What is your current position? What is your area of focus?
I am semi-retired but remain active as a consultant and content contributor to articles, discussions, and advising other consultants seeking field experience. Before obtaining a Bachelor of Science in mechanical engineering, I was a master plumber and mechanical contractor with many years of hands-on field experience.
What are your career journey highlights?
I grew up in the plumbing trade, working with my father in the family business. Upon my father's untimely death, my mother and I continued to operate and grow the business until, after 20-plus years, my mother retired, and we sold the business. While continuing to work on my engineering degree, I worked for several large mechanical contractors as an estimator, project manager, project engineer, service manager, and ASME fabrication shop manager before graduating with a BSME and moving into consulting engineering.
What motivated you to get into the plumbing engineering industry?
I have always been interested in plumbing, having worked as a journeyman, master plumber, and contractor to better understand how such systems work. Plumbing is based on science, physics, and engineering. It is always good to have practical field experience to better understand the design process and how systems interrelate and work together. My interesting hands-on experience directed me towards an engineering career and still sparked my interest in learning more.
What is the most exciting or rewarding aspect of your work?
Design is one of the most critical aspects of the consulting engineering career. As a consultant, you face different tasks and challenges on a daily basis. No two projects are the same, with every project requiring one to apply the knowledge gained over the years and field experience to advance the owner's vision of their project. While the architect may be the lead in advancing the owner's vision, it is the consulting engineer who has to develop and implement the systems necessary to make the vision functional.
What value have you gained from participation in ASPE Connect?
Since its inception, ASPE has been an attraction as the leader in plumbing engineering knowledge. Participating in ASPE has allowed me to gain knowledge and experience in the profession and share it with others. It offers the opportunity to network and share ideas with others. In this sharing, both parties gain knowledge and ways to improve their design, as well as, hopefully, assist others in improving their designs.
What is the most interesting plumbing design challenge you have encountered?
Over the years, I have had the opportunity to work on many challenging projects. One project that stands out to me was the design and installation of a decontamination facility for an emergency department. The original decontamination room was not much more than a closet with a depression on the floor to hold the wash off from the patient. The new decontamination area included a shower, hand-washing sinks, and a hose-down area. None of this waste was allowed to enter the sanitary waste system. Additionally, one did not know the contaminant: chemical, biological, radioactive, or a combination. Nor did anyone know the potential volume of this contaminated waste. So, the design incorporated a series of 55-gallon polymer drums to route the waste away for storage and removal as necessary to decontaminate said waste. Each drum was connected to the waste system via an electronically operated PVC ball valve and a valved vent system. This allowed each drum to be isolated as it filled. Each drum required a liquid-level sensor to monitor the volume within the drum. As the drum approached 90% capacity, the newly designed digital control system would close off one drum while opening the next. The system included 10 connected drums. This allowed for approximately 500 gallons of storage. The digital control system monitored all the drums and notified the staff when they approached 80% of the available storage capacity. This allowed for facilities to change out drums as needed to continue operations. The digital control system would alarm if 90% of capacity were reached to ensure that the system did not run out of storage capacity. Should staff ignore the alarm, the system will sound a second alarm before locking out the water flow to the fixtures to avoid a backup in the system or a potential overflow in the drum room. The system's capacity was virtually unlimited as it only required sufficient drums to be changed out and replaced with empty new drums.
What is your favorite hobby or pastime outside of work?
When not actively involved with ASPE committees, the ASPE Connect Communities, or my work with NSPE, I enjoy maintaining the property, working out, traveling, and visiting wineries, brewhouses, or distilleries.