Number 1 on My Top 5

Washington DC—depending on your perspective, it is a hotbed of corruption, intrigue, and scandal or the seat of US democracy and national policy. If you listen to the media, you might think that the former is more prevalent than the latter; but, after a visit to DC on behalf of ISA and the Automation Federation, I am a little more inclined to think that our public servants in Washington work much harder and care much more than I ever thought they did before. Thirty members of the Automation Federation (AF) descended on the Capitol last week to inform our Congressional representatives that the AF is the voice of automation and we have three primary concerns: Cyber Security, Work Force Development, and the need for an Automation curriculum.

I have a list in my head of the top five things I have done during my career. The list includes:
1. Getting a VIP tour of the Kennedy Space Center when I sold equipment to go onto the Magellan Space Probe—I had the privilege of seeing my equipment loaded onto the Space Shuttle.
2. Working with the Getty Research Institute on how to preserve a 3,000 year-old mummy—and getting to actually see the mummy!
3. Flying out to an offshore oil production platform.
4. Visiting the North Slope of Alaska.
5. Touring through the Edmonston pumping plant in California (long considered the largest pumping facility in the world for the volume and head—the water is pumped from the central valley of California over the mountains to the Los Angeles basin via the California Aqueduct).

Well #5 just dropped off, the other four shifted down, and this Washington visit is at the top of the list! I really hate to lose number five…My father was the head of Mechanical Maintenance for the plant for about 20 years. Edmonston is truly an engineering marvel and I credit my father with my innate mechanical ability that prompted my becoming an engineer. But the Washington Fly-in (as we participants refer to our visit) was an extraordinary experience in the extreme. “A-a-wsome Du-u-ude” as my eight-year old would say!

But I digress…Our visit began with our arrival in Washington on a Tuesday evening. We were informed that there was a strict 10:00 p.m. curfew so that we would all be ready to go in the morning! It was a good thing time zone wasn’t specified as I was on West Coast time and had a few hours to visit with my fellow team members in the hotel lounge! The next morning we started the day with a visit to the Department of Labor for a meeting with several people who worked in various functions for the DOL. Both Work Force Development teams attended this meeting and we presented an overview of what the AF was all about and how we might be able to work with the DOL to mutual benefit. They indicated a few other organizations we should work with like Manufacturing Extension Partnership (MEP) and National Association of Manufacturers (NAM). When we mentioned that ex-military personnel often had skills that are applicable to the automation field, they became pretty animated about some of the military websites that we should be a part of…So we have that work to do.

After the DOL, our two Work Force Development teams split up to meet with various congressional representatives. Anyone that has been to DC knows that going from office to office in the Senate office buildings and House of Representatives office buildings can require a fair amount of walking. In retrospect, I wish I had worn a pedometer to know exactly the mileage we logged during the two days—it had to be several miles—in heels for me! Of course the guys were doing there fair share of whining…several had made the mistake of getting new suits, including new shoes, for the trip!

My team’s visits with Congressional representatives were focused on Work Force Development…The concern we have for the baby boomer bust, the lack of students entering science and technology, and the slippage of American technical excellence. What I found fascinating was that in the course of our visits it became apparent to me that about 25% of our government representatives and/or staffers really understand what we’re about. About 50% sort of understand. The remaining 25% have absolutely no clue—a little frightening if you ask me! But we did find that they were all willing to listen—in fact encouraged us to remain engaged so that government knew the needs of the manufacturing sector.

Now before all of you readers outside of the US get uptight and accuse me of being partial or US-centric, keep in mind our audience. We’re trying to get the US government to work with us. We’ll talk about your country’s technical excellence and manufacturing industry needs when advocating in your country!

We concluded the first day with a relaxing dinner cruise on the Potomac. A great way to wind down after a stressful day doing something totally out of my comfort zone!

Day two began with what has to be the highlight of the visit: A meeting between all thirty AF team members with White House Staff members in the Indian Treaty Room located in the White House Eisenhower Executive Office Building to discuss Business and Commerce in general, but also Cyber Security with White House Staff security experts. The room was inspiring in its beauty and grandness, but the conversation that took place was even better! By the end of the meeting the Security Staff personnel were indicating a desire to meet again at another time to have a more in depth conversation about how we could all work together to maintain Cyber integrity.

The teams then split up again to meet with our respective Representatives and Senators, converging again in the Capitol building for a reception where all the people we had met were invited to attend along with a few corporate Government Relations people and other members from Department of Commerce, Department of Labor, and MEP.

What became apparent during the course of the two days was the pace at which our government operates. To the casual, remote observer it would appear to operate at a snail's pace; conversely, when viewed up close and personal, it would appear that the pace is much faster and almost frantic. People are constantly on the go and offices are regularly in a state of flux with people arriving and leaving. I have traditionally been a cynic of government, assuming it was just a broker of legislation for the highest bidder. I’m a lot less cynical and very enthusiastic about what we are capable of accomplishing by working as advocates for our profession in the government arena. My team even had one Senatorial staffer volunteer to implement a program in a high-school with an instrument technician curriculum if we could produce letters from thirty-plus companies saying they would hire these graduates. The Senator would make sure the program was funded and promoted. WOW!

All-in-all, a fantastic trip! You can read additional details at the AF blog at www.automationfederation.org/congressionalflyin.

Dad: I’m sorry your plant has fallen off my “top five” neat things I’ve done list…But can you blame me?