Understanding the Role of NCSEA in Supporting SEAU
By David Marshall, SEAU NCSEA Delegate
As a member of the SEAU board my responsibility is to act as the NCSEA delegate. That is just a fancy way of saying that I make sure our local SEAU is in communication with NCSEA and that all information and resources are passed between NCSEA and SEAU.
If you are reading this, you are of course familiar with SEAU, but what is NCSEA and what is its purpose? Straight from NCSEA.com:
“NCSEA is dedicated to advancing the structural engineering profession through education, advocacy, career development, and community”
and
“NCSEA, in partnership with its Member Organizations, supports practicing structural engineers to be high qualified professionals and successful leaders.”
Hopefully this sounds familiar! The purpose of SEAU:
- Promote acquaintance and understanding among structural engineers.
- Promote technical expertise.
- Promote legislation and codes relating to structural engineering.
- Increase public awareness of structural engineering.
- Discourage unethical and detrimental practice.
- Promote high standards of structural engineering in the best interests of clients, community, public and the profession.
NCSEAs purpose is to support SEAU in accomplishing its purpose! How great is that? As members of SEAU, each and every one of you is automatically enrolled as a member of NCSEA. I invite you to visit NCSEA.com, create a log in, and start to take advantages of the resources NCSEA provides.
Some of the various resources available include:
- Webinars to earn PDH. (Additional fees may apply)
- SE GPT – “A powerful, free tool that delivers expert structural engineering insights from trusted sources”
- SE3 Survey – “Explores the full workplace experience to identify what’s helping and what’s getting in the way of a health, rewarding career in structural engineer.”
- Compensation & Benefits Study – “A comprehensive look at salaries, bonuses, PTO, and benefits across the structural engineering profession” (Additional fees may apply)
- Committee Leadership – Many of the national level committees parallel those of SEAU. These national level committees are open and available for guidance, to answer questions, and to provide additional resources to our SEAU committees.
- Publications, white papers, technical books, and much more!
In October I attended the annual NCSEA Summit in New York City, NY. At this summit engineering leaders, engineers, and vendors met together to communicate, share ideas, and learn from one another. Not unlike the SEAU conference, we attended lectures, participated in site visits, celebrated engineering achievements, and enjoyed social time with fellow engineers from around the country.
At the summit I learned that one of the newest ways NCSEA is attempting to help local SEAs is by creating SEA Regional Coalitions. SEAU has been grouped into the Southwest Region with SEAs from Arizona, Arkansas, Colorado, Louisiana, New Mexico, Oklahoma, and Texas.
This coalition is a work in progress, but the purpose of the coalition is to encourage the SEA leadership of these groups to engage with one another on a continual basis. During the summit we discussed the challenges we face with membership growth, membership retention, financial concerns, and bringing continued value to our member organizations This continual conversation will aid our SEAs in becoming better, stronger, and more worthwhile.
As a new member of the SEAU board I can tell you firsthand that we are working hard to make sure SEAU provides the value its members deserve. The conversation with NCSEA and other SEAs is generating new ideas and new possibilities. I am excited for SEAUs future and hope that all of you will continue to support SEAU and take advantage of the resources that both SEAU and NCSEA provide.
Article By the Past President
By Jeremy Achter, SEAU Past President
“You don’t know what you don’t know.” My dad used to say this to me all the time, and as a result, I’ve thought it to myself many times over my 50 years. There is obviously some validity to the statement in everyday life. When I was a much younger engineer (and even occasionally now that I’m not so young), I would often wonder if this phrase might sneak up on me. Whether it was how I was responding to a client’s difficult question, applying a seemingly obscure code provision, or waiting for the ever-dreaded plan review to pop through on the fax machine (yes, I’m old enough to have received them via fax). The fact is, we are responsible for knowing lots of information.
I often wondered if I would miss something simply because I didn’t know. While ignorance isn’t a valid argument for errors, and certainly not for failing to comply with the building code, it can be used as a catalyst to prevent them. Sort of like “scaring us straight”. As engineers, we rely on rigorous study, mentors, co-workers, and even competitors to learn and to reduce the number of “if I had only known…” situations.
Now that I have the opportunity to spend more time mentoring younger and newer engineers, I try to keep this adage in mind and to take the opportunity to teach whenever possible. I feel a bit like I failed when a mentee argues that they “didn’t know”. Perhaps I didn’t do a good job explaining the why, where, and how, “to know”. After all, it wasn’t that long ago that I was in the same position.
As I reflect on my third and final year on the SEAU Board after having also served as secretary-treasurer from 2013-2015, the old adage has snuck up on me again, I didn’t know what I didn’t know.
Involvement in SEAU isn’t just service to the profession, it’s much more than that. It’s service to ourselves and critically important to the success of our firms and the practice of structural engineering.
Structural Engineering is hard, as I alluded to earlier. It’s mentally demanding and can be emotionally taxing. I guess that’s one of the draws that attracts many of us. But the fact is, we don’t practice in a bubble. From code interpretations to client relations to business management, what every firm believes and practices affects all of us. And there’s no better venue than SEAU to learn the nuances.
The SEAU Board (and every committee) takes the responsibility very seriously. Although it is a volunteer position, hours and hours are donated every month on behalf of Utah structural engineers. It should be obvious that we are better for it. Service on a committee or the Board leads to relationships that will make you a better engineer, and dare I say, a better person, maybe you’ll even make a friend. I guarantee that you’ll learn something along the way. All of this leads to a better profession. So, when you are wandering around the exhibit hall at the upcoming SEAU Education Conference and see the table advertising committee involvement, ask yourself if you know everything you think you know.
