Episode Transcript
[00:00:00] Speaker A: Foreign.
Hello and welcome to the Consulting Specifying Engineer podcast. I'm your host, Amara Rosgas, and today we're talking about training and hands on experience for H Vac and mechanical experts with Taylor Goad.
Thanks for joining me today. Taylor, how are you today?
[00:00:26] Speaker B: I'm doing well today. Mara, how are you? Good, good.
[00:00:30] Speaker A: Well, before we begin our conversation, let me share a bit of background about Taylor. Taylor Goad is the technical training manager for Xylem's Bell and Gossett commercial buildings team based in Boise, Idaho. He's an instructor at the Little Red Schoolhouse training facility.
His 10 years of experience encompasses hydronic and steam system design, application and troubleshooting knowledge acquired as a mechanical engineer, field representative and manufacturer.
Taylor Everything that we know about our audience tells us that younger engineers just don't have the practical knowledge needed to adequately understand or design or ultimately specify H Vac and mechanical systems.
So I guess my first question is kind of broad and vague.
We're seeing this major generational shift in the H Vac industry.
Veterans are retiring.
This causes a lot of challenges. So what challenges does it create when it comes to passing down field knowledge and mentoring younger mechanical engineers just entering the profession?
[00:01:42] Speaker B: Yeah, you know, that's such a, that's such an interesting question. And I think it perfectly, I would say it perfectly encapsulates kind of the industry as we see it today from an educational standpoint. And I can speak from personal experience.
You know, right out of university, I, I got into consulting as well.
And I think just from a numbers perspective, they're just, there aren't as many highly or ultra seasoned professionals around that have all the time in the world to do the knowledge transfer that I think is necessary, especially for those, for those younger engineers that are just now, you know, finishing school and entering the workforce. So it creates a really big challenge for the industry in the way that, you know, fewer engineers are available to teach and to educate and to kind of allow that shadowing to take place. It makes it harder for that, that very practical on the job training to, you know, go from one set of hands to another. And that is, that is ultimately the training that is going to set younger and less experienced engineers up for, you know, current and future success.
[00:03:00] Speaker A: Mm. And I think obviously, you know, technology changes quickly in every industry, but given how fast it's changing within the H Vac industry, what kind of training or continuing education is most valuable? What do you see for today's mechanical engineers?
[00:03:17] Speaker B: Oh, that's such a good point. Another really good question.
Yeah, Gosh, the H VAC world, you know, we see it every year. There's new changes, there's new, there's new, dare I say, recommendations from more so associations and governing bodies on, on how we can more efficiently and more sustainably design systems not for just operating in today's world, but also operating into the future as well.
And what goes into that is, is, you know, new typing strategies, there's new technologies and there's all these new applications that are now popping up to support, you know, all the trends in the tech world as well. So you know, we kind of believe that the mechanical engineers and maybe even the electricals and civil and I think it applies to a lot of the different disciplines, but especially to the mechanical engineers. You know, they need training that offers, you know, that hands on practical experience on all of the up to date and current information as it pertains to the industry.
They also need that information in a multitude of different ways. It has to be flexible.
Whether it's not just in person training, because there's still so much value to in person training, at least from our perspective, but also online training, virtual webinars and all of that stuff. They need multiple different options in order to, you know, be flexible with their schedule. Right. They still have a job to do, they have billable hours that they're responsible for. And, and we feel as though it's important to offer that really flexible kind of spread of different types of training and.
[00:05:12] Speaker A: You read my mind, different types of training.
It used to just be a classroom, sit in a room, listen to an instructor, look at writing on a board.
We don't have that anymore. So how are hybrid approaches like an in person lab plus digital learning, how is that all changing how mechanical engineers build skills or stay on top of codes and standards?
[00:05:38] Speaker B: Oh yeah, I think kind of the more hybrid approach is really kind of taking that in person, that whiteboard style of training that we saw a couple of decades ago.
It's kind of taking it to that next level. And, and I think they have more options in terms of training and continuing education available to them.
Again, not more so, just in terms of the in person training, but it's giving them the ability to access that information and really continue that education more frequently rather than just like a one stop shop once a year. They can really kind of make that continued education journey more consistent, more continuous. And, and I think that helps them really adopt new codes and new standards and new trends. Really, they can kind of feel it live time. And I think that's really Helpful for them.
[00:06:34] Speaker A: I agree. Hands on is probably the best way to do any kind of training.
But how can the industry do a better job of making this type of training more accessible, especially for engineers who are younger or early in their careers?
[00:06:50] Speaker B: Yeah, that's a good question. I think one of the ways that I think the industry could, could do a better job is, is making it more accessible, you know, in the forms that the newer engineers of today are more comfortable with and maybe more so putting it up, you know, putting up videos of serviceability and maintenance type of applications or, or doing publishing how to documents or something. Those are, that we're all looking at within the industry to meet the new training demands of kind of the newest generation that are going to lead us into the future.
[00:07:31] Speaker A: Right. Leading us into the future isn't just one or two people, it's a whole team. I mean we're looking at the entire project team.
How have you seen structured learning contribute to better design outcomes, more effective client solutions? I mean, how is the whole team affected here?
[00:07:52] Speaker B: Oh, once again, another great question. You're 100% right. You know, the folks that we see in our classrooms and attending all the webinars and reaching out to us for training, right. They're not just engineers, they're also designers, they're project managers, they're design built professionals.
Really, really valuable skill sets for all of them.
And you know, a successful project doesn't happen without the involvement of all of those different types of individuals, you know, getting their hands dirty in the project.
I think our training programs need to be thoughtfully structured to address the questions or address the interests of every single one of those professionals and for every one of those roles, if you will.
So I think the better structured our training programs are, I think we better equip not just the individuals, but also the teams to deliver, you know, better designed systems, more efficient solutions. And I think the end users and the clients that they serve I think are, I think in the long run are going to be happier about that. And I think the biggest part is the new generation and the next generation, as you mentioned, it's just not, it's not just one or two people, it's multiple. And I think the biggest thing is we want to make those folks more confident as they go to work every day. I think the more confidence they have, I think the more they're apt to speak up when they have a new idea. And I think they're just going to feel better and feel more comfortable in their roles if they have a little bit More confidence. And really, that's our ultimate goal.
[00:09:43] Speaker A: Yeah, that all makes perfect sense.
So, Taylor, I understand you're involved in the Walk for Water, which simulates the daily walk that millions of people, particularly women and children, take to collect water in areas that lack access to this clean water. What do you do? How are you part of that team?
[00:10:03] Speaker B: Oh, yeah. Walk for Water is an annual initiative that a lot of folks within Xylem take as well as we always, we always recommend and ask for our partners and our distributors and a lot of our clients and our customers as well to join us and kind of making this a wider initiative.
Walk for Water, it always happens during the month of June. And as many people as we possibly can, we actually join up on teams and we use different, different modes of tracking steps that we take on a daily basis. And really the ultimate idea here is we're trying to get people out Walking for Water, and we're really out trying to get people to get as many steps as they possibly can so that they can be thinking about, oh, gosh, you know, this many steps or this many miles is a long way for a lot of folks in communities that don't have complete access to clean water.
And there are a lot of communities across the globe that are dealing with that, with that issue right now, and that's concerning. And so we want to continue to raise as much awareness for that cause as we possibly can. So every June, we Walk for Water. And so it's actually a lot of fun. It's a great cause to get involved with. We actually partner with the Water Boys foundation every June in doing this, so.
[00:11:31] Speaker A: Very nice. I like it.
Thank you. Taylor, I appreciate you joining me today.
[00:11:37] Speaker B: Absolutely. I appreciate you having me. It was a lot of fun.
[00:11:41] Speaker A: Great. Well, this is where we have to wrap up our conversation. Workforce development is an issue we'll touch on again and again.
So for more information on the topic or for continuing education for your job, visit Consulting specifying engineer at www.csemag.
and don't forget to check in regularly for new podcast episodes. Thanks for joining us and we'll be back again soon. Bye. Bye.
