A Career in Piping Design for Mechanical Engineers: Building Network

Confused by the title of this article? One may think that what does building network has to do anything with Piping Design? But the network I am going to talk about is not the ‘Social Network’ as defined by Facebook or the recently released movie of the same name, but the network of pipes, flanges, valves etc. meant to transport liquids, gases and a variety of other fluids from one place to other. By the way, in my experience building social network is more important than the one I just talked about.

Piping forms a department in modern EPC (Engineering, Procurement and Construction) companies. EPC companies are in the business of building facilities and infrastructure for other organizations such as oil refineries, power stations, nuclear plants etc. In piping design there are generally three sub areas or groups. These are Piping Layout, Piping Materials and Piping Stress.

Piping Layout aims at routing the maximum network of pipes and other components in a given space without compromising the safety and other parameters. Piping Materials is responsible for proper selection of piping materials, piping thickness calculation and development of technical specifications for various piping components to be used for a particular type of fluid.  Finally Piping Stress identifies and removes any unwanted stresses in piping design to ensure a maximum life of the network.

As a mechanical engineer one may join any of these areas and end up working in all the three after few years. A good knowledge of design fundamentals, solid mechanics, and materials is a must. Additionally, exposure to CAD and CAE software packages such as PDS, CAESAR etc. is desired. One can expect to learn a lot of codes and standards such as ASME, ASTM etc. while working on projects. But, above all an ability to design while balancing safety and cost savings is most desirable. Soft skills such as excellent communication, good negotiation, man management etc. goes without mentioning.

As far as career progression goes one may join as an Associate Design Engineer and depending on the performance can up climb the succession ladder to either become an Engineering Manager (if one wishes to pursue technical line) or can become a Project Manager (if management of people and resources is one’s strength area), in few years. In a project manager’s role one can expect to handle multimillion dollar projects. A lot of work has to be done at project site also, so one can expect to be on deputation in foreign countries for long period of times.

Rewards in terms of money and other benefits can be very good for experienced personnel who are good at their work. Also there is a good earning potential if one is on deputation in foreign countries. On an ending note, I would like to say that investing time and resources in building both types of network i.e. social as well as piping can lead to rich dividends.