Conceived initially as a way for connecting IMI’s most experienced technical experts with its customers and some of the world’s most demanding engineering challenges, the Valve Doctors® programme[1] is now a highly evolved development and mentoring scheme. The programme is very demanding, takes around seven years to complete and requires comprehensive classroom and interactive training, hands-on laboratory experience and one-to-one coaching with a Valve Doctor® or Senior Valve Doctor®.

The training programme includes valve design, system layout, plant operation and control system integration. On completion, it means becoming a leading technical expert able to solve process flow problems and optimise plant performance in sectors as diverse as power, oil, gas and marine.[2]

We recently met up with Mary, Senior Engineer, Research and Development at IMI in Austria, to learn more about life as a Valve Doctor® and how our engineers use their hard-earned expertise to create cutting-edge valve technology.

Mary’s Career at a glance:

• Based at IMI CCI, Vienna
• 20 years at IMI
• Bachelor of Science, Mechanical Engineering, San Diego State University

How do you normally start your working day?

My morning routine revolves around my two kids. In addition to getting myself ready, I make their snacks for kindergarten and school. While my partner and daughter have early starts and eat breakfast on the go, my son and I sit together and enjoy our breakfast, which for me always includes a coffee. We often have toast, cereal and fresh fruit, and my mom in Canada sometimes joins via video chat. I head to work after bringing my son to kindergarten, and his hugs give me a great boost for my day.

What does a typical working day look like for you?

Typically, I can be giving training, working on sizing tools or evaluating market data for our next product line expansion. Our goal is to provide our best technology to solve customer issues, and I have specific goals related to this topic. We have some of the best, most innovative technology in the market for managing valve issues. A good example is our solution for avoiding fugitive emissions. We recently developed and extensively tested the EEEasy-Seal™ fugitive emission packing solution. We conducted extensive endurance testing and have achieved 3rd party certification of the EEEasy-Seal™ up to 60,000 cycles with almost no leakage. This packing can be applied to all our rising stem control valves in the oil and gas or chemical markets. ‘EEEasy-Seal™’ being spelt with three ‘es’ is quite clever. One ‘e’ is for effective, the second for efficient, and the third for environmental.

It’s great that IMI is committed to developing this technology, which results in valves that are low maintenance and that won’t emit greenhouse gases. As a mum, this is very important to me, and it’s been one of my favourite projects to work on during my career. Much of my focus is on making this technology more accessible across our organisation and to our customers, including standardising it and making costing and selection tools. We’ve even seen interest from customers who not only want to upgrade our valves but also upgrade competitor valves with this technology. I think this really is an example of breakthrough engineering for a better world.

Tell us about a particularly interesting day you had at work recently.

The reason I chose to study mechanical engineering was because it provided the opportunity to be hands-on and not only work in front of a computer. Our workshop isn’t close to our offices, so I have few opportunities to go there and be hands-on. However, recently, I was able to go to the workshop to test out a new technology. This round of testing focused on optimising an actuator for our patented Metamorphic Trim, which has a very short stroke, much different from our traditional DRAG® and cage valves. We had a team of very senior engineers at the testing, including Valve Doctors® from IMI STI, our sister company specialising in actuation. It was great to meet them, collaborate on this research and get hands-on with this amazing product.

What do you enjoy the most about your role in Research and Development?

I enjoy my job because of its challenges and the variety of the things I get to do. I typically have a plan for what I want to accomplish in the week, but that can vary depending on where we are in the R&D process. As a senior engineer, I’m also called on to support engineering and sales on a regular basis. It’s great because it allows me to understand the challenges that some of our customers face and to be in touch with the market, and with my internal customers, engineering and inside sales. I really enjoy this variety and the different types of challenges that I face daily.

What do you enjoy about working at IMI?

What I find most interesting about working at IMI is that we are a multinational company, meaning my internal customers can be in different locations globally. For example, a design standard that I write may be used by engineers in Vienna, but also in Korea, California, or India. I’ve had a chance to meet with different colleagues during my travels and have worked at two different IMI locations, in California and here in Vienna.

What is one thing you wish people knew about engineering at IMI?

One thing I’m not sure that people know about engineering at IMI is the level of innovation we have; you know, over 60 years ago, our DRAG® technology with multistage velocity control revolutionised the valve industry. Our senior engineers and the original Valve Doctors® at that time were instrumental in writing industrial guidelines such as ISA 75, which is still in place today. I have the privilege of working on a great innovation in the valve industry: our patented Metamorphic Trim, which we call MMT. This has been installed in severe applications that could not be handled by technologies like multi-stage cages or even DRAG® and with amazing success. I mean, if I look at the customer testimonials we’ve had and see what this product can do, I’m amazed because it’s filling up a market niche with no suitable product. It’s great that our company actively invests in advancing industry-changing technologies that allow us to remain a leader in control valve technology.

Can you tell us something about your location in Vienna?

Well, I think that people are very aware that Vienna is always ranked as one of the top places to live in the world, and that it has the best quality of life. I’ve lived in three different countries and different cities. And I can absolutely agree with this rating. The quality of life and what’s offered here is quite astounding. And what surprised me when I moved here is how multicultural Vienna is. If you look at it historically, it was the capital of a vast empire, and you can see that diversity in our own office with our colleagues from around Europe and the globe and in the general Viennese inhabitants.  There is a rich history in this city.

How do you typically end your day?

In addition to supporting my kids with their many activities, I have a fixed appointment to play tennis once a week. Happily, my day ends as it starts with my family.