Consulting-Specifying Engineer - February 2009 - (Page 5)

EDITORIAL STAFF MICHAEL G. IVANOVICH, Editor-in-Chief michael.ivanovich@reedbusiness.com SCOTT SIDDENS, Senior Editor ssiddens@reedbusiness.com AMARA ROZGUS, Senior Editor & Manager of E-Content amara.rozgus@reedbusiness.com PATRICK LYNCH, Associate Editor patrick.lynch@reedbusiness.com MYLES ADAMSON, Art Director EDITORIAL ADVISORY BOARD ANIL AHUJA, PE, LEED AP, RCDD, President, CCJM Engineers, Chicago PATRICK BANSE, PE, LEED AP, Senior Mechanical Engineer, Smith Seckman Reid Inc., Houston PAUL BEARN, PE, Associate Electrical Services Engineer, KlingStubbins, Philadelphia DAVID COOPER, PE, LEED AP, President and CEO, WSP Flack + Kurtz, New York PETER D’ANTONIO, PE, LEED AP, President, PCD Engineering Services Inc., Longmont, Colo. DOUGLAS EVANS, PE, Fire Protection Engineer, Clark County Building Division, Las Vegas RAYMOND GRILL, PE, FSFPE, Principal, Arup, Washington, D.C. RAJ P. GUPTA, PE, LEED AP, President, Environmental Systems Design Inc., Chicago GERSIL KAY, President, Conservation Lighting Intl. and Building Conservation Intl., Philadelphia WILLIAM KOSIK, PE, LEED AP, Managing Principal, EYP Mission Critical Facilities Inc., Chicago TIMOTHY E. KUHLMAN, PE, RCDD, Electrical Engineer, CH2M Hill, Portland, Ore. KEITH LANE, PE, RCDD, LC, LEED AP, Partner/Principal, Lane Coburn & Assocs., Seattle KENNETH L. LOVORN, PE, President, Lovorn Engineering Assocs., Pittsburgh JOHN MAGLIANO, PE, Chairman, SH Group Inc., New York ERIN MCCONAHEY, PE, Associate Principal, Arup, Los Angeles SYED PEERAN, PE, Ph.D., Senior Engineer, Camp Dresser & McKee Inc., Cambridge, Mass. MARTIN H. REISS, PE, FSFPE, President, CEO, The RJA Group Inc., Framingham, Mass. DAVID SELLERS, PE, Senior Engineer, Facility Dynamics Engineering Inc., Portland, Ore. E. CHARLES STEINMAN, PE, Principal Electrical Engineer, Stanley Consultants, Highlands Ranch, Colo. JOHN SUZUKIDA, PE, President, Lanex Consulting LLC, Shoreview, Minn. PETER D. ZAK, PE, Principal, GRAEF, Milwaukee Consulting-Specifying Engineer’s editorial offices are located at 2000 Clearwater Dr., Oak Brook, IL 60523. Phone 630-288-8000. For subscription information, call 303-470-4445 or go to: www.getFREEmag.com/cse. For reprints, call 800-290-5460 x100 or e-mail cse@theygsgroup.com. REED BUSINESS INFORMATION Founded in 1933 Tad Smith, Chief Executive Officer Jeff Greisch, President, Chicago Division Editor’s Viewpoint Michael Ivanovich, Editor-in-Chief In these tough times, stay connected n reading news stories about these tough economic times and in talking to numerous engineers and manufacturers in the field, I’ve become aware that we’re all standing at the edge of our own abyss, and all of our abysses are connected. For some, what keeps them awake at night is a business loan they cannot get to meet payroll. For others, it’s the people they have to face to lay them off. And for others, it’s having been laid off or the fear of getting laid off. And for many more, it’s carrying on without one or more co-workers who are no longer with the company and who won’t be replaced. We really don’t know what’s next, except we’ll be asked to do more with less. We’re dealing with emotions on a mass scale we haven’t seen since 9/11: Despair, fear, anger. We got through 9/11 by communicating more, and more deliberately. Eventually, the gears of society meshed, the economy regained momentum, and we resumed our frenetic pace. Now that we’re back to a state where people need to get reconnected again, here are a few recommendations to get you going: • Pick up the phone when people call, and call people back right away if you miss them. • Find something to congratulate your staff and team for; be more frequent with positive remarks. • Schedule time in your calendar to check in with personal and professional networks, even your older contacts. • Once a week, ask your boss if there’s anything you can do to help. • Communicate internally so you know what’s going on around you and your company. • Share cost-cutting ideas and let management know about barriers and inefficiencies. • Stay in touch locally by going to local chapter meetings of industry associations. • Participate in a corporate mentoring program or brown-bag luncheons. • Post comments on blogs or online articles; participate in online industry forums. • Enable people to find you and your company by keeping your company’s website up to date. Visit the websites of other companies. • Cull online and hard copy subscriptions you no longer read and find new ones that meet your needs. Ask your colleagues what they’re finding useful. Pass around good articles. • Get visible: write technical articles and columns for industry publications, including electronic newsletters. • Attend webcasts, webinars, and other online events. As you do these things, you’ll perhaps find yourself more cognizant and in control of the bigger picture, and you’ll widen and strengthen your networks. The more connected your are, the better off you’ll be no matter how things turn out. I Send your questions and comments to: Michael.Ivanovich@reedbusiness.com Consulting-Specifying Engineer • FEBRUARY 2009 5 http://www.getFREEmag.com/cse

Table of Contents Feed for the Digital Edition of Consulting-Specifying Engineer - February 2009

Consulting-Specifying Engineer - February 2009 Contents Viewpoint News M/E Roundtable Codes & Standards Electrical Modernization: A Tale of Two Hospitals Retrofitting Office Lighting Controls Case Study New Products Equipment Lifecycles Advertiser Index Green Space

Consulting-Specifying Engineer - February 2009

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