The Hydraulic Institute (HI), North America’s largest pump association, recently completed its 2008 Spring Technical Meeting in Cleveland, Ohio. During this event, nearly 100 technical professionals from the pump industry met to discuss the development of new pump standards and energy efficient process controls, as well as educational and training initiatives.
Highlights of the five-day Spring Technical Meeting included the presentation of two Pump Knowledge Workshops. In his presentation on Pressure Control Using Variable Frequency Drives, Julian Atchia, the business development manager at SJE-Rhombus®, detailed the process controls and design considerations needed for increasing the energy efficiency of pumping systems.
In a presentation on HI’s newest standard, Rotodynamic (Centrifugal) Pumps for Design and Applications, Mick Cropper, global product development manager at Sulzer Pumps (US) Inc.; Charlie Cappellino, director of engineering & new product development at ITT – Industrial Process; and Tim Rahill, global account manager at Baldor – Dodge –Reliance, teamed to outline the classifications, performance and selection criteria for rotodynamic pumps. Knowledge Workshops are planned for each meeting to enhance educational content on current technical topics in the pump industry.
David McKinstry, vice president of IMO Pump-Colfax Corporation and HI’s vice president of technical affairs, presented a Standards Development Training Session to HI chairs and vice-chairs on the role and responsibilities of committee officers and members in developing HI standards and technical documents. He provided special insight into the policies and processes for technical document creation and management from the committee’s perspective and described the three step voting procedure used to achieve consensus. Future Standards Development Sessions are being planned for all technical committee members.
During the course of the event, the Pump Systems Matter (PSM) sponsors also met to discuss and develop the organization’s latest array of educational programs including a planned three to five day classroom-based Pump System Engineering Foundations Course. Other topics covered in the PSM meeting included a presentation on “New York Energy Smart” by the New York State Energy Research and Development Authority (NYSERDA), a new PSM sponsor. Founded in 1975, the NYSERDA strives to facilitate change through the widespread development and use of innovative technologies that improve the State’s energy, economic, and environmental wellbeing. These efforts directly coincide with PSM’s own programs, which are aimed at integrating pump system performance optimization and efficient energy management practices into normal business operations.
To learn more about HI and PSM or to attend upcoming meetings and technical events, please visit www.Pumps.org, www.PumpLearning.org and www.PumpSystemsMatter.org.