SSOE

High-Tech Engineering Nothing New

If you walk through the offices of SSOE, you’ll likely see engineers using the latest in computer technology to design their projects. Do they see this as a fun opportunity or a daunting task keeping up with technology all the time? Dave Sipes, senior vice president of the firm’s industrial process group, responds, “For the most part, they really love it. They like to use the newest, latest tools and things like 3D machine design.” And he adds, “Our clients like it because they can get a visual image of what you’re designing and how it’s going to work.”

This partly explains why SSOE finds itself on a fast track, having grown 100 percent in the last four years and added eight locations in the last two years. Headquartered in Toledo, Ohio, the engineering and architecture firm has 19 offices, with others in Arizona, California, Illinois, Iowa, Michigan, Nebraska, North Carolina, Tennessee, Washington, D.C., and Shanghai, China. Of the firm’s 1000 employees, about half work in the Toledo office.

“We’re into a lot of different markets,” Sipes says in describing SSOE’s business. Market sectors include retail, energy, industrial, and science and technology. Industrial sectors include automotive, food and beverage, chemical, glass, manufacturing, personal care, and pharmaceutical. “Our business model over the years has been to stay more diversified. It has served us well. About five or six years ago, we started to sharpen our focus on our key markets.”

The firm began in 1948 when 31-year old Al Samborn, a structural engineer, returned home to Toledo after completing his military service to launch his own engineering firm. He soon added a partner, Jack Steketee, and expanded their services and client roster to include Ford Motor Company. Years later, they took on two architects as partners to become Samborn, Steketee, Otis and Evans, Architects and Engineers, later shortened to SSOE. Foreshadowing things to come, in the 1960s, SSOE gained notoriety as the first A/E firm in the Midwest to use in-house computers in the design process.

Today, SSOE invests heavily in such technology, as evidenced by the $7.5 million it has budgeted for 2009. As a goal, the company strives to design 100 percent of its projects with 3D CAD and has nearly achieved that this year.

Company officials say using techniques like 3D machine design and building information modeling (BIM) makes the process of going from concept to finished project more streamlined, accurate, and cost effective. These tools allow complex designs to be developed, visualized in 3D, and then built in the computer before spending any money on construction.

This means that with 3D machine design, an engineer can design and test a machine virtually. In virtual reality fashion, “You can animate the machine and show the person who would be using it how it’s going to work,” Sipes explains. And using a 3D printer similar to an ink-jet type, they can fabricate component models out of low-cost resin for testing in an actual machine.

Besides machines, Sipes explains, “We do a lot of 3D modeling of our plant designs. You can see what the plant will look like and what it will take to operate it, and it can be used for everything from management presentations and requests for funding to a training tool for people who will actually operate the facility.”

Sipes, 49, manages SSOE’s industrial process business unit, which designs chemical plants, glass manufacturing facilities, and refineries. A mechanical engineer with a B.S. degree from Michigan Tech University, he worked in Houston, Texas in the oil industry for a while after college. He left there in the mid 1980s to join SSOE, where he’s been for 22 years.

“It requires quite a bit of specialized expertise. A lot of chemical engineers and instrumentation and controls engineers are involved,” Sipes says in describing his group’s work. “Controls are very important in these kinds of plants, to make sure you’ve got things like temperatures, pressures, and flowrates controlled to precise limits. We can actually simulate some of the chemical processes electronically in terms of how the reactions will take place and what the temperatures and pressures will be. That helps you design the vessels, tanks, piping, and pumps used to make the particular product.”

BIM works similarly to 3D machine design but with buildings instead. The architect or engineer can attach layers of information to any object in the plan, including things like part numbers, date of installation, and maintenance information. When changes are made to one part of the design, all related changes occur automatically. This assists not only in designing and constructing a facility but also long afterwards with functions such as operation, management, and maintenance.

Besides technology, SSOE also gets involved heavily in sustainability.
Its Sustainable and Renewable Solutions section helps clients assess, plan, and execute a wide range of green initiatives, from master planning and LEED certification to simpler things like analyzing clients’ utility rates. They offer a holistic approach to renewable energy, conservation, and sustainable design.
“There has been a big worldwide surge in demand for that over the last five years. Those types of things have really helped drive our growth,” Sipes says. “It’s been exciting for our employees to work on those types of projects. It’s new, different, and leading edge. They really enjoy the opportunity to be involved in this.”

SSOE has about 35 LEED accredited professionals on staff, and they’re doubling that this year. LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) is a voluntary standard for the design of sustainable facilities sponsored by the U.S. Green Building Council.

“There are a lot things you can do up front with energy efficient design, natural lighting, water-saving type strategies, and integrating locally available materials into the design of a facility,” Sipes explains. “Our clients are very interested in it, and they like us to present those options to them.”

As one example, Volkswagen Group of America announced last August that it had hired SSOE to oversee the architecture, engineering, and construction management for the company's new production facility in Chattanooga, Tennessee. They plan to build an environmentally responsible production facility. SSOE will staff the project with approximately 30 employees on site over 14 to 16 months.
Besides buildings, SSOE also has expertise in the alternative energy field, including the fuel cell, solar, and wind energy supply chains as well as ethanol and biodiesel production. According to Sipes, “With the solar energy market, we’ve been working for people that actually manufacture the panels to some of the suppliers that make the components that go into those solar panels.”

SSOE has developed a proprietary process that saves space, energy, and cost in the production of biodiesel. They have numerous biofuels projects across the country turning out at least 30 million gallons a year at each facility. The firm provides plant engineering and installation in conjunction with construction partners.

For SSOE, high technology and sustainable design combine to give them an advantage in today’s slow economy. “Value is added by using those technologies that clients wouldn’t get otherwise,” Sipes remarks. “So we’ve seen an excellent response. Whenever we show those types of technologies to our clients and put them in place, they don’t want to go back to doing it the old way. So that, combined with the sustainability, has helped us grow.”

Snapshot

Company:
SSOE

Type:
Engineering and architecture firm

Location:
Headquartered in Toledo, Ohio with offices around the country

Website:
www.ssoe.com

Types of engineers they use:
According to Dave Sipes, senior vice president of the industrial process group, “We look at it by the markets we serve. We have all the various disciplines on board, from mechanical and electrical and civil to the more specialized like chemical, fire protection.”

Outlook for hiring engineers:
“We’re selectively hiring. Over the past several years, when we were growing, we were literally hiring hundreds of engineers as we doubled in size. Right now, due to the economic times, we still have specific needs to fill, but like everyone else, we’re trying to be cautious about our staffing levels. There’s a demand for mechanical engineers that have solid industry experience in the markets they serve. That could be, say, the food industry, which is doing well in this economy,” Sipes reports. “In the industrial process market, a lot of our business over the last five years has been driven by higher the energy prices and everybody trying to save energy. Now with energy prices back down, there’s still a focus on that, but it’s not as pronounced as it was even a year ago. But there still are needs for chemical and mechanical engineers, in particular, with strong industry experience.”

What they look for in engineers:
As for experience, Sipes says they hire “All types. We’ve got a real strong student intern and coop program. We have a large group of students rotating through assignments, and we’ll hire many of those upon graduation. We also bring in entry-level people. That’s balanced by the need for more seasoned mid- and senior-level people to help provide leadership on projects. It’s balanced across the levels of experience.” They have a program with the University of Toledo, and other offices work with other universities.

Contact for submitting resumes:
Jason Morris, jmorris@ssoe.com

You can also submit them to jobs@ssoe.com or by visiting
www.ssoe.com/careers and applying directly.