1. EASA
EASA is the international trade association representing the electromechanical repair, service and sales industry (e.g., pumps, electric motors, drives, controls, etc.). EASA’s on-point theme for 2021-22 is RECALIBRATE | REALIGN | REFOCUS.
Among the association’s many benefits, members can consult directly on technical issues with six world-class engineers, including a pump and vibration specialist.
EASA is offering a variety of in-person seminars in 2022, including Fundamentals of Pump Repair, Principles of Medium and Large AC Motors, Root Cause Failure Analysis and more. In addition, EASA continues to offer free webinars to its members each month, which are available to nonmembers at a nominal cost. Visit easa.com/training for this technical lineup.
The EASA Convention & Solutions Expo will offer targeted education options. The Solutions Expo will be held June 26-28 at America’s Center in St. Louis, Missouri. Pre-convention education on June 25 will feature four sessions on pump topics. Visit easa.com/convention for updates.
Among EASA’s initiatives for 2022 will be a more streamlined way to search the resources included with membership at easa.com, making it easier for members to onboard and train employees. The association will also introduce additional information and resources regarding IIoT at its online emerging technologies portal.
Training is always a major focus for EASA, and in 2022, the association will develop short “how-to” videos to help members train employees.
2. The Fluid Sealing Association
The Fluid Sealing Association (FSA), founded in 1933, is an international trade association of member companies that are involved in the design, production and marketing of a wide range of fluid sealing devices, including mechanical seals, expansion joints, gaskets and packing.
FSA is focused on current events and challenges within the industry. It has been an advocate for methane emission reduction through improved detection and technology and will do so going forward as this topic regains priority in 2022.
The organization is actively working on both sides of the aisle in Congress to provide clarity regarding a category of chemicals known collectively as perfluoroalkyl and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS). Concerns about these “forever chemicals” and their potential carcinogenic characteristics have created tremendous awareness and a desire to aggressively restrict their use.
While FSA strongly supports the management of all hazardous chemicals, not every member in this group is hazardous. For example, PTFE is a widely used, nonhazardous member. The unique properties of PTFE have critical use throughout the industrial, medical and aerospace markets as a sealing material, often being the only viable option in systems that protect the environment.
FSA will continue to support and provide fact-based education on this topic in 2022 to better distinguish between hazardous and nonhazardous members of the PFAS family to avoid the inadvertent banning of nonhazardous chemicals that offer critical capabilities for sealing systems globally.
3. Hydraulic Institute
At the beginning of the pandemic, the Hydraulic Institute (HI) quickly shifted its training to virtual offerings. This enabled HI to continue to serve operators. While HI will return to some face-to-face training and events in 2022, it will also continue to offer virtual courses and webinars and expand its digital footprint.
Basic Training, once a member service offering on-demand webinars on pump, component and system topics, is now available for any company to share. Think Netflix but with pumps content. The Engineering Data Library is a free reference for everything from pump fundamentals to system curves to fluid properties to friction loss calculators. The Energy Efficiency toolkit has more calculators, databases and other resources for utilities seeking to develop more efficiency rebate programs.
The last piece of the puzzle falls into place in early 2022 and connects all of these resources. The new pumps.org will link tools with case studies providing additional context for the user. All materials will sit on a training portal for individual and corporate users. The new pumps.org will strengthen HI’s online presence, help share its resources and become the go-to for critical pump knowledge.
HI will be back to scheduling public courses and hosting live meetings to bring the industry together to network, solve problems, and continue to do the work of developing standards and mapping training curricula for the industry. One initiative the organization is excited about is a joint project with SWPA where both organizations will present a two-day, combined training event June 23-24 in Columbus, Ohio.
All the talk in the news and Washington these past few months about the $1.2 trillion infrastructure package has helped shine a spotlight on water infrastructure. The industry is a critical, yet hidden, component of infrastructure.
The younger generation entering the workforce is concerned about finding a rewarding and meaningful career. HI will be working hard to come out from behind the scenes to be more visible so the industry’s important contributions are recognized. Students looking for a career need to know more about the opportunities that working with pumping systems offer. They need to see how the industry is working to solve some of the world’s biggest challenges around water and energy.
HI will be focusing on the entire workforce pipeline—bringing more people into the industry, providing opportunities to learn, upskill and grow in the industry, and develop a rewarding career.
4. The Submersible Wastewater Pump Association
“In 2021, SWPA successfully expanded its live training to virtual training in response to COVID-19 and the industry’s need for training despite travel restrictions,” said SWPA Executive Director Adam Stolberg.
In collaboration with Pumps & Systems, SWPA University was launched and included a fall and spring 10-week virtual classroom. Taught by industry experts and SWPA members, classes were held for one hour per week on a host of topics that included training on both pumping and controls systems, as well as addressing today’s industry issues, from managing major storm events to nonflushable consumer products and how to eliminate clogging.
SWPA University also offers an on-demand program where professionals can train online on their own timeline. Participants receive the “Submersible Pumping Systems Handbook, 4th Edition,” as well as SWPA’s Start Up and Tuning Manual. Certificates of completion were issued by SWPA that allowed participants to earn up to 10 hours of CEU credits.
“In fulfilling their mission to enhance the global wastewater environment by informing, educating and providing leadership in the design, procurement and operation of submersible wastewater pumping systems, SWPA will continue with a broad-based educational platform in 2022,” Stolberg said.
SWPA University’s spring session will begin March 1 and will run for 10 weeks. The fall semester will begin Sept. 6.
SWPA’s Pumping Systems and Controls Training two-day live program will be offered April 19-20 in Chicago. “We were unable to hold our annual training for the first time in over 25 years due to COVID-19,” Stolberg said. “I’m getting lots of inquires about when the SWPA training will be back, so I’m excited.
“In SWPA’s effort to bring top-level education and training, as well as timely and updated programming, to the wastewater industry, we will expand our live training program by partnering with the Hydraulic Institute. SWPA and HI will hold a joint training event on June 23-24 in Columbus, Ohio,” Stolberg said.
For information on SWPA training, meeting schedules or membership information, please contact Adam Stolberg at swpaexdir@sbcglobal.net or SWPA’s website at swpa.org.
5. Texas A&M Turbomachinery Laboratory Expansion Programs
The Texas A&M Engineering Experiment Station (TEES) Turbomachinery Laboratory (TL) is entering its 50th year of serving government and industry through research, education and workforce development.
The TL mission remains identifying research areas critical to economic development, leadership and quality of life. Educating future leaders is its primary product as the organization develops talented students through basic and applied research programs under three thematic areas: rotordynamics and mechanical systems; thermal fluids and combustion; and computational modeling and design.
Combustion- and propulsion-related research has become an emphasis in recent years within the college of engineering at Texas A&M and offers to be a dynamic and growing opportunity for our various programs within the Turbo Lab. For example, the college has hired several new faculty members in these areas.
With strong support from the university, TL is preparing to break ground for a new facility dedicated to propulsion and energetics, adding capabilities for high-pressure research and testing in a safe environment, providing unique infrastructure for existing and new members of the TL faculty across all three thematic areas.
While it continues to work closely with the oil, gas and petrochemical industries, emerging opportunities in the power, water, energy, aerospace and space industries will be addressed through this expansion.
Additionally, it will be expanding its Turbomachinery Research Consortium, with 30-plus industry members funding research in rotordynamics and mechanical systems. TRC-2 will focus on the other two thematic areas, thermal fluids and combustion, and computational modeling and design, while still maintaining its core focus in TRC, now approaching its 40th year.
Workforce development programs that include the venerable Turbomachinery and Pump Symposia (annually in Houston, Texas) and the Asia Turbomachinery and Pump Symposium (biennially in Kuala Lumpur starting May 2022) continue on the path for growth. Developing multiday short courses for professional continuing education also is an expansion area for TL.
In short, the Turbo Lab will continue to maintain and expand its core activities in rotating equipment systems while growing its reach into other industries that are important for future growth and synergy with a number of efforts across campus.
The main product of all of these activities will always be “Engineers Ready to Work” as we educate the future workforce and continue to provide important programs for the current workforce.