mentioned above. Once I narrow down an area that needs to be improved, I can begin learning about it and implementing what I learn. Right now, I'm trying to learn 1000 new things and then getting overwhelmed by the idea of having to implement them all at one time. Rome wasn't built in one day.

There's definitely a few good take-aways from the replies above!

 

[ashtree]

You are going to burn yourself out if you continue along the current path.

First of all you can never be an expert in everything and i would not expect that your employer wants you to be. However with time i would think that in a small company you will develop a least a working knowledge or understanding of what goes on in all parts of the business. But you will also be required to develop expertise in one or perhaps several functions within the business and concentrate your efforts in those areas. Developing that working knowledge and or expertise takes time, effort and lots of hard work. Its not something that comes overnight. Training and study is excellent but you also need experience and exposure. Staying interested, inquisitive, and helpful will assist in your development.

Somewhere along the line you are going to have to prioritise(maybe the company or management will do that for you) and focus on what is required rather than trying to solve every problem ever thought of right now.

Regards
Ashtree
"Any water can be made potable if you filter it through enough money"

 

[monkeydog]

v1vr,
I have been lurking on this posting for a while, but now feel the need to comment also.
I agree with ashtree's comment on burnout. The old saying of "how do you eat an elephant?"
One bite at a time. Pick the best part first, with the biggist payoff, then keep working your way to the parts that are not worth your time to chew on. Other juciey bite will be set before you before you get the the end.
Good Luck.

 

[casseopeia]

Imagine that between the parentheses is all the mean, snarky things I have to say about still working in 2D ( ) OK, on to more constructive things.

Assess your resources (so many computers, servers, capacity, speed, etc.) Then research what you need to convert to 3D. I don't know what programs you use but in my world it's Revit. Almost all new hires know some Revit. Almost no one prefers Autocad. Find out how much new equipment and software will cost including licensing. Who do you provide services to? And what systems do they use?

If they do not currently have file naming standards, write up a protocol. I'm sure some of us here could offer suggestions.

Do a little research into your client base and see if there are new sectors you can scrounge for business because no one wants to be presented with just ways to spend money. Look for ways to make money.



If you are offended by the things I say, imagine the stuff I hold back.

 

[CWB1]

I'm trying to be marketing, sales, purchasing, design engineer, draftsman, FEA engineer, manufacturing engineer, R&D engineer, etc.

JMO but the first priority should be defining what is NOT your role so you can focus on finding the best ways to do your actual job. Several of the items mentioned in your last post are not only "no," but "HELL NO" worthy. Purchasing anything beyond prototype parts should be either a dedicated purchasing agent or at least a senior leader within the company, someone who knows the products and has a decent business background. Marketing and product definition also need to be led by a senior business person, engineering should not be involved until they've screened customers' needs and created at least the first draft of a product spec along with their sales forecasts. Manufacturing engineering is much the same as the other two, experienced shop personnel should be taking charge of implementing improvements and defining their own processes, anything not expressly product design related should be left to them. I'd much rather see a decently bright tradesman given the title of "manufacturing engineer" than see an overworked product engineering dept's time wasted being drug into half the shop's issues.

Once you establish your role vs others, the next step would then be to start defining the product development process and the various methods of communicating needs, tracking progress, and defining success. There are MANY things that need to happen simultaneously in any given situation, many of which cannot involve engineering without needlessly wasting a ton of money and time.

 

[Mr168]

I see lots of theoretical improvements in the first post, but your management will not care about theoretical improvements. Put a dollar amount on them and present to them the cost savings. Money talks, and anything else will be viewed as an "employee preference". If you can't quantify a given improvement, then you lack enough of an understanding of the process to make a business case for it, and that item should drop down on your list of desired changes. Keep in mind that cash flow is king, especially to a small business, so expenditures that take 15-20 years to recoup the costs will likely be frowned upon.

 

[truckandbus]

one of my lessons learned over the years was to know when to stop beating a dead horse

Some of my process changes went in to effect and were quickly embraced and were very successful; other changes sputtered and died on the vine. I found it best to move on to the next project than to try to resuscitate an idea that already created a bad first impression