Orientation Day on Public Works

With the upcoming Sustainability Now virtual conference, the Public Works Group is offering an Orientation Day on Public Works Island in Second Life on Saturday, June 28, 2008. Seasoned Second Life residents will be on hand to greet you as you enter Second Life.
Orientation Day on Public Works
If you have never been in Second Life, this is a great opportunity to try it out knowing that there will be people there to meet you and help show you the ropes. Because most people have not been exposed to this type of interface, entering Second Life alone with little guidance at the beginning can be challenging. We are hoping to make that transition a little easier by being there to answer questions, give away free stuff you might need for your virtual world, and point you to some interesting places in Second Life that are tasteful and engaging.

By registering through the Public Works Group Web site, you will enter Second Life on Public Works Island instead of through the normal orientation that others go through if registering on Second Life’s site. This way you avoid all the chaos and instead enter Second Life in an area that is more professionally themed.

To allow for visitors from different time zones, a time, yet to be announced, will be set up to meet people from the UK and other European countries during the afternoon. Then those living in the U.S. and other countries in similar time zones such as Canada and Mexico can visit between 1pm and 4pm CST. Unfortunately at this time there will be only English-speaking people available to greet you.

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Siemens PLM Software Scavenger Hunt On Now

In my last blog entry, I mentioned that Siemens PLM Software was hosting several events this month on their island in Second Life. Along with the presentations, the company is offering a scavenger hunt on the Siemens Innovation Connection island from 10 A.M. (EST) May 28 to 10 A.M. (EST) June 23. Visitors to the island can register at the red railroad car with the National Steel Car logo then proceed to find the six other railroad cars sitting at different locations on the sim. Each car poses a question related to Siemens PLM Software. Answer correctly and a prize will be placed in your inventory. One car distributes shirts with the National Steel Car log.
Register here for the Siemens PLM Software Scavenger Hunt in Second Life

An added benefit for going through the hunt is the chance to win a prize in real life. All avatars correctly answering all six questions will be entered into a drawing for a real life prize. To participate, register for a Second Life account, go through a quick orientation, and then use the search tab in Second Life to search for “Siemens Innovation Connection.” Hit the teleport button and you will be transported to the island where you can begin your hunt. For those of you who are already members of Second Life you can get a slurl here: Siemens Innovation Connection

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Siemens PLM Software – Making CAD Easier and Even More Fun to Use

Siemens PLM Software has hosted a few events recently in the virtual world of Second Life that have been fun and interesting for anyone interested in CAD. And according to their calendar, this is just the beginning. During one of these events, held on May 20, the company hosted a live launch of its Velocity series in Boston while at the same time hosting a live virtual launch in Second Life. Although I would never have been able to attend the Boston event, I was able to find my way into the Second Life event. What a great presentation!
Siemens PLM Software Velocity Series Launch
Photo of Bruce Boes in Second Life and in real life giving a presentation about Siemens PLM Software Velocity Series

By attending in Second Life, I was able to find out the following information presented by Bruce Boes, global vice president, Velocity Series Marketing:

  • The company has 425 channel partners on a global basis
  • 90% of the company’s Velocity business goes through their channel partners
  • Siemens PLM Software currently has a third of the market and is projected to represent half by 2011
  • A case study on Conn-Weld Industries showed a reduction in design time of 66% in their move from 2D to 3D
  • The presentation was fun and energetic and really nothing like I would have expected or had ever seen before having worked in the engineering field for the last 25 years or so. Lets face it, engineers aren’t usually thought of as the life of the party. But Siemens PLM Software showed me that maybe things are changing a little in our field. Throughout the presentation, a guy who introduced himself as the “answer man” would jump onto the stage to offer his own take on what was going on. The distraction provided a unique method of introducing key points.

    Answer Man at Siemens PLM Software Launch
    A photo of the Answer Man who kept interrupting the Siemens PLM Software Velocity Launch Event in Boston.

    Several videos were shown to demonstrate the ease with which products can be designed with the software in the Velocity series. I have to admit that I primarily use CAD for mapping and producing civil engineering plans which are quite a bit different from mechanical drawings. But even I could appreciate the ease with which products could be designed and then changed on the fly.

    Some benefits included the ability to create specific constraints in the drawing such as holding a particular dimension, and then making changes to the product without having to worry about going back and checking or updating each constraint. During the editing process, the software revised everything on the fly as specified. You can even tell the software to always make sure a particular hole or component is always located in the center of another part – thus specifying a constraint based on a formula. That seemed impressive to me. I wish I could do that in my CAD software with my roadway or sewer design as easily as this was done in the Siemens PLM Software.
    Editing a drawing with Siemens PLM Software

    So in answer to why this type of drawing manipulation – termed “synchronous technology” is useful, Boes said it will allow the engineer the freedom to be an engineer and not have to be fully proficient in CAD. And this is good – if engineers can actually start creating the product drawing while they are designing, a significant decrease in time and elimination of mistakes can be realized. And this is what company’s are experiencing. Boes went through several design process examples to show how much time and money can be saved.

    Anyway the grand finale was a man who got on stage and put himself inside a balloon. Now there’s something you don’t get to see everyday. And that part happened at the real life event!
    Man in a Balloon

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    Tapping Creativity and Increasing Productivity

    This blog entry is a follow up to the last one: Losing Your Creativity

    I am sure that Google could serve up a zillion ideas about how to nurture your creativity; I searched my self and found a pretty decent article about creativity in the workplace (you can read it by clicking here). But instead of serving up what you can already find, I decided to just take a simple approach and give you my take on what I see regular folks doing to tap into their creative side, find their mojo, or what ever you want to call it. Most of these are probably fairly basic, and you may already do some of these. If you have some that should be added feel free to add yours in by commenting! The bottom line is to find one or more that works for you and just do it!!!

    Listen to music
    Read a book (for enjoyment – not work)
    Go for a walk
    Go for a boat ride
    Go for a drive and look at the scenery (but remember to watch the road too) and long enough that you stop thinking about all that work or all those problems at the office
    Fish and actually look at the fish you catch
    Visit an art gallery or museum and really look at the exhibits/painting – imagine how they were created
    Swim (but only in deep water if you know how to swim – otherwise wading in shallow water is good too)
    Garden
    Do yoga or other stretching exercises/movements
    Dance
    Paint/Draw (even if it is with your kids with chalk on the sidewalk or with fingerpaints in the kitchen)
    Stroll through a downtown and really look at the architecture and the form and colors of the buildings
    Take photos of common, everyday objects – take some at unusual angles
    Write a story, letter, blog, diary entry, article – even if no one else will ever see it
    Relax in a hot tub or whirlpool or sauna

    In addition to these ideas, I have to add that my time spent in Second Life has definitely enhanced my creative side. Trying to build objects in a virtual world requires you to look at objects in the “real world” in a whole new way because you have to try to figure out how to make them using the tools and constraints of that software. I end up seeing shapes and colors and textures that I never really noticed before.

    I realize that most users of Second Life have already discovered this, but I add it for those who have yet to venture in. Not only is there the opportunity for you to create, but you can gain a new perspective by visiting and viewing the creations of others. I always think of it as being allowed to look into the creative side of someone else’s mind. And looking at what others have created is always a great way to stimulate your own creativity.

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    Losing Your Creativity

    A couple weeks ago, I attended a meeting with our local business association to hear and participate in a discussion about tax increment financing districts (TIFs). Our TIF attorney made a comment at the meeting something to the effect that “infrastructure is not sexy.” At the time, I interjected my disagreement with his assessment; everyone laughed, and I really didn’t think much more about it until later.

    But the more I thought about it, the more I had to admit that the general public would probably agree with our TIF attorney. Why is that? There was a time when people were impressed by the achievements of engineers and public works employees. Our contributions to bettering the lives of people were welcomed and appreciated. Now what we achieve seems to be taken for granted, dismissed, ignored, or worse yet criticized. Only within the confines of our own professional groups are these achievements awarded.

    But most of us are not working each day trying to win an award or mass recognition for our designs or projects. So why should this change in attitude concern the average public works person?

    The critical issue here is that this change in attitude seems to be leading to a complete dismissal of our profession as one that requires creativity in order to deliver a quality product. I realize that even amongst ourselves this may not be apparent because we really do not talk about ourselves or our profession as one that relies on creativity. But each day we face problems that rarely have obvious solutions, and the way we solve them is to tap into our creative abilities to assess situations, many times “think outside of the box,” and then derive the most efficient, acceptable, and cost effective solution that works. And we do this without even thinking about how we do it.

    So if we are automatically doing this, why should we be worried about how others view us and our work? Because at one time, when the general public was still awed by our achievements, we were left alone to create, solve problems, and produce. As the world has progressed, this is no longer the case – the companies and agencies for which we work have made changes to staffing and policies that are now stifling the creativity on which we rely.

    We now have supervisors who are not trained in our field and don’t understand the thought processes and work environments we need in order to achieve success. With fewer employees in our divisions and groups, we are pushed to achieve more in a shorter amount of time. Politicians often do not heed advice from professionals and experts in a certain field which leads to an imposition of policies and regulations that simply do not work.

    I suppose there may still be a lucky few who have not had to experience these types of changes, but from what I can see and from the conversations I have with other professionals, there does not seem to be many of the lucky ones. Instead I hear of engineers who are having to “clock in and out” in a manner similar to that of a factory worker because some accountant for some government agency has decided that the employee might spend an extra 5 minutes or so at lunch.

    For myself, I don’t have that problem, but I do have coworkers who are not in the public works department who simply cannot comprehend why I would need to work uninterrupted on anything. And they are unrelenting in their criticism should I try to just shut the door or not answer the phone for any time period at all.

    So what is the result of these changes? I see and hear about designs and projects that no longer are the best or most efficient or even well thought out. This obviously leads to, at the least, increased construction costs and a waste of resources, and, at the worst, failures and a potential for loss of lives.

    I agree that we as a nation need to invest more in infrastructure, and I think the average citizen would agree, but more importantly, should this funding one day arrive, we need to spend it wisely by coming up with the best designs. And this is only going to happen if we invest in our own creativity despite the obstacles trying to diminish this vital ability.

    Next post – Finding your creativity.

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    Science Conference Held in Sewer

    The second day of the World of Warcraft Science Conference was held in the sewers in the Undercity. Wow, for a civil engineer like me, it doesn’t get any better than that. How can you not love a conference held in a sewer? Unfortunately my husband and I had to show up late because we picked up our daughter earlier that morning from college and brought her home. At least we hit the tail end of the presentation and then were able to participate in the expedition.
    Science Conference in the Sewers of the Undercity
    My husband said it was the best conference he has ever been to. But I can’t help but wonder what the state licensing board would think if I tried to turn in professional development hours for it.

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