Welcome to 2018 my fellow process engineering enthusiasts.
What do “Star Wars — The Force Awakens,” the New England Patriots and the Kansas City Royals and this blog all have in common? As you might have guessed, they all had special events in 2015. Yes, my blog has been up and running now for over three years! Plus, 2015 is when Star Wars debuted and both New England and Kansas City won their respective championships.
Before thinking about 2018, and this blog’s fourth year, I wanted to take a moment to reflect on the year 2017. What intrigues me is what we know now that we did not know in January 2017, one year ago. There were many surprises ranging from politics, world events, social issues, to business and career, sports, food and entertainment. In the comments below, let’s start a conversation about what you learned in 2017.
Reflecting on 2017 and 2018 Success
Of course, I have many ideas about what I learned last year. Yet, in boiling it down to one theme, I would focus on “speed.” In all of our endeavors, the speed of information flow, decision making, world events, politics, etc., is increasing dramatically. From a business point of view, technology, marketplace, competition, manufacturing, etc. are all changing at breakneck speed. At BHS, for example, we addressed a marketplace request to incorporate “clean-in-place” (CIP) systems which led to changes with our rubber belt filter.
At the same time, if speed is what characterized 2017, for 2018 I’ve decided it’s time to slow down and reflect. For one thing, I have improved my yoga practice. In other areas of my day, I’m taking the time needed to review facts and data, analyze decisions, gather inspiration from many sources, and finally proceed with definite actions. Of course, I still need to be ready to change, as things will continue coming at “breakneck speed,” but I am optimistic about success.
For 2018, I’ve already started thinking with excitement about what posts my readers want to read. There will be more blogs about “problem-solving” with topics on filtration, particle technologies, drying, and solids handling. Yet I always invite you to make suggestions! In fact, I’d welcome guest blogger contributions to improve the chemical process industry and our process engineering efforts. Finally, read often, thick critically, and let’s all prosper in 2018.