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The World’s Best Piping Program is Almost a Secret

• What is arguably the world’s best piping program is so obscure that it is almost a secret. With about 300 students enrolled, the Piping Engineering program at Indonesia’s Politeknik Perkapalan Negeri Surabaya (PPNS) might have struck the perfect balance between piping engineering and design content for a 4-year degree. Because it serves the Indonesian shipbuilding industry and described in Bahasa Indonesia, it seems to escape notice from the English-Speaking world.

The academic world fights two main trade-offs in its mandate to prepare students for a meaningful career:

• Engineering Depth or Domain Breadth? College-Level engineering courses prefer to re-derive fundamental equations and principles so the Engineer can tailor them to the situation at hand. 4-Year Engineering Programs are frequently squeezed by core courses that are unable to start without sufficient math and science, leaving little time for application courses. Knowing that few practitioners need calculus-based physics has led to Engineering Technology programs with less math and science more lab time and more courses in application areas.

2. General Fundamentals or Application Details? There is the problem of which applications to give focus to. Should the graduate be a generalist or a specialist? The colleges prefer to leave it to the employers to reduce theory to practice, while employers prefer a graduate productive from the first day of employment. Since few companies will commit to employment years in advance, colleges produce generalists that can find work in whatever is recruiting at graduation.

So, picking the right blend of focus and depth is always a problem academicians.

The Piping world adds a third problem, Engineering and Design domains are synergistic but not the same. Piping Engineering is concerned with applied physics and chemistry, while design is concerned with piping representations and the “ilities” (fabricate-ability, constructability, maintainability, operability, etc.) While each benefits from knowledge of the other, there is usually not sufficient time to cover both in standard 60-120 hour degree programs. As a result, piping programs must focus mainly on engineering or design.

PPNS Piping Engineering has chosen the technician’s compromise of applied engineering. They’ve condensed math and science core courses to two courses in math and two in Physics to make room for more lab time, an incredibly broad array of applications. (Most technology programs make this compromise by advance math and science further in application courses.) Almost every core technology course has a laboratory component, including:

• Measurement tools, work bench equipment and machine tools
• Welding and quality assurance by non-destructive test (NDT) and destructive test.
• Laboratory evaluation of various types of pumps
• Pipe fabrication and bending
• Steam boiler

The application topic become very specialized:

• Ship Propulsion
• Codes and Standards of Ship’s Piping Systems.
• Marine Engineering Systems
• Pump and Compressors
• Refrigeration (HVAC)
• Automatic Control Systems
• Sanitary Drainage Systems
• Steam Generation Systems
• Process Technology
• Occupational Health and Safety
• Thermal Piping Design
• Design of Pressure Vessels and Steam Power Plants
• DFKI (design, fabrication, Construction, Inspection) of Tank and Pipe

It’s clear they have shifted to a strategy of multiple applications with a heavy shipbuilding theme.

So why isn’t this huge program better known? First, the curriculum and textbooks are all written in a non-European language, Bahasa Indonesia. It’s hardly a small language, as Indonesia is the fourth most populous nation at 275,501,339 people, behind China, India and the United States. But most of their descriptive material will not show up in common search engines. Much instruction is still conducted in English in order to enable them to read and understand the piping codes.

Second and most important, their approximately 75 annual graduates do not get placed outside of Indonesia. The shipbuilding and other local industries pick them up. A handful of graduates eventually accept jobs overseas to escape the US$250/month pay for a typical engineer in Indonesia.

For more information, consult: Ir. Eko Julianto, M.Sc., FRINA, Director, Surabaya Shipbuilding State Polytechnic, Jl. Teknik Kimia, Kampus, ITS, Surabaya, Indonesia, Telp: +62 031 5947186, Fax: +62 031 5942887. www.ppns.ac.id, This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

Video recording of this event is at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2TRTmp-T7lo&ab_channel=SPEDSocietyofPipingEngineersandDesigners

Video recording of this event is at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=L2HNDdaqGV8&ab_channel=SPEDSocietyofPipingEngineersandDesigners

A Montreal Chapter Event was held downtown on June 7 to introduce local pipers to SPED

2022-2024 SPED Calgary Chapter President 
Clarence Wynter, PPD IV

Clarence has over 35 years’ experience as an industrial designer, piping squad leader, Project Management, and field technical support, including 30 years of piping drafting and design. 

 Clarence spent 5 years as an Evaluator for the Society of Piping Engineers and Designers (SPED) PPD programs and has delivered various presentations to technical writeups on site safety and technical support in the BIC magazine in Huston Texas.

A supporter of Society of Piping Engineers and Designers (SPED) since 2010, Clarence has been instrumental in supporting SPED Calgary as a supporting arm for piping designers. Due to the industry downturn. He aims to continue supporting his fellow pipers to generate a narrative to support the junior and intermediate pipers by having conversations on zoom forums sharing experience piping designers knowledge promoting SPED and SPED certification programs giving strength to the craft supporting designers throughout the Calgary and Edmonton markets.

Aligning SPED international communities collaborating with SPED Chapters broadening its reach in the Global market highlighting the integrity meeting industries standards.

2022-2024 SPED Calgary Chapter Treasurer 
Kevin Noakes, B.A.Sc., PPD IV

Kevin is a process piping designer and piping squad & project discipline team leader, with over thirty years of experience in industrial and commercial resource production and transportation.

2022-2024 SPED Calgary Chapter Secretary
Susan Yu

Susan Yu has 13 years mechanical engineering experience in China and 14 years piping design experience in Canada. Since 2006, Susan Yu has been involved in Saudi Aramco Shaybah project, Saudi Aramco Zuluf project, Husky Sunrise Oil Sand, Husky Pikes Peak Oil sand, Kearl expansion, Encana Resthaven gas plant, Encana Pipestone Gas plant, Pembina Pump Stations etc. In these projects, Susan Yu has been doing her roles as Senior piping designer and Checker, Area lead and Design lead. Susan has a wide range of software skills such as SP3D, PDS, PDMS, AVEVA E3D, CADWorx, Microstation, AutoCAD, SmartPlant Review, Naviswork. Susan Yu achieved SPED Level VI certification in 2012 and has been active since then. 

2022-2024 SPED Calgary Chapter Director at Large
Chris Bowman

Chris has over 32 years Western Canada experience with Oil Sands Upstream and Upgrading, Petrochemical, Mining, Pulp and Paper and Steam Plants, Principal Piping Design Lead, Checker and Construction support. 

 2022-2024 SPED Calgary Chapter Director at Large
Bruce Fraser, PPD IV

Bruce has over 38 years experience as an industrial designer, piping squad leader, trainer and department manager, including 30 years of piping drafting and design.  Bruce spent 3 years as an advisor for the SAIT PPD program and has delivered various presentations to technical students in Calgary. A supporter of SPED since 2011, Bruce was responsible for instituting the SPED training program at a major Calgary EPC which saw over 150 designers and engineers achieve their certification.  He aims to continue supporting his fellow pipers by promoting SPED certification and training throughout the Calgary and Edmonton markets, broadening its reach in the Global market.

CONTACT THE SPED CALGARY CHAPTER: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.