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DESPITE WORK-AT-HOME ORDERS, SOFTWARE A Pandemic Did Not Stop SNAFUS, NEW WAYS OF COMMUNICATING AND COLLABORATING, AND PROBLEMS DOING : HANDS-ON DESIGN, ENGINEERS FOUND WAYS TO THRIVE DURING THE PANDEMIC. BY ALAN S. BROWN

COVID-19 first showed up onBob power supplies were critical infrastruc- Meanwhile, the engineers took their Roth’s radar at a company board meet- ture. After one day at home, he recalled powerful desktops home. Once there, ing in late February. Two board mem- his factory workforce back. they linked to RoMan’s virtual private bers said it would be worse than anyone This proved easy since technicians network (VPN), which let them access imagined, and that he should prepare for already worked apart from one another applications and share data securely. disruptions in customer programs and at their own workstations. RoMan RoMan was fortunate to have an up-to- supply chains. installed sanitizer stations and gave date VPN, and after the initial confu- Roth, a second-generation owner and everyone gloves. “Some workers com- sion and testing, everything worked president/CEO of RoMan Man- plained about wearing masks, but seamlessly. ufacturing, a Grand Rapids, they were the same ones who That was not the case for RoMan’s enter- Michigan, industrial trans- complained about wearing prise resource planning (ERP) software, former and power supply safety glasses,” Roth said. They which manages inventory, production, maker, took note. Still, he fell in line. Eventually, RoMan and scheduling. Modern ERP systems was optimistic. Two years ago, relaxed its mask policy, letting automatically input data from engi- his $35 million company had socially distanced technicians neering and sales software. RoMan’s old re-engineered some transformers BOB work alone without them as long ERP system did not. The company had to lower customer costs and sales ROTH as they put them on when they developed workarounds in the office, were booming. came by. but they proved torturous when done Then the pandemic hit, and Roth’s In the office, where employees worked remotely. New ERP software is now a world changed. On March 23, Michigan near one another, most employees RoMan priority. issued a stay-at-home order. That day, worked remotely, though at least two Roth has been forced to adapt to com- he told his 150 workers they should not senior managers came in every day. “If municating and managing via email, come to work the next day. His manage- we’re asking most of our techs to come Zoom, and Microsoft Teams. He is still ment team spent 24 hours online and in daily, then top management ought to getting used to it, but he has noticed found that industrial transformers and show we’re willing to do it, too,” Roth that video conferences move faster. “We said. might talk in a conference room for

16 THE BENT FALL 2020 30 minutes about something we could a smooth transition to working at home, pandemic hit. have handled in 10 or 15 minutes,” he and some, like Google and Facebook, “If you had asked engineering managers said. “Now we’re finished in 10 or 15 say that will continue until mid- in February if they thought it was minutes.” 2021. Engineers are more tied possible for their team to work Despite the churn, RoMan kept produc- to the physical products they remotely, most would have tion up. When demand crashed in June, produce, especially when they answered, ‘No,’” she said. Roth put his factory techs on half-sched- combine hardware, electrical “Now, they are open to it, at ules. circuitry, and software and least part time.” require lots of interdisciplinary Under Michigan’s Workshare program, collaboration. ALISON Olechowski has been on the RoMan paid for healthcare and half OLECHOWSKI phone (or on Zoom) talking salaries and Michigan provided half Typically, engineers work in with remote engineers and unemployment benefits. With the $600 teams in offices where they can managers since the pandemic began. She federal supplementary unemployment bounce ideas off one another, test and found larger companies and teams work- benefit, most workers received the modify prototypes, or step onto the ing on complex projects transitioned equivalent of full pay and RoMan kept factory floor to resolve a problem. Engi- easily to remote work because they were its workforce intact. neering managers rarely let anyone work already sharing models and using soft- from home on a regular basis. Roth says he is ready when demand ware that provided version management bounces back. “We have learned we can Still, studies show that working from and security. navigate through our weaknesses in home can boost job satisfaction and pro- Engineers on smaller teams without systems and communications,” he said. ductivity. In an eye-opening experiment such integrated software figured things in 2014, Stanford University economist out, she said. Their jobs have grown He is not alone. Engineers are problem Nicholas Bloom had 500 volunteers at a solvers, and during the pandemic, most increasingly collaborative and most Chinese travel booking company work had software and processes that let have found ways to work and collaborate remotely. Their productivity rose 13 remotely, build prototypes, and keep them share files, models, and drawings percent and their retention rate doubled, between groups. When the pandemic production up. What they have learned though they were promoted less often. may change the profession for years to hit, many upgraded their VPNs so they come. Today, we are seeing a similar experi- could remotely access applications and ment replicated in real time, though no REMOTE one got to volunteer. The pandemic has Angela Heinze, P.E., NY X ’04, (left), Remote work is nothing new. In the made remote work the rule rather than and Jake Andrew, P.E., (right) are both tech industry, many software teams the exception, said Alison Olechowski, structural engineers at architectural have been virtual or partially virtual a professor of mechanical engineering at engineering giant . for years. Firms like Google, Apple, University of Toronto who was study- The company squeezed months of IT Microsoft, and Facebook have all made ing remote collaboration before the work into weeks to roll out improved remote capabilities. Still, many miss the random interactions that spark creativity and team cohesion when people work together.

THE BENT FALL 2020 17 share files and data on comput- types of problems.” however, Thornton Tomasetti continues ers left running in their offices. It took a big IT push to get to adjust on the fly, Schneider said. His That was the case at Pitts- everyone online at Thornton firm is not the only one. Communica- burgh-based HEBI Robotics, Tomasetti, a major archi- tion makes collaboration and innovation said chief operating officerBob tectural and infrastructure possible and everyone is grappling with Raida. The 13-person company engineering firm with 1500 how to get it right online. BOB makes control systems for robots. RAIDA employees in more than 50 offic- COLLABORATION To demonstrate the system, es worldwide. “The way the firm Today’s open offices encourage collabo- HEBI decided to build a robot is organized, our people move ration and innovation because everyone to inspect infrastructure around it. In and work from around the world,” said can see what everyone else is doing. “If March, Raida was getting ready to fly to Scott Schneider, co-leader of the firm’s you’re a mechanical engineer and you Chevron and demonstrate it when the practice. have a question about the best route for refinery called to say it could not accept His group’s 30 global offices often electrical wiring, you can peak over visitors. collaborate on projects. “We have your cubicle and see if Cathy the When the shutdown hit, HEBI moved a tool set that facilitates this, electrical engineer is busy,” quickly. The engineers packed up their but we needed to fine-tune the Olechowski said. “If not, you workstations and took them home. The technology and make it more can go over and ask a ques- company was already using Google for available.” tion. You can’t just do that on data storage, email, documents, and As the pandemic struck, Zoom.” spreadsheets. Once HEBI upgraded its Thornton Tomasetti deployed HEBI’s Raida agrees. In his VPN to handle the additional traffic, JIM more laptops and accelerated its DOWNS small office, everyone is within the engineers were able to share informa- online communications plat- earshot. Raida could look up and tion as needed. forms, including Ring Central see how someone’s day was going. The company had enough new products (based on Zoom) and Microsoft Teams. Now he must schedule calls to find out. in the pipeline to keep its engineers busy During the first six weeks of the The same is true forJim Downs, who building models and they continued to pandemic, the firm’s IT group did six leads a team of 18 engineers as executive look for ways to slash bill-of-materials to nine months of accelerated work, director of innovation at American Axle costs. When work slowed, some HEBI Schneider said. “We’re using an & Manufacturing in Detroit. “I had to engineers pitched in on marketing. increased level of communications tech- make a point to reach out to people in A faster VPN is not always the answer. nology and we’re constantly thinking place of walking around,” he said. “It Two RoMan employees lived in rural about best practices,” he said. He talks took me a few days to get into the role.” areas with poor Internet and had to with close aides daily, sees everyone Now that he does it regularly, he has work in the office. Meanwhile, in his 90-person New York staff discovered that Skype, a digital phone Steve Chillszycn, CEO of weekly through online group system, uses a red-yellow-green light to Evolve Additive Solutions, project reviews and social show when people are busy, away, or free. Minnetonka, Minn., which events, such as happy hours. He monitors the lights and then calls is building a 3D printer Thornton Tomasetti engi- “somewhat randomly” to check in on to compete with injection neers also connect through people. molding on speed and quality, existing special interest groups, Managing online meetings, on the other got bogged down by other family SCOTT such as a group that discusses members. SCHNEIDER hand, takes a whole new skill set, said drones for inspection. The Vivian Chu, chief technology officer of “My daughters were online for company has embraced biweekly Austin-based Diligent Robots, a startup classes and my wife normally works at town halls to update everyone on where developing hospital service robots. home, so there were bandwidth issues,” things stand—the type of information he said. “My voice would cut out of a they might have picked up through the “We are used to being in a room and Zoom meeting, so I’d have to shut off office grapevine six months ago. brainstorming and whiteboarding,” she said. “We started a project the second my video during the discussion. I don’t When it comes to communications, think I was the only one having these week we were remote and the online

“FOR PEOPLE TO LISTEN,” OLECHOWSKI SAID, “YOU FIRST MUST BUILD UP GOOD WILL AND BE RECOGNIZED AS A PROBLEM-SOLVER. MANY MANAGERS ARE SUCCEEDING BECAUSE THEY ARE BANKING ON THE REPUTATION THEY BUILT BEFORE COVID-19.” Vivian Chu, chief technology officer of Diligent Robotics, with Moxie, a robot designed to help hospital workers. meetings caused more friction than I team member—that is necessary for Linking Moxie to Diligent’s VPN enabled could have ever imagined. People kept teams to brainstorm productively, she her team to reprogram and test the robot interrupting and others got frustrated continued. Teams build it when people remotely. because they couldn’t say what they get to know each other through those wanted to say.” water cooler conversations, side discus- meetings, in the hallway, on the parking sions during meetings, or lunch with At the time, Diligent was using Google deck—none of that happens anymore. colleagues. None of that is possible on Meet, which did not have a grid view This is especially hard on people who Zoom or other meeting apps, Olechow- to show all meeting participants. Once are completing their first year here and ski said. Diligent resolved that problem, Chu and never fully integrated. I don’t exactly the company’s other managers had to Another thing communications apps know how to fix that.” learn new ways to run a meeting. cannot replace is the random interac- REOPENING When someone on the grid would tions that spark innovation. That is Eventually, though, these remote push “unmute,” Chu knew he or she the reason business incubators engineers needed to get their wanted to say something. She would and labs have cool open spaces, hands on the things they are then prompt them to speak. Eventually, Olechowski said. It encour- building. This has happened, everyone began to pick up on the visual ages engineers to talk to each but not without growing cues from the meeting display. One of other and apply the tools of pains. the reasons that worked so well is that one discipline to the problems Chu and her managers had already built of another. Studies have proven To start off, engineers needed that this leads to greater innova- PETER rapport by helping their teams solve ADAMCZYK to make their labs, test spac- problems and meet deadlines. This is tion. “The struggle with remote es, and factories safe. OSHA true for many successful managers. work is that there is no water has published advisory safety cooler, no overheard conversation, no standards and most employers are check- “For people to listen,” Olechowski said, display showing something you recog- ing employee temperatures, installing “you first must build up good will and nize,” she said. sanitizer stations, social distancing, be recognized as a problem-solver. Many having employees wear masks, and managers are succeeding because they Peter Adamczyk, a mechanical going to two half-shifts to reduce the are banking on the reputation they built engineering professor at University number of workers in the plant. Some before COVID-19.” of Wisconsin, misses that collegiality. Online, he communicates directly added automated light switches, faucets, For online meetings to work well, team with students and faculty collaborators and flushers, and switched to push-pull members must also have a sense of regularly. “It’s not great, but it’s direct bathroom doors. “psychological safety,” the willingness communications and we have a chance At Diligent Robotics’ Austin office, Chu to take interpersonal risks—admit a to talk about stuff,” he said. “Everyone originally let two engineers at a time problem, ask for help, contradict a senior else that I would see at department sign up for two-hour time slots to go in

THE BENT FALL 2020 19 and work on hardware and prototypes. a tight schedule,” CEO Slade Gardner NY, tests and formulates plastic “toner” Unfortunately, the engineers’ can-do said. “Our suppliers were telling us that used to deposit a full layer of material attitude led to chaos. Engineers would things were going to be late. Our electri- at a time. A few of those engineers took sign up, but unexpected complications cal vendor couldn’t install hardware and some equipment home with them so would drag their project out for many machinery in the shop on schedule. We they could continue to run tests in their more hours or even days. That backed up tried to coordinate shipments and it was basements. everyone else waiting to get in. chaos.” Evolve subcontracted the machine’s Chu’s team solved the problem in two So, Gardner’s team decided to control modules to local firms and most of them ways. First, they only allowed engineers the only thing they could control. Their remained on schedule. Since this was to sign up for a full day. Second, they put six techs began running two shifts per the company’s sixth SVP generation, it their robots on the company VPN. This day to get ahead on parts they could already had a model that could simulate let them install software remotely and print in-house. They also printed parts minor changes accurately. One new part, monitor the results via video cameras. they could not source. When nearby job however, involved a major change. The Big Metal, a Denver-based startup, shops closed, Big Metal used its printer’s engineers bought a sensor and tested it remained open because it was working CNC machine to cut flat stock, mill at home to simulate some of its behavior, on an unpowered cargo ship for the U.S. chamfers and slots, and make mating but had to wait until they returned to Marines. The company has developed a holes and join plates. “It worked just their offices in June to validate the part’s 3D printer that combines metal wire arc fine in a crisis and we finished the boat,” model. Gardner said. deposition with five-axis CNC machin- CHANGES ing. It can print and machine complex Meanwhile, at Evolve, Chills- structures directly on metal slabs. cyzn was running into Somehow, the engineers made They were using it to build a prototype problems with his highspeed it work. They brought their 50-foot-long aluminum craft— large 3D printer, which is based work home, found ways to ac- enough to hold two ISO shipping on a commercial Kodak color cess the design and simulation containers—that the Marines could tow laser printer. After 10 years of tools they needed, developed ashore. development, Evolve promised TUCKER new ways to communicate, and to deliver its first Scaled Volume MARION returned to their workshops if Big Metal was halfway through the not always their offices. project when COVID-19 struck. “The Production (SVP) printers to world went into chaos and we were on customers at the end of 2020. In mid- “Our online tools have saved us,” March, his shop closed. Tucker Marion, associate professor of “If you’re building an electromechanical entrepreneurship at Northeastern Uni- Slade Gardner, CEO of Big Metal machine, you have to be in front of the versity, said. Marion pioneered the use Additive, was halfway through a project machine,” he said. “How do you take of many of these tools and procedures as to build a 50-foot-long lander for the an entrepreneur 15 years ago, when he Marines when the virus struck. He used that work and try to do it at home?” his hybrid metal 3D printer to make and Yet, that is exactly what Evolve did. The put together virtual teams of engineers mill parts when his supply chain broke company’s materials lab in Rochester, from around the world. Since then, he down. “THE PAST FEW MONTHS HAVE BEEN A VERY FAST LEARNING CURVE,” HE SAID. “NOW, ALMOST EVERYONE IS ON THE SAME PLAYING FIELD. FORTUNATELY, WE’VE HAD 13 YEARS OF THE APPLE IPHONE, FACETIME, AND SKYPE, SO WE’VE ALL BEEN EXPOSED TO THESE SORTS OF THINGS.” has been preaching for companies to have. You could save millions.” for too long. He thinks shorter meet- embrace greater digital collaboration. Of course, remote work also has its ings, 15 to 30 minutes with a focused “The past few months have been a very negatives. agenda, are more effective. fast learning curve,” he said. “Now, “Women, for example, often found He also worries about what he calls almost everyone is on the same playing working at home a good option,” “fidelity of communications.” In an field. If this had happened 10 years Olechowski said. Now that the pandem- office, he explained, if someone wants ago, we would have been in a worse ic closed schools and daycare, remote to add a feature to a design, he or she position. Most early adaptors were not work puts additional burdens on many could point to where it goes. That’s comfortable with collaboration tools. women, who are often the ones who also not possible in text. Instead, engineers Fortunately, we’ve had 13 years of the care for children and elderly adults. should augment their instructions Apple iPhone, FaceTime, and Skype, so and suggestions with models or screen we’ve all been exposed to these sorts of Not everyone has made an easy adjust- shots to ensure others will understand things.” ment to remote work. Some members of exactly what they are talking about. His Diligent’s engineering team, especially Many engineers are still discovering the research shows that the more specific the younger engineers and new hires with power of their digital tools. Chu, for comments are up front, the less ambi- less social connections to the team, example, knew she could link her robots guity and confusion down the line. appear more disconnected. “It can be to a VPN, but never saw the value in it. demotivating,” Chu said. Online tools also make it easy for AAM’s Downs learned to create Skype engineers to not give issues their full subgroups to get an entire team on a call Schneider, meanwhile, is looking to attention. “You may think your com- with one click. He and Thornton Toma- balance office and remote when people ment resolves that issue,” Marion said. setti’s Schneider now use Teams to share return to work. His team has proven it “But maybe it didn’t. We all get lazy and and co-edit files. Wisconsin’s Adamczyk can execute projects remotely, but online maybe we reply with a thumbs up. But will continue to use digital tools rather meetings cannot replicate the creative did you really pay enough attention to than whiteboards so he can document sparks that happen when everyone is the problem when you replied? What design and software changes more easily. together. sounds good may not be the appropriate Forced to embrace digital life, manag- Prior to the pandemic, he noted, engi- response.” ers have grown more comfortable with neers who called into conferences often Communications and collaboration remote work. RoMan’s Roth is one of seemed “a step behind,” perhaps because are, as every engineer we spoke with them. “Engineers used to ask if they they could not read the expressions of said, works in progress. In a few short could work at home, and I’d always say, the people in the room. months, COVID-19 has gone from a ‘No, we’re a manufacturing company, Schneider personally hopes Zoom and potential supply chain issue in China we do our work on site,’” he said. “Now other new tools will change that. He has into a pandemic that has changed the I’m kind of a convert. Our people have two young children, but his job keeps engineering world. It will probably take demonstrated they can do it, that they’re him away until late. Working a day or years before everyone has truly mastered accountable and productive.” AAM’s two at home would allow him—and the best practices these changes have Downs agrees. In fact, he was surprised many others—to be present for his created. to see productivity rise 25 percent once family. his engineers got on a task. Communications remain problematic as ALAN S. BROWN has written broadly AAM’s leadership had worried that well. Most engineering teams have mas- about engineering, technology, and employees would abuse time at home. tered the technical aspects of using such for more than 30 years. He is a board member of Science Writers tools as Meet, Skype, Slack, Teams, and Instead, many of Downs’ engineers are in New York, a writer for The Kavli so grateful to eliminate their two-hour Zoom. Managers have generally learned Foundation, and a former senior editor commute, they are instead using some of to use them for small and large meetings of ASME’s Mechanical Engineering mag- that time to work on projects. and to communicate transparently so azine and contributes to a wide range their dispersed workforce knows where of publications. He graduated New “It’s a step forward for industry, people, things stand. College at Hofstra University magna the environment, everything,” Downs cum laude in 1974 and can be reached said. “It’s a wake-up call for industry. Still, Marion worries about Zoom at [email protected]. Imagine you’re GM and you only need fatigue. Managers often schedule too half as much office space as you used to many online meetings and they go on THE BENT FALL 2020 21