SPED Update - Home - SPED - Society Of Piping Engineers .

SPED UpdateVolume III, Issue 2, February 2010Planning Underway forSPED Calgary ChapterKickoff Meeting andPPD Review and TestAn April Kickoff is planned for thefirst Society of Piping Engineersand Designers (SPED) CalgaryChapter Meeting in Calgary,Alberta. The Kickoff ChapterMeeting is scheduled for Thursdayevening, April 8, 2010. AVEVACanada will be sponsoring theKickoff of the SPED CalgaryChapter by hosting the receptionand meeting on Thursday eveningbefore the meeting.PPD Review and TestScheduled for April 10thA SPED Professional PipingDesigner Review and Test isscheduled for the followingSaturday, April 10th, 2010.The technical program of theKickoff Chapter Meeting is beingorganized by Paul Bowers of www.pipingdesign.com and RichardBeale, noted Industry author.Current plans call for technicalpresentations by SPED and ASET.SPED will be discussing the stateof the piper market, the Societyand Certification. ASET will bediscussing the recent decisionby Alberta to give technologyprofessionals the right to selfregulate, and practice engineeringindependently.The Society of Piping EngineersFebruary SPED UpdateFebruary 2010and Designers (SPED) is an international society established to promoteexcellence and quality in the practice ofPiping Engineering and Design. SPEDemphasizes education and training toadvance the employability and competitiveness if its members. The SPEDCalgary Chapter is being organized tosupport Pipers in the Calgary, Albertaand surrounding areas.A SPED PPD Level III Review and Testwill be held on Saturday, April 10, 2010hosted by WorleyParsons MEC at theirSouth Calgary office location. SPED’sProfessional Piping Designer (PPD)Certification program is designed tomeet the specific requirements of theProcess Piping Industry. There are fourlevels of Certification:Level IBasic PPD, ProperlyTrained for Inline PipeRoutingLevel IIAdvanced PPD, OrganizeWorkLevel IIISenior PPD, IndependentProducer and EquipmentLayoutLevel IV Lead PPD, Manage,Assure workSPED PPD certification documentsskills and competency, increasesemployability at higher pay, improvesprofessional recognition, and definesthe Certified Piper’s professional development path. For more information, goto www.spedweb.com.focus of the exam will be on equipmentlayout and related piping. The reviewwill cover 20 topics in about 6 hours,followed by the PPD Level III Exam.More details about both events will beposted to www.spedweb.com.To RSVP for the SPED Calgary ReviewSession, please send your confirmation to the attention of Tracey Nabe /www.aset.ab.ca/THIS ISSUE'SHIGHLIGHTSExecutive Director’s Notes:Get a 2010Credential Now!A Message from SPED'sU.K. ChapterEnter the 2010 GoldenValve Awards CompetitionThe AutoCAD Plant 3D(code name "Hadrian") Betadate is set to start Today!Feb 5, 2010Only experienced pipers are encouraged to take the one-day PPD LevelIII review and test on April 10th. The* www.spedweb.comPage 1

Executive Director’sNotes: Get a 2010Credential Now!We are now in the second decade ofa new century and Pipers everywhereare either wondering how to get a job orhow to keep the one they’ve got. Pipersare CAPEX (Capital Expenditure) folks,not OPEX (Operational Expenditure)folks and when the industry is contracting, CAPEX is down. So, naturally, aCAPEX professional is going to get alittle stressed right now. What shouldyou do?Do Nothing OptionOne option is to do nothing. Let’s saythat you are working and you comehome tired to a stack of bills and a sinkfull of dirty dishes. Maybe you havesaved or are saving a little money fora rainy day or a vacation if things getbetter.If you are laid off, you are in rainy daymode and are trying to cover bills andnot lose the car or worse, the house.We know some folks in this mode: theyare holding tight to every dollar and trying to wait it out.If you are afraid, there are low costthings you can do. If your company isafraid there are some low or no costthings they can do. If you are laid off,there are some government fundedthings you can do now.What Piping Managers are SayingSPED did a quick survey of 14 hiringmanagers at 13 Houston EPC firms orEPC departments at owner/operatorsasking about the value of the two yearAssociate of Applied Science (AAS)degree. Yes, their hiring plans are bleakbecause their project backlogs aredown. Most have been cutting deeperand deeper into their best qualifiedtalent and should things improve, thosefolks will be called first about returning. Previously, we have discussed thathiring managers value task experience,February SPED Updateproductivity and professional attitudemost in retaining employees and thatwill be most remembered in call backs.Of all these, CAD-Specific Task Experience was the most mentioned attributefor new hire or rehire.For newbies with little experience, eightof the 14 respondents said that AASdegree holders would be preferred.Most of the respondents cautioned thatthis year will be mostly call backs andvery experienced hires. Only when thatsupply is exhausted, will newbies beconsidered.In other words, just like always, the piping managers I have talked to still preferon the job experience over classestaken and yes, SPED Certification.CAD-Specific Task Experience trumpsTask Experience every time. So if youdid it, it helps. If you did it on the CADSystem they want to use, it helps more.“Thanks a Lot but I’m Unemployed How can I add Experience?”Sorry, you can’t add experience whenyou are not working. It’s out of yourcontrol. If you are able to work for less,that is something you can control. Butknow that you will still lose out to amore experienced piper more timesthan not. Even if you offer to work forfree (some have) you will still lose out tomore experienced pipers.You would be better off taking thatcrappy design job in Hell Frozen Over,Alberta or Five Dog Night, Alaska andadd a few years to your resume.In 2007, Mark Landry, Senior Director,Human Resources, Fluor Corporationestimated that:A new college engineering graduate requires approximately 10years of experience and trainingto attain the necessary credentialsto provide the technical innovationand leadership required. Muchof the training is accomplishedthrough on-the-job assignmentsand rotational experience, exposing* www.spedweb.comthe employee to different industries,technologies, project complexities,and project life-cycle phases .Designers typically require a 3- to4-year investment, heavily focusedon in house training utilizing designtechnology.Source NPC Global Oil & Gas StudyTOPIC PAPER #23 HUMAN RESOURCES: http://www.npc.org. Inother words, it will be hard to be takenseriously as a designer until you acquire 3-4 years experience and as anengineer until you log 10 years experience. In a down economy, this is hardto do. Otherwise, add to your credentials.What are the best credentials?Roughly, the table on page 4 lists thecredentials in order of importance.This table is compiled from our surveyof hiring managers and has been formatted in an 'action item' configuration.What should you do?First, if you have a job, do it right andfight to keep it. If you get offered that3-6 month task in Wretchistan, maybeyou should take it. If you have to work alittle extra before that review on Friday,try hard to be available and get thejob done. If there are in-house trainingclasses, take them. If there is tuition reimbursement, start college classes atnight. In short, be professional, reasonable, and proactive.If you don’t have a job, it’s going to behard to add task experience. The goodnews is that there are government programs in nearly every local to get youtrained, degreed and certified. Almostevery state and country has moneyfor training right now. SPED has beendeveloping options in Houston and theyare usually fundable (with extra paperwork) in other states and countries. Thesame applies to community collegesand short courses.continued on page 4Page 2

U.K.CHAPTERNEWSSPED in the U.K. andIrelandby Norman HarrisWe have been trying to develop interestin SPED in the UK & Ireland for somemonths now. In doing so, like most ofthe industrialised world, we are facingextremely adverse economic conditions.However the whole of Europe is lookingto invest in Carbon, Capture & Storage,CCS technology. There is also the UKGovernments intention of building 10new nuclear power stations.Interest in LNG installationsis high and they are buildingnow.SPED UPDATE ADVERTISINGAND PRESS RELEASESspedsrvs@spedweb.comAs the politicians realisethat there are no votes inenforced power rationing, there will alsobe a developing background activity oflife extending refurbishments of offshore platforms and nuclear stations inprospect as the UK faces an increasinggap in its energy supplies.The piper training environment is different in the UK compared to the USA, butthat is a topic for the next piece.If you are interested in joining the U.K.Chapter of SPED, contact Norm atn.harris04@btconnect.com.SPED COURSES AND ON TESTINGspedadmin@spedweb.comTelephone 832-286-3404CORPORATE, ACADEMIC, ORiNDIVIDUAL IDUAL MEMBERSHIPwww.spedweb.comspedsrvs@spedweb.comSPED PIPER VIDEO SALESvideos@spedweb.comOn line piping courses in SpanishUniversity of Zaragoza (Spain)Since 2007, more than 200 engineers and designers havealready benefited from the advantages of on line learningWould you like to become one of them?Piping masters degreeInstrumentation(1 year)(1 month)3D Design with PDMSASME B31.3 process piping(1 month)(2 months)More information: http://piping.unizar.es

William G Beazley, PhDExecutive Director, SPEDcontinued from page 2Finally, I want to close with a thought.Now, we are in 2010, a new year. It isimportant to put something on your resume dated 2010 that was totally underyour control. Employers want to seethat you are still growing and developing. They want to know that you alsowill invest in your career.Credentials matter. The table below (referenced on page 2)is compiled from SPED's survey of hiringmanagers and has been been formatted inan action item configuration.CODEWARE'SCOMPRESS Build 6310ReleasedIncludes New Shell Seams FeatureWe are pleased to announce therelease of COMPRESS Build 6310.Codeware's pressure vessel andheat exchanger design software nowincludes: A shell seams featureCredentialCAD-Specific Task ExperienceTask ExperiencePROSLicenses, CertificationsShort CoursesCONS Requires employment to obtain Extremely attractive to Employers Requires specific task Survives keyword screening by HRsoftware Requires specific software (vendor andversion) to obtain Often exaggerated by prospect Very attractive to Employers Requires employment to obtain Survives keyword screening by HRsoftware Requires specific task Often exaggerated by prospect Takes years to obtain Foreign degrees often impossible to assessand confirm, so not valued Degrees often miss job discipline required College Degrees A shell rollout sketch, included inthe seams report The COMPRESS Project backuptoolTo read more, visit eets minimum requirements atmany firms Generalized expertiseapplicable to many tasks Employment not needed 3rd Party credential Requires study and testing to obtain Conveys credibility andprofessionalism Requires renewal and professionaldevelopment (also a “pro”) Certification, Licensing levels anindication of expertise level Requires understanding by hiring managerand HR to value Employment not always needed Work experience is frequently required 3rd Party credential Conveys credibility andprofessionalismSometimes valued as certificate ofattendance Poorly valued if not followed by taskapplication. Few credible providers (Vendors best) Employment not needed Survives keyword screening by HRsoftware (i.e., CAD System)February SPED Update * www.spedweb.comPage 4