Consulting-Specifying Engineer - February 2008 - (Page 35)

equipment and systems differently than general occupants or the public, and their safety has historically been more dependent on adherence to worker knowledge and qualifications, and adherence to safe work practices (i.e. NFPA 70E). In July 2007, to recognize that there is great potential to reduce workplace injuries by addressing worker safety differently in systems and facilities design, NIOSH launched “Prevention through Design,” a multiyear initiative to influence regulations, codes, standards, and long-held paradigms to help bring greater emphasis to design decisions that can improve worker safety throughout the facility lifecycle, including construction, commissioning, operation, maintenance, and eventual dismantlement. This initiative aims to alter the roles and responsibilities of design processes and to bring greater prominence to design engineers to specify inherently safer design choices and decisions in the future. A future mentoring model Things are different for engineers today. Novice engineers are expected to be more computer- and Internet-savvy than veteran engineers, and have a tendency to not read trade publications, join professional societies, and attend technical conferences. Some of these issues are related to social norms for their generation. There also is the pressure for engineering firms to maximize billable hours while pinching budgets for training, travel, and societal dues. One thing that has not changed—most people would like to know their work and professional activities make a positive and lasting impact. As I think about what advice I would give regarding mentoring electrical design engineers today, these four points come to mind: • Electrical incidents, injuries, and fatalities in the workplace do not have to happen • Trends in regulations, standards, and societal expectations are impacting the role electrical design engineers have on electrical safety • Design choices can have a significant impact on electrical safety during the full lifecycle of a facility • The body of knowledge essential to electrical safety includes electrical technology and safety management. fessional and technical organizations, impromptu telephone calls, and letters (in early years) and e-mails (in recent years) with an ever-expanding network of people I respected. There also were unplanned encounters with industry experts while waiting at an airport following a technical conference, and formal mentoring relationships. NIOSH’s Prevention through Design initiative alters the role and responsibility of electrical design processes. Engineering firms need to recognize ongoing development of their employees is good for business. Design engineers need to be proactive in ensuring their knowledge and skills are up to date. Every engineer, novices to seasoned veterans, should have a personal professional growth and development plan. For electrical engineers, this includes staying current in relevant electrical safety issues. The venues available for this include self study, computer-based courses, topicspecific seminars and conferences, active involvement in technical professional organizations that may have local organizational units, and both formal and informal mentoring relationships. Looking back more than 35 years in electrical engineering, I can identify what enabled my professional success. Certainly, a high-quality technical education provided the ticket to enter the profession. But it was the knowledge I gained from my personal interaction with other professionals that opened doors or provided the technical edge to advance in both personal rewards and job responsibilities. These interactions came in several venues. At the time, I may not have identified them as mentoring interactions. There were lunchtime discussions with office colleagues, collaboration in proAlthough these interactions may not all fit some people’s definition of mentoring, I now view each of these as part of my personal mentoring process. Although generational norms and business pressures may be perceived as barriers to some of these mentoring avenues, I believe they are all still viable today. For the electrical design engineer, what should be viewed to change is that the mentoring topics need to expand. Electrical safety is no longer just about designing to building codes and standards. The topics also need to encompass how construction and maintenance personnel interact with the electrical systems and equipment, fundamentals of safety management, and lifecycle economics of design decisions made in the conceptual stages of design. H. Landis Floyd is principal consultant, electrical safety and technology, with DuPont, Wilmington, Del. References Cawley, J.C and Homce, G.T. Trends in Electrical Injury 1992-2002, Conference Record of the 2006 IEEE IAS Petroleum and Chemical Industry Conference, Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers. Manuele, F. Prevention through Design: Addressing Occupational Risks in the Design & Redesign Processes, ByDesign, Engineering Practice Specialty of American Society of Safety Engineers 7(3). Consulting-Specifying Engineer • FEBRUARY 2008 35

Table of Contents Feed for the Digital Edition of Consulting-Specifying Engineer - February 2008

Consulting-Specifying Engineer - February 2008 Contents Viewpoint News M/E Roundtable How To Write Control Sequences Mentoring Engineers: Myths, Motivations, and Models Keep Young Electrical Engineers Grounded Protecting a Vulnerable Population Codes & Standards Case Study New Products Equipment Lifecycles Advertisers Index Green Space

Consulting-Specifying Engineer - February 2008

For optimal viewing of this digital publication, please enable JavaScript and then refresh the page. If you would like to try to load the digital publication without using Flash Player detection, please click here.