RAMS Engineer - What I offer to your Engineering Organization...
Jim Durling
Reliability, Maintainability, and Safety (RAMS) Senior Engineering Specialist (Consultant)
Jim Durling -?Aviation, Defense, Energy, Transportation, and Space Engineering Consultant?
In my best words, I want to state concisely?what I provide to a potential engineering client. I believe that this is why LinkedIn was developed.?So here I am wandering around the world as an engineering consultant (hanging out my consultant shingle). This is a summary of my engineering background. I want to be of benefit to your organization.
EXPERIENCE?
In my years as an engineer, I have the experience, knowledge, and wisdom to understand the subtlety of what is required to produce advanced engineered systems and products.?
Reliability, Maintainability, and Safety (RAMS) Engineering?Background?
So I have performed Reliability, Maintainability, and Safety (RAMS) analyses on many engineered system types throughout my career. Most of the entire spectrum of RAMS has been covered. One thing to consider, I was the RAMS Subject Matter Expert (at Bombardier Aerospace (BA)?that SME was called RAMS Champion) for one of the four major airframe manufacturers in the world, with even some short stints as a RAMS engineering manager, too.?
These types of engineered products I have produced for reliability, maintainability, and safety analyses – including, but not limited to:
In addition, I have prepared RAMS Program Plans used to define the Statement of Work for engineered product projects.
The products that I have supported with the RAMS analyses:?
---
My current company is a Paris-based company (Sopera Steria), a Canadian subsidiary CS Canada, with headquarters in Montreal. I perform RAMS and System engineering for CS Canada.
Our client is Los Angeles-based Sykryse, a Fly by Wire (FBW) and all Glass Cockpit rotorcraft developer. The Skyryse One rotorcraft is an extremely complex and innovative nascent technology aircraft with the SkyOS operational system. The Skyryse One is a modified Robinson R66 helicopter.
_
My contract task was with Near Earth Autonomy in Pittsburgh to perform RAMS analyses for a NASA-funded Kaman Kargo autonomous aircraft.
Recently in 2021, with the Beta Technologies Alia A-250 (eVTOL). I reviewed novel electric aircraft systems such as battery, battery management, and electrical distribution systems from an R&M engineering perspective.
During my employment at Bombardier, I provided RAMS engineering expertise as the Champion for the Aerospace Division on the entire Bombardier Aircraft Product Line: Amphibious, Business Jet (Challenger, Global Express, and Learjet), Commercial (CSeries), and Regional Jet family of products. The Champion role included coordination with the experts at Bombardier worldwide sites (Belfast, Northern Ireland, Toronto, Ontario, Canada, and Wichita, Kansas, USA).
As a RAMS Engineering Professional,?I reduced the sixty Critical Maintenance Review (CMR) items on the RJ-200 to just fifteen. Each CMR item is an extremely costly and time-consuming issue with an aircraft fleet. The RJ-200 operational and maintenance cost was reduced significantly. The result was that this kept Bombardier in market competition with a rival RJ competitor who had seventeen CMR, to begin with. I led this effort with a team of four people, including two engineering Ph.D. personnel.
One of the questions that I repeatedly answer in interviews is: which specifications I have worked on? Quick answer hundreds if not thousands of them: ARP, FAR, JAR, EASA, MIL-STD, MIL-SPEC, MIL-HDBK, NASA, NATO, and so on.?The funniest of all of them is the Department of War spec (pre-DOD)!?
https://www.dhirubhai.net/pulse/ive-been-working-railroad-jim-durling/
Product Development?
Within the Product Development domain, I have both broad-focused and specific narrow-focused experience.?Broad Product Development experience included the continued development of?Diagram 1.?This is one of the key reasons why Bombardier Aerospace launched fifteen new aircraft products in fifteen years. Some of these products were complete clean-sheet designs (Global Express, C-Series, some Learjet aircraft). While other aircraft were major modification programs (extension of the airframe, avionics suite upgrade, more fuel-efficient engine redesign, and so on).?Refer to Diagram 1.?
Diagram 1 - Product Development / Bombardier Engineering Aerospace System ( PDS / BES)
I even named a few of the BES milestones, that were used by 30,000 BA employees plus hundreds of supplier personnel of suppliers, along with the regulatory authority (FAA, TC, EASA, and so on). This chart represents approximately one thousand deliverable items that are owned by seventy various BA organizations called functions. I worked with a small team of development engineers to strategically plan how to create and maintain the knowledge contained in BES. This was the master template process of how to conceive, define, produce, integrate, manufacture, test, certify, and support aircraft products through the entire development cycle. You could use the same process to design a business jet or a commercial aircraft. This was the standardized design process used by Bombardier.?
The supplier, input, process, output, and customer (SIPOC) - An in-process improvement, a SIPOC?is a tool that summarizes the inputs and outputs of one or more processes in table form. Imagine a process diagram with seventy organizations (contained in the rows) across seven major phases (contained in the columns). Then you have visualized what the Product Development Life Cycle is. Major functional organizations such as Engineering, Customer Support, Finance, Legal, Marketing, Project Management,?and Regulatory Authority. These functions are broken down even further. For example - Engineering breaks down to forty sub-functions: Advanced Design, Airworthiness, Avionics,...., Thermodynamics, and Wiring.?Each one of these functions has deliverables, practices, procedures, process maps, and associated templates.?The BES organization managed this documentation.?I have worked with each of the seventy BES functions to create deliverables, practices, procedures, and process maps used to develop Bombardier Aircraft products. There is so much knowledge contained in what BES is.?This is a great tool for product development and has been replicated at some other aerospace firms similarly.?
My specific Product Development experience includes the establishment of approximately fifty-five RAMS engineering deliverables with about forty Bombardier Manual Practices and Procedures. Along with input to the process map activity. Example - How a Technical Requirement Document as used by the Advanced Design function would define the redundancy as the RAMS requirements were flowed down to RAMS then the analysis would be prepared and placed in a Safety Certification report?that would then go into system certification reports to be given to Transport Canada (or the FAA, or EASA) regulatory authority.??
In addition to the RAMS work, I was the Subject Matter Expert for the Integration (INTG) function at Bombardier (called a Champion). The integration included: system-to-system, system-to-structure, and structure-to-structure.
As an example of INTG: We worked to establish standardized flight mission profiles to further assist with the development of aircraft programs. This allowed commonality among the various aircraft programs and the primary function was to design the aircraft with common flight profiles: Taxi, takeoff, ascent, climb, cruise, descent, approach, land, and taxi. Each aircraft program, up until the release of this procedure, had subtle variations, which affected some engineering analyses (aerodynamics, RAMS, engine performance, and so on). Or prepare the Integrated Aircraft Health practice. This is a standardized practice for the design of diagnostics of the aircraft. Other practices allowed further aircraft development from what was learned on previous aircraft projects.?
Program Management
Through the years I have worked on at least a hundred different projects. There are many engineered products that I have had the privilege to be associated with. I have been part of the project, program, and product planning throughout my entire career. My highest position was as the Project Manager for the Covert Aircraft Recovery (CARTS), a multi-billion dollar project for the US Navy. We worked with the DOD to provide a cost-effective and logistically effective platform for aircraft carriers. This was a fixed cost. Additional Project Engineering work was as a RAMS manager and engineer.??
At a company just outside New York City called MIDSCO, I worked as the RAMS Manager. Lots of detailed cost, schedule, and deliverable dates were established.?
Along with my RAMS engineering experience while part of a holistic, entire project perspective. I actively planned Project Management and RAMS deliverables throughout my entire career on all projects listed within my profile.?
Within BES / PD,S?many annual process improvement projects were initiated and tracked accordingly. All of this is project management. In the early days of the CSeries, I was assigned to Project Management and Product Planning (long before it went pear-shaped).?
Technical Documentation?
An outplacement consultant once reminded me that not everyone understands controlled documentation and that I should add that to the list of talent that I possess. The key is to understand revision control. This is extremely important for any regulated industry in which revision control is well understood. The accepted use of revision control?is mandatory in most industries. Product liability and certification are why revision control is required.?
In my life, I have prepared hundreds of documents used to certify advanced technology products in several industries. Refer to the Product Development section.?
I conceptualized the Bombardier Aerospace Knowledge Management (KM) System ten-year master plan. Coordinated effort with the Bombardier Transportation Division in Berlin, Germany. This effort led to the leverage of what was done in the Transport Division with the Aerospace Division. This was the first step in knowledge sharing to determine the steps to the future KM System. The plan was incorporated and handed off to a newly organized team of KM specialists to implement with the entire Bombardier product development community.
?Training?
At Bombardier, I produced,?prepared, maintained, and performed training programs. Coached and trained any individual or organization associated with the BES / PDS, including regulatory officials, subcontractors, and suppliers. This resulted in a better collective understanding of how to produce aircraft products across the entire product development life cycle by all involved parties across many cultures, countries, and time zones. I have provided training for hundreds if not thousands of product development personnel. My largest training class attendance was 180 people. I enjoy this a lot!
As BES / PDS?Trainer, I had the responsibility to prepare and present design engineering training material to all BA engineering staff.?The quality of my training as rated by trainees was tracked for 10 years. Each year I was ranked first, second, or third best trainer for the entire decade (2001-2010) out of 40-50 trainers per year.
Career Engineering Projects?
Refer to?Diagram?2?for the complete list of engineering projects to which I have dedicated my working life. I want to add a few of your organization's products to my list.??
Diagram?2 -?Jim Durling Career Engineering Project List?
Add Skyryse Fly by Wire helicopter to the list, too.
EDUCATION?
Point Park University (1984)?- Pittsburgh, PA, USA
Bachelor of Science -?Electrical Engineering
Focus: Electrical, Electronics, and Mechanical Engineering.
Point Park University Engineering is accredited by the Engineering Technology Accreditation Commission (ABET). Point Park's campus is the second-largest footprint in Downtown Pittsburgh.?And Point Park University is an integral part of the Pittsburgh area.
领英推荐
Pittsburgh Technical College / Penn Technical Institute (1979) - Pittsburgh, PA, USA
Associate of Specialized Technology, Electronics Technology
?The curriculum included extensive study of the practical application of electrical and electronic devices along with associated theory. Penn Tech was acquired by Pittsburgh Technical College.
University of California Los Angeles (UCLA) - Los Angeles, CA, USA
Continuing Education, Maintainability, Availability, and Operational Readiness
Preventive maintenance engineering can significantly contribute to productivity and cost reduction in any industry dependent upon equipment. This course provides a comprehensive guide to advanced strategy and procedure for this vital function within product development.
Pennsylvania State University - State College, PA, USA
Continuing Education, Engineer in Training Review for Professional Engineering Certification
The College of Engineering encourages all engineers to work toward professional registration of the license as a Professional Engineer (PE) with this Engineer in Training (EIT) Review continuing education course. States license engineers just as they license other professions. The licensing process is designed to protect the health, safety, and welfare of the public from fraudulent and unethical practitioners.
University of Pittsburgh - Pittsburgh, PA, USA
Continuing Education, East Asian Studies Japanese Science Technology Management Program (JSTMP)
The JSTMP program was intended to promote technology transfer between Japan and the United States. I surveyed Science, Technology, Engineering, and Management (STEM) graduate courses in conjunction with both East Asian Studies and the Katz Business School.
University of Kansas
Continuing Education, Maintainability, and?Supportability?in Aircraft Design / Fundamental?Avionics
The Maintainability course presented the techniques to factor reliability, maintainability, and supportability into system design during the development phase. In addition, the course discussed maintainability issues, such as accessibility, standardization, modularization, testability, mobility, interchangeability, and serviceability. The Fundamental Avionics course provided a very broad overview of avionics. It covers the evolution of the avionics industry and its usage to the present to give the student an understanding of why avionics is what it is today, in addition to understanding how avionics works. The course covers legacy systems still in use and the latest state-of-the-art systems currently used. The avionics environment is an important part of this course. In the context of this course, “environment” refers not only to the physical environment of pressure, temperature, vibration, etc., but the regulatory environment.
Concordia University - Montreal, Quebec, Canada
Gina Cody School of Engineering and Computer Science?
Department of Mechanical, Industrial, and Aerospace Engineering
The RAMS Engineering Summer School 2019 seminar discussed the analysis of the entire system life cycle process of a product. And was about how RAMS engineering goes from concept into the actual culture of the organization. This seminar on RAMS engineering has important concepts:
? Liability reduction
? Life cycle cost reduction
? Optimal maintenance strategy?
? Reliability and availability improvement
? Risk reduction
? Warranty cost reduction.
The seminar introduces the RAMS fundamentals, emphasizes the added value of each method through examples, case studies, and practical aspects of the implementation, and offers a complete set of dedicated tools. The coursework includes:??
? Contractual RAMS Engineering??
? Design for Reliability
? Maintenance Engineering
? Reliability Testing
? System Safety.
Geographical Preference?
I am an American Citizen and a Legal Resident of Canada.
As a consultant, I am not interested in working around the world unless it is for a month in Rome, Monaco, or the Alps (laughing smugly but not out loud). The exception would be a contract with paid travel expenses to a third-party country with all proper visas arranged before travel for only a short term (three months max).
Where I Eventually Want to be
Eventually, I would sell my soul to be back in Pittsburgh (my hometown) even for five and a half minutes. It is heaven there.
Pittsburgh, PA, USA
Exit Review - Final Words?
I am determined to succeed at any task a potential client has for me within my area of expertise. Over my many years of work, I have gained a vast amount of knowledge within the realm of New Product Development Engineering.
So I look forward to hearing from you and meeting you face to face to solve your engineering dilemma...and contract consultant work is all that I am interested in. Hire me and you might even like me. Thank you for reading this.?
?Contact Me on LinkedIn?
If you want to contact me regarding a potential contract work then?please leave a message here in my Linkedin mailbox. Once we establish contact, let me know your email. From there I will send all the relevant resume information to you.?
My Associated Links
Just an Example - The Final Example of my work?at Rockwell Satellite and Space Systems Division?
We launched 24 NAVSTAR GPS Block IIA Satellites into space. Two from the Space Shuttle and 22 NAVSTAR GPS?BLOCK IIA Satellites from Delta II rockets. All success!
Shuttle with NAVSTAR GPSS
Delta Rocket with NAVSTAR GPSS Payload
My core interest is RAMS Engineering and I am willing to work at any aspect of RAMS Engineering. That is my roots! Just because I know more than that doesn't mean that it is not what I want to do. I am capable of performing any task shown in this tree!?
Together, let's make the engineering world a safer place! Let me know what your engineering requirements are. I really want to speak to you.
Thanks for reading my blog and have an incredible day!!!!!!
Reliability, Maintainability, and Safety (RAMS) Senior Engineering Specialist (Consultant)
6 个月https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-g0XIDW3MXk
Reliability, Maintenance, CAPA and System Safety Engineering. Pilot, Flight Test, V/STOL, EV & Autonomous. Loitering Munitions & Counter Drone Tech. Mission Assurance. Survivability. Failure Analysis. Life Safety.
1 年That's a beautiful resume and summary of experience and qualifications Jim.. can I use it? Steve ;)
Transport Canada Civil Aviation ???? Design Approval Representative DAR, Expert Witness, Aircraft Accident Investigator, News Contributor, Astrophotographer, Public Speaking. Opinions are my own.
2 年Impressive!
Stay Tuned, Jobseekers...Stay tuned!
3 年Nice! Looks good, Jim Durling!
Research and Development expert across all SDLC phases. Delivering Knowledge, Science and Technology in all layers. Consultation and support in all levels
6 年Well that is what linked in is out for! But I have rarely ever seen people doing so. Had never heard about that pre-DOD spec (but why is that fun). Well, enjoy as a traveling engineering man and have safe flights and have flights safe, interesting. Anyway this blog appears as a booK for me... so leaving my marK here to come back and read.