Any thoughts on whether we will see widespread adoption of grid scale energy storage systems? These are most typically batteries, but can also be pumped water or liquid air or compressed air.
Any ideas as to which companies have the most promising engineering solutions?
Cedar Bluff Engineering...
For those who have more experience than my in the HVAC world:
When I do building inspections,I sometimes see EER or SEER energy efficiency ratings on rooftop Heat Recovery Ventilators or RTU's. Othertimes, I don't. Same with the plans. Sometimes they are listed and sometimes they aren't.
The...
I travel to do on site inspections for a client. Recently, the client failed to coordinate with all of the parties involved, and when I arrived on site I was denied access because the property owner was not aware of my site inspection and not prepared to provide access.
I was able to...
I have a client that I've worked with for several years. Recently, they have become far more particular with the reports than they used to. They are concerned whether I use full or left justification; the spacing at the top of the page, and exacting as to how their clients name is written out...
I am interested in doing work in a field other than my regular employment. This would be moonlighting or side work. The problem is that most people want experienced people with long resumes, where most of the career has been in that exact area of work.
This make sense - if I was hiring a...
I have an interest in doing on-site inspections of ropeways (i.e., chairlifts at ski resorts). I think this would be fun. I currently work in aerospace with very large jets, and ropeways are signficantly different than airplanes in many respects.
How does one go about entering this field for...
My 9-5 work is slowing down a bit, and I am interested in doing more consulting work as a Professional Engineer. I have done some work in the energy effiency sector, and enjoy this work, but have a hard time trying to grow my business. Any suggestions of how I would go about trying to get more...
As a consultant, is there anything unethical about providing the same engineering service (as a professional engineer) to two clients that work in competition to one another?
I do not have any proprietary data from the client that I am currently working with. They have not provided training for...
I do consulting where I inspect something and then write a report on it covering the results of my inspection.
Originally, the client was rather accepting of my reports and did not have any changes to make. Recently, they hired someone that reviews all of the reports that they receive, and he...
I have a client that I like working with, but there is a continual problem of disappearing e-mail. That is, I'll send them my final report, invoice, or other correspondance via e-mail, and it disappears. Then a week or two later, I get an e-mail from them asking when I'm going to get the report...
For my small consulting company, I would like to create a badge that I can use for identifying myself when I arrive at my clients jobsites.
Has anyone ordered badges for themselves or employees, and if so, where did you get them from?
I provide independent Professional Engineering services to a client. They have me perform independent site evaluations. I like doing work for the company.
Recently, they provided a new template and have asked that I write reports on their company letterhead featuring their company logo. They'd...
I do building inspections for a client on an as-needed basis. The inspections are real simple, I get a tour of the building and then write a report on the building.
Today, the client's client informed me that they want to be present for all building inspections. I did one this morning and the...
I do a small amount of consulting work on the weekends and evenings. It's about $5k a year or so.
I took a class in Financial Accounting as part of a graduate degree program last summer, and it made me think a little about bookkeeping. In a matter of a couple hours, I created the basic chart of...
I just got an e-mail from a guy that needs a professional engineer to do some work way out in the bookdocks. It will be a heck of a drive for me to do, but if I don't do the work, who will? The client needs a PE and there are only 8 licensed PEs in the entire county, most probably who wouldn't...
I was recently asked to get top secret security clearance at work. I have some questions for those who have experience in this:
1) If I later part ways with the company, do I keep the clearance? (I see jobs that say active DoD clearance required, so I assume this is the case.)
2) Are there...
I am looking at doing engineering calculations on lattice towers. I have read through TIA-222-G and believe I understand what needs to be done in order to verify the tower is safe to a specific wind load. Can someone verify that my process is correct?
1) Determine max wind speeds based on...
Out of curiousity, do most consultants provide electronic (pdf) or paper copies of reports to their clients?
I do almost 100% electronic for everything I write (papers for grad school, homework assignments, consulting reports, etc). However, a couple times when I have requested copies of public...
I got my first freelance gig about six months ago. It was nice but made me hungry for more.
How do you get started in freelance? I work at the airplane giant and only normally talk with other engineers that work at the same place I do.
What techniques are good to get freelance / contract /...
Here's a good quandry:
I have the opportunity to work significant amounts of paid overtime next year (probably around 300-400 hours). I am also half way through a Masters program in Mechanical Engineering that is paid by the company. I can't do both - I can either work lots of overtime or work...
