Use Executive Lunches to Build Bridges With Employees

Use Executive Lunches to Build Bridges With EmployeesUse Executive Lunches to Build Bridges With EmployeesOne of the top jobs of the Chief Executive Officer (CEO) and senior executives is to maintain good relations with all of a companys various stakeholders. These stakeholders include shareholders, board members, customers, suppliers and business partners, and of course, employees. However, it is sometimes challenging for CEOs and otherbei top executives to get to know their employees and importantly listen to their ideas and concerns. This article offers suggestions for strengthening top executive and CEO communication through a simple, valuable lunch-and-learn program. A Simple but Effective Format for Executive and Employee Interaction An executive outreach program does not have to be complicated or costly. This simple format helps top executives prioritize and realize face time with employees, and importantly, it gives employees an opportunity to ask questions and suggest id easin a comfortable setting. Employees have the opportunity to raise questions about a firms results, strategies, and overall direction.Executives have the opportunity to gauge employee understanding and buy-in to strategies and programs.Both groups get the chance to bond at a level beyond the traditional hallway greeting. The CEO and executives leave these meetings informed and better aware of the concerns and challenges of their employees. Employees typically appreciate the effort and opportunity to hear from and ask questions in a more intimate setting than the common and much larger town hall meetings. New Employee Orientation With the Executives One software firm set up a monthly lunch meeting where the executives and new employees met and shared backgrounds and got to know each other. This was a nice, low-cost method of breaking the ice with new employees and helping them feel comfortable engaging with the firms top management. As time progressed, the program was expanded to include all employees. As the company grew, the executives each took responsibility for meeting with a set number of employees to ensure that every person had a chance to join a lunch once per year. An example that highlighted the importance of this event waswhen a new employee looked at the person next to her and asked, What do you do here. The individual answered, Im the CEO, and I am interested in what you think I should do. They had a great laugh and a good exchange of ideas. Establishing a CEO and Executive Lunch Program The logistics of a Lunch with the CEO program depend on the size, location, and culture of the company. Sample programs are described below. Elements from these examples can be rearranged to create a Lunch with the CEO program that is appropriate for your company. Small company or small programOnce a month, the CEO or a small group of executives select a few individuals to invite to lunch. If the company is very small, the CEO or coordinating executive s hould invite the employee directly. If the company is a little larger, the executives may ask for recommendations from their direct reports.Medium-sized company or programEach department nominates someone to have lunch with the executives. The department manager can select a representative or ask for volunteers. Some departments may let the employees within the group pick the person to attend. Some may vote on who to nominate.If the company has a cafeteria or lunchroom, it can be a good idea to let all employees see the meeting in progress. After all, a good program will ensure that everyone gets their chance at some point in time. Large company or programNominations are submitted by the various departments. A small group or 3 or 4 is selected based either to reward superior performance or by rotation. These individuals go to a conference room or boardroom for a catered lunch and their opportunity for dialog with management. Critical Success Factors in Making a Lunch With the Exe cutives Program Work It is easy for programs like this to stray into something less than positive. Here are some important success factors in bringing these programs to live and keeping them valuable for all parties Commitment is commitment. If the executives roll out this idea for a monthly lunch and do not consistently live up to this commitment, then the program will earn a bad reputation and quickly lose the interest of employees.The executives must come to the table ready to share information about the firms strategies and key programs.Employees must come to the events and quickly move beyond their discomfort over engaging with the firms senior leaders and start asking challenging questions.If the executives commit to taking action or following-up on an item, well, commitment is commitment. The executives should consider publicizing the key questions raised by employees at lunch, to the broader organization...along with appropriate answers. The Bottom Line for Now Lunch is never the issue with these meetings. The value comes from the chance for all parties to meet each other, raise issues, offer ideas and to begin forging new relationships. This is one low cost, high touch way to strengthen morale and improve employee engagement.

Concrete Key to Taller Wind Turbines

Concrete Key to Taller Wind Turbines Concrete Key to Taller Wind Turbines Standard wind turbine towers are routinely designed to be 80 meters tall because that is about the maximum height that can be achieved with the limits of the highway system for transporting and delivering major parts.Of course, taller towers would allow the capture of faster, more sustainable wind energy. To this end, wind energy companies are exploring other design options that would enable hub heights of 100 meters or higher. Steel would not be the material of choice because the increased base dimensions for taller steel towers would require the bottom section to be transported in multiples pieces and assembled onsite, adding considerable time and cost to the operation.To overcome this challenge, researchers at Iowa State University have developed a new tower design that uses concrete, not steel, as the construction material. Concrete towers could reach heights of 100 meters and utilize the current transporta tion system for delivery of parts.Three High-Strength MaterialsSri Sritharan, prof of civil, construction, and environmental engineering at Iowa State University in Ames, has proposed a new tower concept that utilizes precast ultra-high-wertmiger zuwachs concrete (UHPC), high-strength concrete (HC) segments, and high-strength prestressing strands. Sritharan has provided three tower designs that have different connection systems (high-strength bolts, post-tensioning, and in-situ UHPC) between the precast segmentsThe test assembly of concrete cell panels. Preassembled cells are later erected into tall concrete wind turbine towers. Image Iowa State UniversityHigh-strength (HC) columns, UHPC panels, and bolted connectionsbolted connections are dry and require no curing.High-strength (HC) columns, UHPC panels, post-tensioned connectionspost-tensioning connections can easily eliminate or control cracks on the panels and have more tolerance compared to bolted connections.High-strength (HC) columns, HC panels, UHPC in-situ jointsthese joints provide even more tolerance and could be more cost-effective.The design of steel towers is governed by fatigue load, which is tied to duration of life chosen for the towers, typically about 20 to 25 years, says Sritharan. Concrete towers are not controlled by fatigue UHPC provides excellent durability properties. Targeting a concrete tower for a lifespan of 40 to 50 years is not unreasonable.Each tower design consists of six exterior columns. Concrete panels completely enclose the tower interior and allow the tower to act as a composite structure during loading, without the need to be rigidly connected to the foundation. The columns and panels are segmented into manageable sizes for easy transportation and assembly on site. Each design reaches a hub height of 100 meters and is ready for potential field implementation.Future PossibilitiesI believe the steel-shell concept for towers has reached its height limits, says Sritharan. Whi le we can push the height limit incrementally, tower design needs some transformative changes to go much higher. Our concept does just this We are basically starting at 100 meters and can easily go higher. We are also eliminating transportation challenges and high costs associated with transportation of steel towers.Sritharan stresses that many mechanical engineers dont consider concrete when it comes to solving structural problems. This is in partly due to the lower strength of concrete compared to steel and their inexperience with concrete. With the introduction of UHPC with 200-MPa strength, we have a material that has the best of both concrete and steel, but needs newer design concepts to be fully utilized, he says.Part of this inspiration can be gained by looking at other industries and learning from their experiences with innovative, cost-effective solutions. For example, the building industry uses plenty of prefabricated components today to reduce construction costs and impro ve quality. An 80-meter tower compares to a 21-story building, but special transportation is not needed when the building is constructed using prefabricated modules, says Sritharan.The next step is installing a prototype tower in the field. Sritharan is confident that his new design will prove to be better than todays technology for taller towers.Our system will save costs on transportation, raw materials, and construction, he says. Construction costs will also come down as more towers are built. Our tower design is more durable than steel and can be easily tailored to meet any turbine size and tower height.Mark Crawford is an independent writer. For Further DiscussionWith the introduction of ultra-high performance concrete (UHPC) with 200 MPa strength, we have a material that has the best of both concrete and steel, but needs newer design concepts to be fully utilized.Prof. Sri Sritharan, Iowa State University

ASME Supports State-Led Next Generation Science Standards Initiative

ASME Supports State-Led Next Generation Science Standards Initiative ASME Supports State-Led Next Generation Science Standards Initiative ASME Supports State-Led Next Generation Science Standards InitiativeASME President Madiha El Mehelmy Kotb recently sent a letter expressing ASMEs support for the next generation science standards (NGSS) to the state-led Next Generation Science Standards Writing Committee that developed them. The ASME Board on Education has been actively engaged throughout the NGSS process, serving as a key stakeholder and providing comments on two public drafts and one confidential draft of the standards. The new standards fruchtmark the first time that engineering has been included in science standards for K-12 curricula in a significant way. For the past two years, the 41-member writing team led by 26 states and their broad-based teams have worked together with partners to create the standards, which identify science and engineering practices and content that all K-12 students should master in order to be fully prepared for college, careers and citizenship, according to the team.In her letter, Kotb writes, ASME is very supportive in general of the efforts taken to both define engineering design and to integrate engineering practices throughout K-12 science learning in the NGSS. The meaningful integration of engineering practices in the NGSS will promote critical thinking, provide new levels of relevancy to motivate students to learn science content, make engineering and engineering careers mora accessible to all students, and prepare the next generation to solve global problems facing humanity. Kotb continues by saying, The authors have defined engineering well, and their elaboration to break it down into three phases of solving problems (A. Defining and delimiting engineering problems, B. Designing solutions to engineering problems, and C. Optimizing the design solution) is promising. However, the reality that now should be addressed is t hat the systematic process of performing engineering design is unfamiliar to the vast majority of teachers. ASME looks forward to working with state stakeholders and the engineering community to be a resource to fully implement engineering concepts in the NGSS. To review the full text of the letter, please visit https//www.asme.org/about-asme/get-involved/advocacy-government-relations/policy-publications/position-statements. Additional information about the NGSS can be found at nextgenscience.org/next-generation-science-standards. Melissa Carl, ASME Government Relations