MAINE home

Research Grants

News Releases Public Affairs

Calendar of Events

Department Directory

UMaine Today Research Archives

UMaine Today Research by e-mail Send message: "subscribe UMaine Today Research (your name)" Leave subject line blank.

Off Campus Links

Maine Science and Technology Fdn. for Maine research

ScienceDaily

SciNews/MedNews

Eurekalert

Humboldt Field Research Institute

Posted October, 1998

Engineering Students Get Hands-On Training, Help to Make Maine Businesses More Productive

Good grades in this course could be dollars saved for the Maine economy. Between July 1997 and June 1998, students and professional engineers in the University of Maine's Industrial Assessment Center (IAC) identified more than $1.4 million in savings for manufacturing firms last year based on evaluations of energy and waste management.

Since 1993, the Center has provided a learning environment for students and earned its bread and butter as part of a federally funded network of similar university-based centers around the country. At UMaine, two professional engineers and 11 undergraduate students, mostly in the School of Engineering Technology, visit factories and develop money-saving recommendations. The service is free to participating companies, and the U.S. Department of Energy provided $150,749 in grant support last year.

During that time, according to Scott Dunning, IAC director, students and staff inspected and prepared recommendations for 23 companies. Those companies include tool and die manufacturers, lumber mills, and factories which make shoes, boats, furniture and food products. On average, the money which would be spent by companies to implement the recommendations would be paid back in slightly more than one year.

“Managers know their processes well, but they don't generally have the time to focus on one aspect such as energy or waste. We've been looking at lots of manufacturing plants with those things in mind, and we can usually zero in on cost saving measures right away,” says Dunning.

The Center's professional staff includes Mark Armstrong, P.E., a graduate of Maine Maritime Academy with 12 years of experience in industrial process control, and Curt Bartram, P.E., a state employee who works with the Department of Economic and Community Development's energy audit program. Jill Schoof, associate professor of electrical engineering technology, is assistant director.

“We train the students to use test equipment and evaluate areas where savings are usually found. The students work with a mentor and then call the business managers, collect data about the plants and give a formal presentation before the managers,” says Dunning.

“One of the most important products of the IAC is our graduates. Students leave here with an impressive portfolio of experiences with industry. One graduate got a job in a paper mill based on savings he identified during a quick tour of the plant during his interview. I called the manager to give the student support, and the manager said it wasn't necessary. He had hired him on the spot,” says Dunning.

The IAC's nerve center is located in a second floor room in East Annex. It features shelves of industrial process manuals, file cabinets filled with audit records and a blackboard used to track projects. Students mix attendance in classes with calls to businesses or calculations of potential savings.

After extensive preparation and review of a manufacturers bills, students and staff spend a day at each company taking measurements with “state of the art” test equipment. Then, they spend six to eight weeks developing a comprehensive report which includes recommendations, implementation costs and payback calculations.

Students currently working in the program include Rick Peck of Pittsfield, Seth Prentice of Wells, Roger Ewer of Bangor, Chad Poulin of North Vasselboro, Matthew Korbet of Sidney, Shawn Doherty of Palermo, Chuck Foster of Ellsworth, Daniel Patrick of Brunswick, Aaron St. Pierre of Jay, Christopher Malm of Caribou and Brett Chambers of Chester Springs, Pennsylvania.

The Center can be contacted at 207-581-2329 or via Internet at www.eece.maine.edu/EET/IAC/

Return UMaine Today Research home