Message to the Mechanical Engineers.

(This article was serialized in 4 parts in the Jan 18, 20, 22 & 26 issues of th People’s Journal)

As everybody starts with the New Year, so does the Philippine Society of Mechanical Engineers - with a new set of leadership. It is just but natural that new approaches and management techniques are to flow in and maybe supplant those that is already in place. But before this happens, I just thought it would be worthwhile to point out something about 2010 which, if focused on and sustained, would best serve the interest of the “Society”. I’m referring to last year’s PSME theme.

The crafting of “Go PSME for Chapter Excellence” was obviously an effort to propel the Society towards growth and success by energizing and uplifting the basic element of the national organization’s structure – namely, the chapters. But what really is excellence? And, secondly, how can it be achieved by the chapters?

The dictionary defines excellence as “unusually good of its kind; of exceptional merit, virtue, etc”. This definition is easily understandable and clearly answers the first question, but, how can the chapters achieve it? How, in specific terms, can the PSME Chapters be, “unusually good of its kind; of special merit and virtue”?

To my mind, the answer is in being able to comply – as a chapter - with the “Guiding Principles and Objectives of the Society”, as well as the “Duties and Responsibilities of the Society”, as contained in Chapter 2 of the PSME Policy Manual.

I wonder, at this point, how many of us members remember the contents of, or have at least gone through the Policy Manual, so as to appreciate my last statement? I wouldn’t be surprised if there isn’t much. So, with your indulgence, and just to serve as a refresher, please allow me to discuss some of the manual’s contents that I feel are relevant to the chapter’s effort in achieving excellence.

The “Guiding Principles and Objectives” of PSME dictates that members should subscribe and commit to uphold the Laws of the Republic of the Philippines, promote the PSME Creed and the objectives set forth in its Amended Articles of Incorporation and By-Laws. By this, it is the chapter’s task to see to it that members are adhering to the Code of Ethics for Mechanical Engineers which states that each one would “advance the integrity, honor and dignity” of the profession.

And, how can this be done? By the members’ using “knowledge and skill for the enhancement of human welfare”; by “being honest and impartial and serving with fidelity the public, their employer and clients”; and, by “striving to increase the competence of the engineering profession”.

Furthermore, the chapters’ thrust in conducting its affairs should be such that the individual members are encouraged to participate and contribute in the social, economic and industrial growth of the country, as well as support only one national organization. The responsibility for, as well as the capability for advancing the “arts and science” of mechanical engineering lies in the practitioners, and no one else; and such an endeavour can be more effectively pursued if done as a unified effort. This common front can of course be manifested through the “Society”, particularly the chapters, which can: a) devise ways and implement programs that would enable its members to develop new skills, both soft and hard, related to the practice; or, b) continuously improve and broaden current skill levels; or, develop/increase creativity and heighten technical competence of each individual member in his line of practice.

The advancement of the profession would of course be served further if any successful method of improvement would be shared, for replication, with the rest of the chapters.

Another area that should be focused on and tapped to advance the arts and science of our profession is Communication and Information Technology (CIT). How can the members of the profession tap the tremendous power resulting from the convergence of the computer, internet, information and communication technologies? The state of the art of these “tools” has advanced so much and so fast that it has practically “shrunk the world” - faster than what the planes, radio and television has done. The tremendous advantage and benefit that can be gained out of using these tools has been recognized and adopted by most of the population in the “modern world” such that not hooking on to it can become a disadvantage to those who do not – especially to us, professionals.

As engineers, we should be among the first – regardless of age - to not only adopt, but also to understand new technology, especially if it is something that impacts on our ability to communicate better, learn faster, or even perform our jobs more efficiently and effectively. In mentioning this, what’s in my mind is that we, mechanical engineers, must have the ability to use the computer so as to be able to tap the power of the convergent technologies. There is so much more that can be learned and accomplished with the use of the email, search engines (like Goggle and Yahoo), free information websites (like “Wikipedia”, or even the ASME website where free access to back issues of their magazine is available), social networking tools (like blog, multiply, face book and twitter), as well as new media (like u-tube, and other interactive technical websites).

Just as an aside, PSME has started recently to utilize the web when it activated its website, http://psmenow.com , early last year. And just to give an idea of the power of this tool even if just in terms of projecting the Society’s image and message, the website currently gets more than 30,000 visits a month from local and international internet surfers.

With respect to the social, economic and industrial growth of the country, the chapters themselves are the venue for members’ participation and contribution. Social growth involvement, it seems are currently being addressed, through the periodic medical and dental missions done by the chapters. The scope however can be expanded with a little more determination, creativity and imagination. Chapter social growth involvement can be expanded further into the areas of the education of young children, livelihood projects, care for street children and the homeless, GK projects, etc. Along this line, a chapter has already tapped its network to gather and accumulate bedding materials and plumbing fixtures for a mission that takes care of the homeless in Naga.

Involvement in the economic and industrial growth of the country, I believe, becomes automatic with the presence of chapter members in the various industries and other business establishments (including those that are owned by mechanical engineer businessmen) as well as government agencies. And it goes without saying that as the members gain excellence, so will their contribution to the economic and industrial growth of their respective establishments increase – and such would also be true for the country.

The chapters, although encouraged to be self propelled and self sufficient in pursuing the declared objectives of the Society, should keep itself attuned to the on-goings with the National Leadership. Doing this would enable the chapter to be in cadence with the strategies and implementation programs formulated in the national level, and would result to an organization-wide unified effort which can result to the strengthening and improvement of the Society’s effectiveness. Real chapter development can be realized and will have a high chance of being sustained if most individual members are themselves developed, and are actively and diligently supporting chapter programs and participating in chapter activities. To my mind, a developed member is one who pays his dues regularly, attends meetings regularly, meets his commitments or assignments diligently, voices out his opinions and ideas, and is open minded during discussions, familiar with the ME Law and the PSME Policy Manual, complies with the “Robert’s Rules of Order” during meetings, and a team player . Having most members of this calibre would almost assure not only chapter development but also chapter success.

Having touched on the “Robert’s Rules of Order”, may I just expound a bit on this, as it is an important factor that needs to be properly understood and practiced by chapter members during meetings and conferences. These Rules of Order developed by U.S. Army Brigadier General Henry Martyn Robert (1837–1923) and published in February 1876, is the recognized guide to running meetings and conferences efficiently, effectively and fairly. The procedures prescribed were loosely modelled after the parliamentary procedures used in the US congress, with such adaptations as General Robert saw fit for use in ordinary societies.

Why parliamentary procedures? Because parliamentary procedures is based on the consideration of the rights of the majority, the rights of the minority (especially a large minority greater than one-third), the rights of individual members, the rights of absentee members, and the rights of all of these groups taken together.

And, to quote from the “Robert's Rules of Order” Newly Revised, 10^th Ed.: “The application of parliamentary law is the best method yet devised to enable assemblies of any size, with due regard for every member’s opinion, to arrive at the general will on the maximum number of questions of varying complexity in a minimum amount of time and under all kinds of internal climate ranging from total harmony to hardened or impassioned division of opinion."

So, in essence, following the Robert’s Rules is following parliamentary procedures which serve the following purpose:1)To enable assembly to transact business with speed and efficiency, 2) To protect the rights of all individuals, 3)To preserve a spirit of harmony within the group.

And as a last word on the subject matter, may I state the following “Principles of Parliamentary Procedure”: a) only one subject may claim the attention of the assembly at one time. b) Each proposition presented for consideration is entitled to full and free debate. c) Every member has right equal to every other member, d) the will of the majority has to be carried out, and the right of the minority must be preserved, e) the personality and desires of each member should merge into the larger unit of the organization.

The development of the chapter should of course be complemented with sound chapter management for the gains to be sustained. And sound management would most probably be practiced if the proper “Management Process” is applied. I’m referring to Planning, Organizing, Directing (or Motivating) and Controlling, which I believe, most mechanical engineers are familiar with. Following this sequence of actions diligently would certainly and tremendously increase the possibility of success of any chapter project, activity or endeavour – especially with the presence and support of developed members.

Another ability that a chapter needs to develop is a “Culture of Execution” as this would greatly complement the practice of the management process and further enhance management success? A chapter would reflect a culture of execution if for every goal or objective it decides to achieve is always backed up or supported by a Plan, and that plan is backed up by a Strategy, with an Action Program laid out for implementing the strategy. The last element would be assigning the right Person who would have the ability and capability to execute or implement. So if I may summarize, the elements of we can term an “Execution Approach” are: a) A Plan, b) A Strategy to back up the plan, c) An Action Program for implementing the strategy, and d) Assigning the right Person.

Of course, what’s of utmost importance is the leadership ability of the officers, particularly of the chapter head, whereby he should possess the ability to motivate – and even better, inspire – the members to be supportive of, and actively involved in the activities of the chapter, by first, showing respect for them and in the process be respected by them.

If I were to be asked what factors will indicate if a chapter is headed towards excellence, the following, among other things, and from my point of view, would be of significance: 1) There is an environment where, the tasks, responsibilities and authority as well accountabilities of the officers as well as committee heads  are well defined, written down and more importantly known and understood by the officers and committee heads themselves, 2) Written procedures on how various recurring activities (like meetings, programs, reports, presentations, cash related tasks, awards and recognition, events, etc.) are made available for use or reference of incumbent as well as future officers and committee heads – in other words, a Chapter Manual is existing, 3) A dynamic annual calendar of activities, i.e., projects, board meetings, national activities, trainings, etc., is available, implemented and updated as needed, 4) Records (e.g., activities, membership and member’s profiles, chapter assets, etc.) are kept and a system of maintaining them is established and implemented, 5) Attendance of members in meetings as well as participation in activities is consistently high, 6)Membership is growing and growth targets are fairly met, 7) Chapter is religiously complying with its responsibilities to the National Office of submitting the required monthly report on chapter activities (as indicated in the Policy Manual) and remitting to the National Office its share of the annual dues as well as other revenue generated.

It is a policy of the society to hold a yearly semi-annual convention and an annual national convention. These are powerful tools and opportunities that can be tapped by the chapters to interact with the National Leadership and even participate more actively in policy making for the Society. This can be realized through resolutions that are adopted and presented to the General Membership and National Board during the Annual National convention which is the venue where delegate-members adopt resolutions to determine the Society’s activities for the future. Chapter participation in this event, particularly that of the officers, is very important as it would give them a first-hand idea of the thrust or direction to which the Society is headed. This familiarity would put them in a better position to support the implementation of the adopted resolutions. It would also enable the chapter to align their own programs so that it dovetails with the intentions of the Society.

It is also the policy of the Society to encourage Inter-chapter visitation. Engaging in this activity would enable chapters to bench mark with each other and share ideas on how to improve chapter governance. The resulting cooperation could even enable chapters to jointly engage in more ambitious activities or projects, given the combined resources. A development such as this could even accelerate the possibility of attaining chapter excellence.

Chapters should incorporate as part of their annual program the training of their members to “advance the art and science of mechanical engineering”, as well as to equip them with the tools that would make them effective as officers when their turn to lead the chapter comes. There are lots of possible such trainings directed towards the advancement of the “arts and science” of the profession and the chapters can be as creative as they can afford to be. There is however one subject matter among the thousands of training possibilities that I believe is a must; and that is on “Basic Occupational Safety and Health”, for which the mechanical engineer is expected to be knowledgeable, by virtue of his academic training and the practice he is allowed to engage in by RA No. 8495 or the “Philippine ME Act of 1998”. This training, which is popularly known as the “BOSH Course” can however be given only by training organizations accredited by the Bureau of Working Conditions (BWC) of the Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE).

There is of course also the Continuing Professional Education (CPE), soon to be implemented. The program allows chapters themselves to be providers of the CPE by getting their proposed “training modules” approved by the PSME CPE Council, which in turn, if acceptable to them, shall endorse it for final approval to the ME PRB CPE Council.

Chapters should get involved in developing and updating the ME course curriculum. Most if not all of chapters have member practitioners in various industries and other business establishments and would be in a position to identify by themselves misalignments between the ME course curriculum and the prevailing needs of industries and other business establishments. These observations can be inputted during mid-year or national conventions to the PSME National Leadership which in turn can pass on info to the Board of Mechanical Engineering for the proper action.

The chapters should motivate its members to excel. To do this, chapter leaders must speedily and formally recognize extra-ordinary achievements of its members especially if such achievement was attained as a direct result of a response to the call for excellence. It would also be worthwhile projecting these achievements officially to the knowledge of the national leadership as this would enhance the stature of the individual/s and the chapter. It would also motivate and perhaps even inspire the achievers as well as the rest of the members to intensify their effort to “go for excellence”.

The implementation of the Mechanical Engineering Law must be actively supported by the members. This law can be put into effect faster if each and every mechanical engineer is knowledgeable of it. I wonder though, how many of us have read and exerted effort to really understand and internalize “our law”? It is imperative that a chapter makes it a point to have each and every member read and digest RA 8495 and its Implementing Rules and Regulation (IRR), as this is the first step towards their being able to assist “the proper authorities” in the law’s implementation (A full copy of this law, by the way, can be accessed and downloaded from our website http://psmenow.org  ).

One specific section of RA 8495 that is being pushed is that of Section 34, which specifies the “Personnel Required in Mechanical Plants”. This section dictates that every mechanical work, project or plant in operation should have, at least, the following complement: a) One Certified Plant Mechanic or CPM per shift for a facility with an installed equipment aggregate rating of over 100 KW but not more than 300 KW, b) One Registered Mechanical Engineer or RME per shift, 300 KW and over but not more than 2000KW, and c) One Professional Mechanical Engineer or PME per shift, 2000 KW and more.

The ME Law also dictates that, “It shall be unlawful for any person to order or otherwise cause the fabrication, construction, erection, installation or alteration of any mechanical equipment, machinery or process for any mechanical works, projects, or plants, unless the designs, plans, layouts or specifications have been prepared by or under the responsible charge of, and duly signed and sealed by a Professional Mechanical Engineer.” In addition, “...proposals and quotations for the supply, and fabrication of mechanical equipment, works, projects, plants and mechanical pollution abatement systems, mechanical  fire protection systems, pressurized pipes with a working pressure of not less than 70 kpa., shall be duly signed by a Professional Mechanical Engineer.”

With respect to teaching major mechanical engineering subjects, the ME Law further dictates that, “It shall be unlawful for any person, unless authorized under... [the] Act, to teach professional subjects in mechanical engineering course unless he is a duly licensed Professional Mechanical Engineer or an RME with a Master’s degree, or Doctorate degree in mechanical engineering”.

As compliance with the ME Law increases, it is anticipated that there would be a serious shortage of PMEs so all qualified RMEs are being encouraged to upgrade their license to that of a PME. And as a service to interested candidates, the National Leadership has launched the Professional Development Course (PDC) which acts as a refresher for the candidates and also informs them on how to go about upgrading to the PME grade.

Related to effort to have the ME Law strictly implemented, there already have been some members of the Society, and even chapters, who took it as an advocacy and who have been going around giving talks to groups about the importance of establishments understanding and complying with the law. There were also a few who boldly submitted to the board a list of companies who are violators and for which the BME sent letters of inquiry. These are the sort of actions that chapters can resort to, to be able to assist in giving teeth to the ME Law, and in the process, also enhance the profession.

With respect to affiliating with allied organizations, to my mind there are no restrictions that would prevent chapters from communicating and interacting with other organizations capable of providing inputs that can enhance the capabilities and competence of its members. For instance, a PSME chapter interacting with another chapter, lets say, of the IIEE, could prove to be mutually beneficial for members of both chapters as any exchange in knowledge would definitely expand the useful technical knowledge of both disciplines. The same effect could be generated if the interaction is done with civil engineering, chemical engineering, and the other engineering and non-engineering organizations like the People Management Association of the Philippines.

Likewise, with international organizations, particularly the mechanical engineering organizations in other countries, where establishing contact is very possible, given the advancement in communication and information technology. This possibility, once tapped, could even generate for us a kind of “convergence with other international mechanical engineering organizations” and  bring about tremendous learning experience and added knowledge that could enhance the “art and science” of the chapter member’s mechanical engineering capability.

And so, fellow mechanical engineers, may I state once more that the thrust for “Chapter Excellence” has to be continued and sustained. It is the objective of this article to not only suggest pointers on how it can be achieved, but more so to emphasize the importance of continuing this effort, as it would always complement whatever other thrusts new leaderships would focus on to propel the Society and the profession forward, and to a higher plane. So, continue to... “GO PSME, FOR CHAPTER EXCELLENCE”!