Beers with Engineers

Beers with Engineers Trailer, 2.0

This trailer gives you a quick overview of the podcast. Your host, Bert Uschold, talks to other engineers about their careers, engineering, and whatever else that interests us. It is a pint of fun and a shot of geek.
If you want to find out more about Bert, below is a link to a short bio and a bit of work history.  https://dexterityeng.com/about

Tim Coonahan: Not team building, building a team

#28 – Tim Coonahan: Not team building, building a team
Tim is Director, Design and Development at Medica Corporation
Drinking engineering appropriately named beer – “Ripping Through Dimensions” and “Memory Bias”.
An anti-phonetic (not semaphore) alphabet “A” as in are, “y” as in you, “E” as in eye.
Went to RPI – Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, oldest non-military technical school in the US.
Started as biomedical, ended as mechanical
Learn as much as you possibly can
From a family of engineers – steel and railroads
Organic chemistry as an elective?
Is vertical integration coming back?
A Machine Design cover story got him into product development consulting.
Got him back into biomedical engineering
Happy to be middle-management, closer to engineering.
You’re either learning or earning
Be open to new ideas.
“Your work is done not when there is nothing more to add, it’s done when there’s nothing more to take away.”
Electric cars have many fewer parts.
First used sla in 1988.
We were with each other on 9/11. Our memories are a little different.
Tim collects old Porsches and has 44-year-old boots.
Bert’s Company – www.dexterityeng.com

BONUS 3: Just the jokes, ma'am.

Bonus Episode #3
In this bonus episode all of the jokes from the first year of the podcast are compiled in one place. I hope you enjoy listening to it as much as I enjoyed putting it together. One duplicate was removed and another you could argue is a duplicate but got left in. 
Unlike many compilations, there is no extra narration between clips stretching it out. A bit of the original conversations before and after is included to make it flow a little better. 
Enjoy!
 
Bert's company - www.dexterityeng.com 

Bert Uschold - On the other side of the mike.

#27 – Bert Uschold: On the other side of the mike.
Bert owns his own engineering consulting firm, Dexterity Engineering, LLC and regular host of this podcast.
Doug wants to be like Bert
Doug has bought over half the beers Bert has ever consumed.
He could have been a lumberjack or an architect
A night light was his first invention.
A quart of random loose change is about $100.
Bert is more design engineer than mechanical engineer
Or even better, full stack product development engineer.
Bert figured out how to determine process capability for true position dimensions.
And Doug’s company has used it.
Bert knew what the surgeons needed six months before they knew it.
Inside the box is harder than outside the box.
The Apollo 13 CO2 scrubber problem is an excellent example of inside the box thinking.
Bert’s superpower is seeing when people are not talking about the same thing or solving the wrong problem.
About eating cake and gaining weight.
About the podcast
Favorite part is getting to know new people and old friends
Bert would still do it if he had no listeners
20-25% are outside the US
Favorite comment is “that’s a great question”
Has ridden bicycles built for one, two, and four.
He’s has been to many baseball stadiums.
Bert and Doug both enjoy interviewing better than being interviewed.
Doug’s Company – Integral Manufacturing, https://integralmfg.com/
Bert’s Company – www.dexterityeng.com

Doug Tyger - What makes an engineer?

#26 – Doug Tyger – When is an engineer not an engineer?
Doug is the owner of Integral Manufacturing, between Cincinnati and Dayton.
Chose engineering because it paid well
Chose material science because materials are important to all other engineering disciplines.
We were coops at Procter and Gamble.
Helped fix a broken Pringles line
He saw more options at a steel company, whose president was a metallurgical engineer.
Supported auto industry.
They crashed a lot of cars during development back then
Material Science Engineering degree – isn’t something either science or engineering?
He worked with guys who could design alloys in their head.
When considering working on complex systems, a lot of people could be considered an engineer.
Is the dual path still available for engineers?
Is that guy sleeping or thinking hard?
Is there a lightbulb, question mark, or exclamation point above your head?
What type of question mark?
Do you want a consultant to answer your questions or give you new questions?
Doug sees himself as a job provider and loves to see people “get it”.
Enjoys serving on boards for non-profits.
Spends time with family and church men’s group.
 
Doug’s Company – Integral Manufacturing, https://integralmfg.com/
Bert’s Company – www.dexterityeng.com

Murat Islam - He's a Turk, Definitely not a Turkey.

#25 – Murat Islam: He’s a Turk, Definitely not a Turkey.
Murat is a Lead Engineer at John Crane Couplings
Fellow of the IMechE, like the ASME
We call it A-S-M-E, they call it as-me.
Growing up in Turkey, he and brothers made their own toys.
Turkey’s college entrance exam is different from the US and UK.
It helps direct you into your best subject
SAT and other tests are not the best, but they are what we have
Some of his engineering classes were in English.
Earned a master’s degree in UK.
Received patent for installing undersea cables and pipelines, therefore, he helps data circle the world.
Engineering failures aren’t the end of the world, but we still don’t like them
Learn from your failures and the failures of others
Failures also drive new requirements
Is a chartered engineer. Similar to professional engineer in US.
CE – more experience based. PE – more test based
Fellowship is similar but much higher level. Also requires mentorship.
How turkeys got their name.
US and England – divided by a common language
Buses and small Scottish and Welsh roads
Likes RVing or caravaning and makes small customizations for it.
He is a big fan of AI.
ChatGPT is like the Model T. A good start with an amazing future.
Murat’s undersea cable patent GB2554434
Bert’s Company – www.dexterityeng.com

Luis Figarella - The Fourth F is for Figarella

#24 – Luis Figarella: The Fourth F is for Figarella
Luis is patent agent in Massachusetts, originally from Puerto Rico and enjoying a Puerto Rican beer.
Wanted to be a fighter pilot but stopped by bad eyes.
Became an electrical engineer instead.
Remember when resumes were actually mailed?
In late 80s, worked for UPS on automated truck loading.
Early in his career, he didn’t even know what a patent was.
Learned his first patent had issued because he received an offer to make a plaque of it.
Patent descriptions are like painting by numbers.
It is an important decision on what to patent.
Learned that Florida is hotter than Puerto Rico.
A little on patent agent vs. attorney.
Claim writing is an art form. And a very important one.
Strategic patent – what you want to make.
Tactical patent – similar to what you want to make.
Luis is a big Dilbert fan.
Loves teaching people what patents are.
Most clients are in the FFF round – friends, family, and fools.
Luis is a bit of a history buff.
To reach Luis – 603-557-8420, www.mxpatent.com, luis@mxpatent.com.
Bert’s Company – www.dexterityeng.com

Clay Williams - Supply chains are like fractals

#23 - Clay Williams: Supply chains are like fractals
Clay is an account executive for Jiga.
Clay is from Tennessee and has actually been to my town, Leominster, MA.
Degree in Supply Chain Management
Video of Roman Army on the march
Jiga – cross between digital manufacturing and local machine shop
Full automation is really tough?
Hadrian Automation – Manufacturing the future.
Seem to be following The Goal or Theory of Constraints, both by Eli Goldratt
Supply chain strategy often base on manufacturing concepts.
Supply chains are internal and external
Not “The Origin of Stuff”, but “The Story of Stuff” Annie Leonard
Supply chains are like fractals
Ford doesn’t make cars, they assemble them.
Do automaker and their suppliers have recall insurance?
“Anybody can hold a tenth.”
Clay is a people person – thrives on customer satisfaction.
Sometimes outstanding customer service doesn’t take much effort.
Are cicadas electronic transformers?
Peanut Butter and Jelly beer is popular.
Clay says “Go Vols!”
Where Clay works Jiga
Bert's company  Dexterity Engineering, LLC

Matt De Remer - Every Product is Important

#22 - Matt De Remer: Every Product is Important
Matt has his own engineering consulting firm, engineered. (Updated since released)
In high school, bought an RC car instead of a real car.
He chose engineering over art.
UMass Amherst had a program to help choose which branch of engineering.
Mechanical engineering degrees can go into a wide variety of fields.
In college, engineers need to problem solve and then keep learning.
Small development firms – some formal training but lots of on-the-job training.
Specialization vs generalization.
Entrepreneurism is in our families.
Matt learned from his father’s example.
Virtual networking has it pros and cons.
Matt is a Solidworks Certified Professional – speed is a key aspect of the test.
Take the EIT sooner rather than later.
PE exam did not have something that fit his field.
Looks back fondly on his entire career.
Saw a firefighting tool he worked on and saw it at Smokey the Bear’s birthday party.
Worked on lung transport tool that keeps them “breathing.”
95% of the use cases are easy. The edge cases are what challenge you.
Likes gravel biking.
Solving wedding problems.
 
Reach Matt –  Matt@engineeredpd.com
Reach Bert - www.dexterityeng.com 
 

BONUS 2: Kevin Kildea - Cooking with Geeks

BONUS #2 - Kevin Kildea: Cooking with Geeks
Kevin teaches high school math in the Detroit area.
Math major, teaching certificate, minor in radio and production
Likes a beer called “Final Absolution”
Joke about mathematicians and sheep
Bert blew up Michael Jackson in college.
Editing vs. splicing. Tape vs film. Audio vs. video.
Math homework is easier to grade than history or English.
“Don’t teach your students what they can look up on Google.”
Teach students how to think, how to find answers, and how to problem solve.
Fighting AI doing homework.
The student body has changed – they already know so much.
Be a teacher, not a teller. Don’t solve the problem for them.
MIT sent him a letter thanking him for being an influence on a student’s life.
The greatest roofing story.
Bribing Kevin with chicken wings.
Kevin and Bert make desserts for the potluck, we don’t buy them.
Kevin makes awesome French onion soup. Bert makes great wings – and shares a secret.
Working together for a common goal applies throughout life
www.dexterityeng.com