Engineering TONY SOFRONAS, CONSULTING ENGINEER
Case Histories http://mechanicalengineeringhelp.com
Case 94: Why mentors are important for industry
When I started working in industry 50 years ago, it was man-
agements job to have a senior engineer watch over my work.
Much of the quality of my analytical work and technical disci-
pline were formed early in my career with help from these engi-
neers. These mentoring engineers were selected not because
they were instructed to do so, but because they wanted to. Later
in my career, I took on mentorship roles and found them to be
quite gratifying.
A mentors guidance may be helpful in performing an analy-
sis, discerning what to do and not to do when starting a new proj-
ect, and finding good sources of information.1 However, mentors
must carefully consider how to proceed with such instructions.
As a young engineer, I felt quite confident in myself. If someone
had forced me to do things in a certain way, I would have resisted.
My good mentors allowed me to proceed at my own pace, and
made suggestions only when they saw things going too far astray.
Distinguish between mentoring and consulting. Manag-
ers and engineers will probably acknowledge the lack of good
mentoring available these days. As a consultant to industry, I
have noticed analytical work being performed less by engineers
and more by consultants. A big difference exists between an
industrial consultant and an industrial mentor. A consultant is
invited to a company to help solve a problem. The companys
engineer may get credit for bringing in the consultant and get-
ting the problem solved.
While this will satisfy management and probably show up
positively in the engineers performance review, it is far less
rewarding for most engineers than solving the problem them-
selves and learning something new in the process.
An industrial mentors role is quite different from that of a
consultant. For example, during the development of a large new
facility in Asia, I hired a retired, highly experienced engineering
colleague to work on location and help young engineers on the
project. In that role, the mentor showed them how to develop
checklists2 and perform analysis methods with software he pur-
chased for them. These bright engineers, who would be taking
over the plants operation on startup, were very interested in
learning from an experienced person. This anecdote illustrates
how the industrial mentors role is not to do the work, but rather
to suggest methods to the engineers to help them in their work.
How can we do this today? As a young engineer, I was respon-
sible for performing torsional vibration analyses on locomotive
and ship systems, which is very analytical. It must be correct, or
major failures, such as broken crankshafts or destroyed gearbox-
es, can occur.3 Management asked a well-known consultant to
review my work. He showed me how he would have performed
the analysis and provided me with many shortcuts to save time.
I performed six more analyses on new systems without help,
which gave me confidence in my abilities. If the consultant had
done the work and presented a final report to me, it would not
have helped my career at all.
Sound advice for young engineers. When a young en-
gineer is given a complex job, it is a good idea for a respected
senior engineer in the company to follow their work. While
managements role is quite complex, first-rate managers will try
to do this to provide growth, learning opportunities and protec-
tion to their employees. Note: For mentoring to be effective, all
three parties (i.e., the employee, the manager and the mentor)
must agree that the arrangement is worthwhile.
In addition to good mentors, I have encountered a few men-
tors who were not very helpful. They were reluctant to share
their work and ideas with others. This is unfortunate, because
they are usually talented and have much to offer.
These suggestions can help inspire young engineers:
Send young engineers to seminars and ask them to
present what they have learned to the company. This also
applies to work they have completed.
Allow young engineers to develop new tools that they
can use to do their work more efficiently.
Make sure the person directing the engineer has a good
work ethic, is a solid contributor and enjoys mentoring
people. Sometimes, a good mentor is harder to find than
the young engineers who need them. You may wish to
bring in a retired engineer.
Well-informed and well-trained employees are beneficial to
a companys innovation and creativity, and mentorship helps
develop company loyalty.
LITERATURE CITED
1
Sofronas, A., Survival Techniques for the Practicing Engineer, John Wiley & Sons,
Hoboken, New Jersey, 2016.
2
Sofronas, A., Analytical Troubleshooting of Process Machinery and Pressure Vessels,
John Wiley & Sons, Hoboken, New Jersey, 2006.
3
Sofronas, A., Case Histories in Vibration and Metal Fatigue for the Practicing Engineer,
John Wiley & Sons, Hoboken, New Jersey, 2012.
NOTE
Case 93 was published in HP in November. For past cases, please visit
HydrocarbonProcessing.com.
TONY SOFRONAS, D. Eng, was the worldwide
lead mechanical engineer for ExxonMobil Chemicals
before retiring. He now owns Engineered Products,
which provides consulting and engineering seminars
on machinery and pressure vessels. Dr. Sofronas
has authored several engineering books and
numerous technical articles on analytical methods.
Hydrocarbon Processing|JANUARY 201717
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