Thursday, December 29, 2011

Souped up photosynthesis produces H2

from: http://www.abc.net.au/science/articles/2011/12/19/3392740.htm


Scientists have taken photosynthesis to the next level, by creating a tiny solar-powered device that works twice as fast as nature to produce hydrogen biofuel.
But the researchers add further research is needed before we can start using it to fuel our cars.
Hydrogen is seen as an alternative fuel source because it burns to produce water as waste. However, sources of hydrogen are difficult to tap.
Some scientists are turning to biomimicry, designing devices based on photosynthesis to use light to split water into oxygen and hydrogen.
"I think there's good prospects for using some of these biological photosynthesis systems to produce biofuels for the future," says Professor Donald Bryant, of Pennsylvania State University and co-author of a paper appearing inProceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.
In nature, a light-capturing enzyme known as Photosystem I uses light energy to energise electrons. Those electrons are moved, relatively slowly, to another enzyme known as FNR. The FNR enzyme combines these electrons with a biological molecule (NADP+) and a hydrogen ion to produce an energy-storage molecule called NADPH, which is used to make sugars.
To make their biofuel device the reserachers at Pennsylvania State University replaced the FNR enzyme with hydrogenase, an enzyme that combines two electrons with two hydrogen ions to make molecular hydrogen.
To increase its efficiency the hydrogenase was 'tethered' directly to the Photosystem I enzyme with a carbon chain. This chain, which acts like a molecular wire, speeds up the movement of electrons between enzymes, boosting hydrogen production.

Useful for other enzymes

Lead author of the study, Dr Carolyn Lubner, also of Pennsylvania State University, says the design can be adapted for other enzymes.
"For example, we could potentially use formic acid dehydrogenase to make formic acid, which is also a biofuel," she says.
Beyond biofuel, using light to inject single electrons one by one into enzymes gives scientists a unique ability to study the process of photosynthesis, says Bryant.
"For example, the hydrogenase enzyme has to accumulate two electrons, and they come one at a time - even in natural settings," he says. "What happens when one electron comes, and where it goes, is something that is currently unknown."
Lubner adds that "the more insight we can gain into enzymes found in nature, that make compounds ... such as hydrogen or ethanol, the better we can design mimics of them."
Associate Professor John Stride, of the University of New South Wales, says it makes sense to look to nature when designing new processes. "Nature has had millennia to solve problems, and photosynthesis is very efficient."
"One can imagine a biogenerator of hydrogen fuel that works just by using sunlight," he says. "Though they do have to feed it sodium ascorbate [vitamin C], so it's not quite energy for nothing."
Bryant says that while they used ascorbate in this experiement, "We can feed it electrons from anywhere, including the ground. We just have to have electrons from 'somewhere'."

Sunday, December 25, 2011

Researchers develop cheap and easy to mass-produce "solar-paint"

From Gizmag:

Researchers develop cheap and easy to mass-produce "solar-paint"
19:55 December 21, 2011
Mixtures using cadmium sulfide produced yellow paint, cadmium selenide produced dark brown...
Mixtures using cadmium sulfide produced yellow paint, cadmium selenide produced dark brown, while a mixture of the two - which offered the best conversion efficiency - was light brown (Photo: ACS Nano)

A team of researchers from the University of Notre Dame in Indiana is reporting the creation of a "solar paint" that could mark an important milestone on the road to widespread implementation of renewable energy technology. Although the new material is still a long way off the conversion efficiencies of commercial silicon solar cells, the researchers say it is cheap to make and can be produced in large quantities.
In an effort to find an alternative to silicon-based solar cells, the Notre Dame researchers turned to quantum dot materials. They started with nanoparticles of titanium dioxide (TiO2) and coated them with either cadmium sulfide or cadmium selenide - both compounds that can absorb photons. A photon of the right energy hitting the cadmium compounds causes an electron to escape, which is absorbed by the TiO2.
The resultant particles were then suspended in a water-alcohol mixture to create a paste. The cadmium sulfide mixture produced a yellow paste, while the cadmium selenide mix produced a dark brown. The most efficient was a mixture of the two that produced a light brown paste.
When the paste was brushed onto a transparent conducting material and exposed to light, it created electricity. To replenish the electrons lost by the cadmium and test the conversion efficiency of the paint-on electrode, cathodes made from other materials and additional compounds were used.
"The best light-to-energy conversion efficiency we've reached so far is 1 percent, which is well behind the usual 10 to 15 percent efficiency of commercial silicon solar cells," explains Prashant Kamat, an investigator in Notre Dame's Center for Nano Science and Technology (NDnano). "But this paint can be made cheaply and in large quantities. If we can improve the efficiency somewhat, we may be able to make a real difference in meeting energy needs in the future."
Kama and his team have christened the new paint "Sun-Believable" and plan to study ways to increase its conversion efficiency and improve its stability. The Notre Dame team's paper is published in the journal ACS Nano.

Thursday, December 15, 2011

JP Morgan expands deployment of FPGA-based supercomputer - ComputerworldUK.com

http://www.computerworlduk.com/news/it-business/3325313/jp-morgan-expands-deployment-of-fpga-based-supercomputer/?mobile=false

This is how to get really efficient computing.
There was a Russian book I found on systolic computing.  Brilliant stuff, really inspirational for me.  It's applications in video and image processing were immediately obvious.

Is living off the Grid now a crime?

http://offgridsurvival.com/livingoffthegridcrime/

Monday, December 12, 2011

earthCell | the renewable battery by Jason Rugolo — Kickstarter

http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/46649112/earthcell-the-renewable-battery?ref=category

Indoor solar energy harvesting: a platform to (finally) get some numbers

http://www.limpkin.fr/index.php?post/2011/12/07/Indoor-solar-energy-harvesting%3A-a-platform-to-%28finally%29-get-some-numbers

From:  http://hackaday.com/2011/12/12/crunching-the-numbers-using-solar-cells-indoors
Mathieu] was interested in using more solar cells for his everday electronics. He looked around but couldn’t find much information about using pholovoltaic for small indoor devices. We remember hearing some of the same things from [Dave Jones] in one of his EEVblog installments from a few years ago which looked at solar calculators; the only indoor solar gadget we can think of.

The quest for knowledge was on and [Mathieu] decided to build this indoor solar cell test platform. It’s a stable piece of hardware that allows him to run reliable tests in many different conditions. It’s designed to compare two identical cells. One is charging the Lithium cell, the other is driving a load directly. A second battery powers the platform separately from the solar circuits so that it can be used as a data logger. He collects, dumps, and graphs info from his test runs, then discusses his findings. We won’t spoil it, but the results are not great. Mostly you need sunlight to get real results as it’s just so much more powerful than artificial lighting.

Thursday, December 8, 2011

Fwd: Home Performance Nightmare

---------- Forwarded message ----------
From: ss
Date: Tue, Dec 6, 2011 at 6:00 PM
Subject: Fwd: Home Performance Nightmare
To: 

Energy efficiency.


 
              GreenEarthEquities.com
 

         Home Performance Nightmare

Greetings Planetsavers

Tonight we're diving in to fixing the worst Home Performance nightmare I've ever seen.  That's right, it's the house I just bought in Virginia!  Over the last few weeks I've shown you some pictures but today I took my first blower door reading... 7800 cfm50... and it never even got to 50! Actually it got to 34 with an open fan. We'll talk about what that all means and what can be done about it... on this house that the DOE wants real tight.

BTW I met some neighbors and they told me that the home had over $1,000 electric bills. We mentioned the insulation disaster a few weeks ago (shown above) but now we know how big a disaster that was.

This is actually a case where the Home Performance Failure actually cost the owner his home as the Utility Bill certainly contributed to them losing it in foreclosure!

Check in at 6 pacific and we'll take on this challenge. Hint: greater measures will be required than we discussed last week.
Also I've already implemented some of last weeks suggestions from the audience. I'm getting excited about this one.

See you tonight,

Dave Robinson

Connection Notes: Join us Tuesday 6PM (PST)
Click here or picture above to be taken to our WebEx log in page.  If requested, enter your name and email address. If a password is required, enter the meeting password: GEEmeeting. Click "Join". Follow the instructions that appear on your screen. To participate by phone only call-in toll number is 1-408-600-3600 (Access code: 800 896 751).
 
Problems joining the meeting? Email Rob@GreenEarthEquities.com (559) 305-2229.
FYI: Our WebEx platform will only accommodate 25 callers on the computer so be early if you want the best audio and video.  Additional participants can join by calling Rob Pennington at (559) 305-2229.
 
 
 
Upcoming Educational
Training
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   Field Trip
 
Fresno CA
 Dec 10th, 2011
   
 
On his trips from Virginia, Dave tries to leave time for a Fresno "Field Trip."  Those wishing to see Energy Wise Renovation in process should watch here for upcoming details.
 
 
 
 
New Site!
 
Visit our New completely remodeled Beta Site by clicking here or link at top of page.  Let us know how you like all the  changes!
 
 
 
 
 
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View the video "Welcome to Energy Wise House Flipping of Foreclosed Homes" by  clicking here.
 
 
 
 
Green Earth Equities...  
 
Saving the Planet One Foreclosed House at a Time
 

 
 
 



Monday, December 5, 2011

Consumers turn to smart-meter alternatives for energy management

The pricing of smart meters offered by utilities is making many consumers seek out alternative products for energy management and monitoring, Cassandra Sweet writes in The Wall Street Journal. This article surveys several products, including General Electric's Nucleus, which can now work without a smart meter, and the Nest Learning Thermostat.


Watch Your Energy

New monitoring gadgets may help reduce utility bills


http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052970204443404577052314024514498.html

Thursday, November 17, 2011

One of the largest sources of CO2 is badly written software.

Data Centers are becoming mass consumers of Energy.  Oddly enough one of the largest sources of CO2 is badly written software.

If your running active pages for every web hit in stead of static pages with client scripts, then your consuming 10x or more the CPU power needed then the alternate software approach.  With this you will then required 10x the computing resources. But this is only have of the iceberg.   For every Watt consumed  a Watt is lost in the power supply.  For every Watt spent in the computer box, an additional Watt is spent cooling those systems.

So a 100 Watt CPU at full tilt load (which is where you want to run it for highest power efficiency, although consumption is also at it's peak)  you spend 100 watts in the power supply and fans etc and another 200 watts on the air conditioner.

Now the argument to use scripted languages and these higher level coding languages is to cut the development time and cost down. This come at the price of higher cost in servers, application management and power consumption. These are a perpetual part of a companies burn rate and ultimately become a limiting factor for some companies.

Cooling is 1/2 the cost of running a data center, if your power source gave you that for free basically then you will save money.

I am posting this link because it's insightful.  This gives you some idea why Bloom Energy is valuable, since Microturbines are a direct competitor for micropower generation systems.



The University of Toledo fires up microturbines in the data center
http://www.itworld.com/data-centerservers/224865/university-toledo-fires-microturbines-data-center

Tuesday, November 15, 2011

The Solyndra effect.

Solyndra was a memetic weapon. It's intent was to protect big oil and gas companies and keep us from forward progress.  It's amazing that cheap energy is here and we can't make forward progress on it.

So let me explain how this works.

We recently had a Green Technology Bubble.  It was getting hyped in the press and everyone thought it was where things were heading. Or so it seemed.   It's been several times now in my life I've watched everyone jump on to the Solar/Green bandwagon only to have the wheels fall off and everyone abandons it in a hurry.

There were and still are a number of good technologies and companies, but it's just not happening.
There are several factors, Solyndra and Enron being a large part of this.

See with a bubble comes a flood of VC and Speculator money.  As it is with any Gold rush, there are also no shortage of con-artists and scammers, plying there trade, and you also have many clueless idiots that just show up to the party hoping to figure it out and get in the game.

The amount of financing is finite and will only go so far till there are some successes and failures before more arrives. Who get's the money from VC, Federal and State Grants, private investors? Usually not the engineers and scientists who lack the slick marketing skills of Madison avenue.  It's people who already have money, or their kids just graduated from some top university.  Those are usually first in line.

Now the easiest way to ensure a Green Technology bubble crashes and burns is to load the deck where all the really big big Mind boggling big funded start-up are run by people who have no intention of ever seeing Solar technology ever see the light of day.  And you take everyone's money and run it in to the ground at full speed.  This will burn every investors and make it nearly impossible for every little inventor with the real stuff from getting anywhere.

Meanwhile you have the California state government saying they are for solar then sabotage and strangle in bureaucratic red tape every solar plant and come just shy of outlawing solar panels on people root tops.


Now that they have killed this bubble and scared off any investment opportunity, you have then using the Solyndra to taint other companies that have nothing to do with it.


See the article Below.  Bloom Energy isn't even Green energy.  Fuel Cells could be but the ones they are equating with Solyndra are using Methane Natural Gas, a Hydrocarbon fossil fuel.

The Bloom energy devices are only somewhat less polluting, but make a lot of sense from a technology point of view as if the electrical grid fails the City Gas lines would most likely be working (as least outside of earthquake country).  They provide a clean, lower maintenance version of a Back Up Generator for Data Centers, and little more.


Washington Times: NICHOLS & DRIESSEN: Delaware’s very own Solyndra?

From an E-mail from cfact.org
CFACT's Driessen: "Another Solyndra" in Delaware
CFACT senior policy advisor Paul Driessen and independent financial consultant John Nichols called attention to an attempt by California-based Bloom Energy to get the State of Delaware to subsidize the manufacture of supersized fuel cells and to replace natural gas and coal-fired power plants for electricity generation (.Delaware.s very own Solyndra," Washington Times, 9-23-11).

Supported by Gov. Jack Markell and other politicians, Bloom is demanding $600,000,000 to $775,000,000 in tariffs over 20 years . plus $16,000,000 in startup costs, plus additional millions from the U.S. Department of Energy . all risk-free and guaranteed, regardless of whether the fuel cells ever generate a kilowatt of electricity. The revelations come on the heels of reports that the bankrupt Solyndra counts among its creditors the California Democratic Party!

Wednesday, November 9, 2011

Tuesday, November 8, 2011

Fwd: In 2 days, Join KPMG, IBM, Nike +100s more at Opportunity Green in LA

---------- Forwarded message ----------
From: "Opportunity Green" <karen@opportunitygreeninc.com>
Date: Nov 8, 2011 7:29 AM
Subject: In 2 days, Join KPMG, IBM, Nike +100s more at Opportunity Green in LA
To: <john.sokol@gmail.com>

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Share This:
In 2 Days - Join BMW, IBM, NRG Energy, Gensler, eBay, MGM Resorts, Nike, Fast Company, Aveda, Kaiser, Starbucks, KPMG, PG&E, NRG, C2C, Bloomberg and more...

New Special Guests Announced:
speakers
OG '11 exposes participants to an interdisciplinary cross-section of ideas at the forefront of sustainable business practices, design and technology, through a variety of formats, including creative panels and experiential workshops. From Fortune 500 powerhouses to inventive startups, Opportunity Green attracts over 850 industry professionals and executive decision-makers from around the globe.
Connect with 850+ colleagues from companies like: Google, Honeywell, Earth911, Cerrell, Huffington Post, BMW Designworks, SXSW Eco, Viacom, Coca-Cola, BMW Group, Cisco, Gensler, Eastman, Dwell, Toyota, Jamba Juice, Brightsource Energy, Unisource Global Solutions, The Walt Disney Company, Tigercomm, Native Energy, B Lab, Clif Bar, Green Mountain Energy, X PRIZE Foundation, U.S. Department of State, Ygrene Energy Fund, Johnson & Johnson, LG Electronics, Fashion Institute of Technology, Patagonia, JP Morgan, Knoll, UCLA, NBC Universal, Bain & Company, USC, SAP, Honest Tea, CalTech, Ogilvy, Deloitte, Wells Fargo, FOX, Intertek, P&G, National Geographic, Sony, BBSP, Disney, USGBC, Lexus, Green Mountain Energy, Tendril, Northrop Grumman, BP, BDO USA, Boeing, Vans, Sungevity, French Consul, KPMG, Volcom, TIME, Live Nation, Latham & Watkins, Fast Company and many more.
Please call if you have any questions and register today!
Casey Ly 310-765-2233 ext. 711

(Inquire about our membership/industry discounts for organizations including: IDSA, USGBC, AIA, IDSA, AIGA, PDMA, IDSLA, AIGA, Net Impact, LA Chamber, UCLA, USC, Cal Tech & Art Center College of Design Alumni, UNA, SAG, PGA, and others)

For membership/industry discounts
Contact 310-765-2233 x 711



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Wednesday, November 2, 2011

Opportunity Green, Los Angeles, Ca Nov 10-11, 2011

---------- Forwarded message ----------
From: Opportunity Green <karen@opportunitygreeninc.com>
Date: Wed, Nov 2, 2011 at 11:28 AM
Subject: 2011-11-02 General Mailing
To: john.sokol@gmail.com


If you're having trouble viewing this email, you may see it online.

Share This:
In 7 Days - Join BMW, IBM, Gensler, eBay, MGM Resorts, Nike, Fast Company, Aveda, Kaiser, Starbucks, Physic Ventures, PG&E, NRG, C2C, Bloomberg and more...

New Special Guests Announced:
speakers
OG '11 exposes participants to an interdisciplinary cross-section of ideas at the forefront of sustainable business practices, design and technology, through a variety of formats, including creative panels and experiential workshops. From Fortune 500 powerhouses to inventive startups, Opportunity Green attracts over 850 industry professionals and executive decision-makers from around the globe.
Connect with 850+ colleagues from companies like: Google, Honeywell, Earth911, Cerrell, Huffington Post, BMW Designworks, SXSW Eco, Viacom, Coca-Cola, BMW Group, Cisco, Gensler, Eastman, Dwell, Toyota, Jamba Juice, Brightsource Energy, Unisource Global Solutions, The Walt Disney Company, Tigercomm, Native Energy, B Lab, Clif Bar, Green Mountain Energy, X PRIZE Foundation, U.S. Department of State, Ygrene Energy Fund, Johnson & Johnson, LG Electronics, Fashion Institute of Technology, Patagonia, JP Morgan, Knoll, UCLA, NBC Universal, Bain & Company, USC, SAP, Honest Tea, CalTech, Ogilvy, Deloitte, Wells Fargo, FOX, Intertek, P&G, National Geographic, Sony, BBSP, Disney, USGBC, Lexus, Green Mountain Energy, Tendril, Northrop Grumman, BP, BDO USA, Boeing, Vans, Sungevity, French Consul, KPMG, Volcom, TIME, Live Nation, Latham & Watkins, Fast Company and many more.
Please call if you have any questions and register today!
Casey Ly 310-765-2233 ext. 711

Last day for 20% off
Use discount code OGL20





Sunday, October 30, 2011

Sustainability Hacks: Automatic window control

From Hack-A-Day

Sometimes, changing one little bit of a green hack turns it into a build that wastes as much energy as our gaming rig. [Dr. West]‘s automatic window controller is one of these builds. The good news is the window controller can be easily modified to cut energy costs in the fall and spring.
[Dr. West] doesn’t have any control over the heat in his apartment and for the entire Canadian winter, his apartment gets really hot. He doesn’t pay for his heat, so he does what any of us would do – crack a window. Inspired by this post, he put a linear actuator in the frame of his kitchen window. [Dr. West] didn’t want to damage the window frame, so he attached the actuator to a piece of square aluminum tubing that mounts to the existing screw holes.
The electronics, [Dr. West] used a Rabbit 2000 dev board, LCD display and keypad, and built an H-bridge circuit on a bit of breadboard. Because of a port conflict and admitted laziness, an Arduino is used to read the thermistor. The display shows the current and desired temperature, and the Rabbit opens and closes the window accordingly. All the source code is posted in the forum post.
While it’s not the most ‘green’ idea to dump heat from a building’s HVAC system out into a frozen tundra, this would be a great build to automatically open and close windows in the more temperate seasons. Open windows during the day, close them at night and you’ll have no more problems coming home to a house that’s either too hot or too cold. Check out a video of the automatic window after the break.

Wednesday, October 26, 2011

Google Releases Geothermal Potential Map of the US

From Slashdot:

"The Google funded Enhanced Geothermal Systems research at the Southern Methodist University has produced a coast-to-coast geothermal potential map of the United States. Having invested over $10 million on geothermal energy, Google seems to believe that it is our best bet at kicking the oil habit (especially now that nuclear power has suddenly become disproportionately unpopular)."

Sunday, October 2, 2011

Fwd: Retained Searches in Energy: Wind and Steam Boilers

---------- Forwarded message ----------
From: "Nicholas Meyler" <nickm@wdsearch.com>
Date: Oct 1, 2011 9:39 PM
Subject: Retained Searches in Energy: Wind and Steam Boilers
To: <sokol@videotechnology.com>

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Wingate Dunross October 1, 2011
Dear Engineers, Scientists and Potential Job-Seekers,
 
Our client is the world leader in integrated power plants for the production of electricity and air quality control systems.They have solutions for all energy sources including coal, gas, nuclear, fuel-oil, hydropower and wind and are a leader in innovative technologies for the protection of the environment (reduction of CO2 emissions; elimination of pollutant emissions).  They have a presence in nearly 100 countries throughout the world and currently have over 93,000 employees.  Their wind energy division has outstanding opportunities available in Richmond, VA.  We have been exclusively retained on two searches in wind energy and one in steam boilers:
 
(1) Process Engineer Job Description:
 
Under general guidance of supervisor or more experienced engineer, that Engineer will perform various engineering duties in support wind business product engineering and qualification processes.This position requires the exercise of judgment and application of standard engineering principles and practices. Key objective is to pursue initiatives to improve effectiveness of the group and increase customer satisfaction.The candidate must be able to work with a team, take direction and work with minimal direction.

Typical duties/responsibilities for engineering may include, but are not limited to, the following:
 

Responsibilities

§         Responsible for new tower manufacturing qualifications.

§         Responsible of other mechanical components inside tower such as internals and service lift.

§         Alternatively, he may be responsible for other mechanical products.

§         He (or she) should provide timely support to execution; he/she might be eligible to become the Project Engineer in some current projects representing engineering in that project team.

§         Prepare specifications and related documents in accordance with requirements, established formats and general instruction.Review and analyze a variety of engineering data, documents and reports.

§         Ensure on time delivery of all agreed engineering deliverables, in line with local requirements and project specification.

§         Provide timely support to sales, sourcing and manufacturing.

§         In cooperation with global teams, establish a disciplined process to effectively manage engineering information & support to execute tendering, supply chain, manufacturing and projects through policies, procedures, management tools, reports and training.

§         Secure timely and adequate functional specifications of components, meeting local and contractual requirements. This includes localization of spec and substitution of materials as appropriate, if it would be necessary.

§         Ensure that a focused reporting is implemented and all phases of engineering, including planning of engineering man-hours, are clearly tracked to secure on-time delivery of documentation and components. Lead time, cost and quality.

§         Continuous development of engineering activities to generate cost-saving and quality improvements.

§         Ensure production processes are robust enough to meet the required quality level described into company's specifications. Solving quality issues on manufacturing sites

§         Maintain prompt and efficient communication and exchange of information with engineering headquarters in Spain.
 

Qualifications:

  • B.S. degree in Metallurgical or Mechanical Engineering required
  • Should have thorough knowledge on Welding Inspections & repair procedures,
  • Experience of windmill-tower preferable, Prepare and maintain all the manufacturing engineering documents, Preparation of BOM.
  • Minimum experience of three years in industrial processes in particular wind mill towers (costs breakdown, process reliability and quality, resolution of Non Conformities and corrective actions and management of delivery deviations.

·         Experience in wind power business, specifically nacelle assembly preferred

·         Industrialization process experience.

·         Experience in working with suppliers required including development of technical supplier specifications of mechanical components, quality control plans.

·         Project management experience (prototypes and pre-series) includes, cost control and follow-up.

·         Ability to process certifications with homologated entities.

  • Previous experience or good understanding of Quality Assurance process and procedures
  • Must be organized and have excellent writing skills
  • Open minded, flexible in business situations
  • Proactive and commitment minded approach to problem solving and business processes
  • Ability to communicate effectively working in an international environment
  • Fluency in second language (Spanish) desirable
 
 (2) Project Manager Job Description:
 

Typical duties/responsibilities for engineering may include, but are not limited to, the following

Responsibilities:

  • Review and prepare technical specifications and related documents that are in accordance with established requirements and general instructions.
  • Analyze a variety of engineering data, documents, and reports.
  • Accountable for on time delivery of engineering deliverables that are in line with local requirements and project specification.
  • Provide timely support to the Sales, Tendering, Project Execution, and Manufacturing departments.
  • Cooperate with global teams to establish thorough policies, procedures, management tools, reports, and training manuals that will aid in the effective management of engineering information.
  • Secure adequate functional specifications of components in a timely fashion that meet local, project, and contractual requirements. This includes the localization of specifications and/or the substitution of materials as appropriate.
  • Accountable for not only ensuring that a lean approach is applied to all facets of the engineering process, but also that there be the mechanisms in place to properly report upon the time and monies that have been expended.
  • Continuously develop engineering processes and procedures that drive cost-saving and quality improvements.
  • Ensure production processes are thorough and complete, meeting the required quality levels as described in respective Alstom specifications.
  • Facilitate in or lead the process of solving quality issues on manufacturing or construction sites.
  • Promptly and efficiently communication information with engineering headquarters in Spain.

Qualifications:

  • B.S. degree in Electrical or Mechanical Engineering required.
  • Minimum of three years experience in engineering.
  • Has experience in working with costs breakdown structures, process reliability and quality evaluation, and the development of non-conformity corrective action plans and the management of their implementation.
  • Experience in developing, implementing, and performing quality control of technical documentation and specifications for suppliers.
  • Experience on mechanical components.(Ex. gearboxes, bearings, etc…)
  • Project management experience that includes the basic functions of cost, quality, engineering and schedule control.
  • Desirable experience in BOP execution.
  • Ability to process certifications with homologated entities and engineering firms.
  • Previous experience or a thorough understanding of quality assurance processes and procedures.
  • Desirable experience on 3-CAD systems desirable (Ex. SolidWorks.)
  • Organized and have excellent technical writing skills.
  • Open minded and flexible in a multitude of business situations
  • Proactive and pragmatic approach to problem solving and business processes analysis.
  • Ability to communicate effectively while working in an ever-changing and evolving international and multicultural environment.
  • Experience on electrical infrastructure and civil works valuable.
  • Fluency in second language (Spanish) desirable
 
(3)  Manager of Quality Search (Windsor, CT)
 
Manager of Quality and Process Improvement
Summary:
1. Ensuring that a Quality Management System and Process Improvement System are in place in the product line to deliver quality products, provide customer satisfaction and maximize financial performance.
 
2. Champion quality best practices throughout the product line and supplier base.
Educate and train employees. Ensure product line and suppliers meet recognized
standards and contract requirements for the quality of the products or services they
provide.
 
3. Act as the focal point for Customers on quality issues.
 
Job Duties:

1. Act as management liaison/representative for the quality system

2. Implement an audit system for QA/QC and set quality objectives

3. Implement, maintain and continuously improve quality management system

4. Monitor and review performance of system

5. Direct involvement of quality in product and technology development systems

6. Check and approve procedures, instructions and/or documentation

7. Champion and implement six-sigma program

8. Ensure response to any issue related to quality system is timely and optimal.

9. Train greenbelts
10. 25% Travel will be required
 
Key Indicators of Performance:

1. Cost of poor quality Benefits of good quality

2. Customer satisfaction

3. Six Sigma program metric

4. 3-party acceptance of systems

5. Audit program metric

6. Deviation measurement and management

7. Corrective and preventive action metric
 
Required Experience:
1. BS degree in ME, IE, EE, Business Administration, or related Quality Management Experience.
2. 5+ years experience professionally in implementation of QA systems

3. Experienced in Six Sigma, ISO 9000 and other quality "toolkits"

4. Diverse knowledge and experience of inspection and QC methods, techniques,

     and documentation

5. Excellent communication skills in English

6. Energy sector experience is preferred

7. EHS Management and integrated system management experience preferred

8. Statistical methods and data analysis, strong analytical skills

9. Strong interpersonal and management skills, high integrity, judgment
 
Terminology candidate should know:
COPQ; NCR; "Root Cause" Analysis; TaprooT/RCA ; Six Sigma; ISO 9001; ASME Codes and Certifications 
 
                      Windfarm on the Island of Bonaire, Netherlands Antilles
Note:
Please feel free to forward this information as much as you like.
Apply to:
Nicholas Meyler,
GM/President, Technology
Wingate Dunross Executive Search
www.wdsearch.com Share this Email »
28632 Roadside Drive #203, Agoura Hills, CA 91301