Joseph E. Greenawalt, PE
I have been working since my mid teens. I picked berries
and delivered newspapers. In my late teens I worked hard in farming, grounds
keeping, janitorial services, and factory and warehouse work. I paid for my
first two years of college with hard work.
While attending Kent State University, I got a job at Sears
as a part-time salesclerk to help me overcome my shyness in meeting and
conversing with strangers.
Losing my student draft deferment and getting an
uncomfortably
low draft lottery number motivated me to enlist
in the Air Force. The
Viet Nam War ended before I graduated from
technical training school. After serving a few years, the Air Force sent me to
Ohio State University to get my Bachelor of Science Degree (received in August
1979) then to Officer Training School. After serving a few years as an Officer,
the Air Force sent me to work at the Eastman Kodak Company for 10 months to
learn Energy Management. I served in the Air Force just over 20 years and
retired in January 1993.
I went from Air Force Facilities Engineering into
university physical plant operations starting at Texas Christian University,
then Indiana University, Baylor University, and finally briefly at Dallas
Baptist University.
My most recent experience is as a contractor-engineer in
support various entities including IBM Americas Data Centers, the US Air Force
at Tinker AFB, Ok; Lockheed Martin at the Fort Worth Naval Air Station and the
Fort Worth Regional office of the FAA.
The following links present my experience from varying
perspectives.
When making a career choice between architecture and
engineering, I was told that to be an architect, I had to study History, Latin
and Greek. This news steered me toward engineering. I also had a high school
counselor tell me that I wasn't college material. It is amazing what well
meaning people believe and say to kids. It may be a good thing that kids do
not always listen.
Engineering is using what you know to learn and manage
what you do not know. I learn best when I need to know something that I can
apply to something I am doing. Engineering has provided continuous learning
opportunities.
I was a reluctant at first to participate in the energy
program. I had a tough time with thermodynamics and fluid mechanics in
college. "Energy conservation" acquired a negative response due
to the imposed restrictions on powerless people (no pun intended) during
the post Viet Nam War energy crisis. Energy conservation was an ugly
term that meant (to me) that you did not get adequate heating or cooling unless
you were part of upper management.
My 10-month Education with Industry with the Eastman Kodak
Company changed my mind and made me an advocate for energy management and
life-cycle cost analyses of energy conservation technologies during the design
process. The last major project I was associated with won the Association of
Energy Engineers Energy Project of the Year for the year 2000.
Reliability and Energy Engineering
Engineering
critical facilities; whether engineering is for Data Center, medical or military
(command, control and communication) facilities; requires extremely talented
teams of engineers and engineering managers. Most of the existing Data Centers
may have been engineered initially and may have evolved unilaterally by
operational changes unwittingly into facilities that are targeted today as
energy hogs.
Facilities
construction projects that are designed by teams of licensed engineering
professionals are engineered with intentioned compliance to statutes and codes,
and intense considerations given to safety, security, reliability and cost
effectiveness. Although too often neglected, designers consider operations,
maintainability, constructability and sustainability. It is usually the
clients, within the bounds of statutes, who make the final decisions on how the
above are integrated into final design and construction contracts. Also, given
the innate creativity of engineers, there are many possible solutions in all
sections of the drawings and specifications. Now add differing site conditions,
(weather, available utilities, physical threats, site specific vulnerabilities,
environmental stewardship, statutes, site labor pool, etc…), a universal
Data Center
design
may not be the best option for most clients and locations. A least
life-cycle-cost design or least cost of ownership design is different at every
location.
I strongly
advocate 1) reserving the title of engineer for licensed engineering
professionals, 2) engineering or reengineering by teams of licensed engineering
professionals, and 3) intensively engineered systems integration during every
critical system or critical facility modification.
I have good experience in contracting for construction and
general services. I have been usually involved in writing the Statements of
Work and Requests for Bid or Requests for Proposals.
I feel confident in contracting for services. I know how
to get service performed well at a fair price. I prefer using a request for
proposal process to get a sense of market interest and then narrowing the scope
to enable and encourage competition.
I believe success in contracting is determined by the level
of competent management given to the task of holding the contractor accountable.
My work with Waco Construction, Inc. and CSP (DynPar) LLC
on their contract operations and maintenance for Baylor University and Tinker
Air Force Base, respectively, gave me valuable insights to share with anyone
regarding contracting for total engineering, operation and construction support.
Operations is doing what must be done in the near term and
sometimes with little notice. The challenges are to maintain responsiveness,
avoid over reacting to operational issues and stay within a lean budget.
The key to continuous improvement and operational success
is to study reactions to unexpected events and to develop appropriate response
plans for future implementation. Without these response-planning efforts, the
absence or permanent loss of experienced operational personnel can severely
impact operations during unplanned events.
I grew up with construction. My father was a carpenter.
My experience with hands on construction is somewhat limited to engineering and
management. I love working with wood and metals. I have had great experiences
troubleshooting problems with complex critical systems. My biggest and most
recent construction project was a $15,000,000 energy infrastructure improvement
project at Baylor University. I served as a third party contractor project
coordinator between the customer (Baylor) and its performance contractor.
I have included over 30 years of work history in reverse
chronological order with highlights of duties, responsibilities, accomplishments
and awards.
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