Superior technical support

I've always believed it to be true, but SimSci has the BEST technical support according to this customer.

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SimSci customers rate our technical support very well

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Meet North America Technical Support - Rick Pelletier

1.     What is your title?

Senior Customer Support Engineer

2.     How long have you been working for Invensys?  

6 years

3.     Where did you go to school and what degree(s) do you have?

Rowan University (Glassboro, NJ) – BS Chemical Engineering 2006, BA Music 2006, Math Minor

4.     Why did you choose to go for those degree(s)?

I started off as a piano performance major.  When I realized that I would struggle to live and support a family working as a musician, I decided to double major.  I had an interest in genetics and genetical engineering, and got into chemical engineering thinking it was the closest thing to that which Rowan offered.  I was obviously misinformed, but I grew to love chemical engineering and decided to stick with it. 

5.     Why did you come to work for Invensys?

I was fresh out of college and mainly just looking for someone to give me a chance.  I liked the position of technical support because it offered me a chance to interact with customers of many different backgrounds, use my teaching experience as a piano teacher, and I always had a knack for simulation software in college. 

6.     Tell us about the toughest case you ever handled.

The toughest case I ever handled was a PRO/II case where I had to upgrade the file from an older version of PRO/II to a newer version.  The model was extremely complicated with about 25 columns and several controllers, and everything was perfectly tuned such that individual tolerance values were fine tuned to specific values.  Because of how finely tuned the model was, it was extremely sensitive to any changes in the program or the model, so upgrading from one version to another and having nothing change but defaults within the program and internal changes to thermos and other methods caused the model to no longer converge.  After weeks of troubleshooting and a lot of help from some colleagues, we got the model converged, but it was no easy task and this was just one of many files that needed to be upgraded. 

7.     What is one common error that people can avoid making in their simulation?

Double check everything you enter into the program.  The most common error in process simulation is when a user enters the wrong value or an incorrect unit of measurement.  Always double check your work. 

8.     What is your favorite part of your job?

Helping people out.  When a customer says “thank you” because I helped him with a problem, it makes it all worthwhile.  Teaching is also part of this.  When I can teach a customer something he didn’t know before and they feel better knowing that what I taught them is going to make their life easier, that’s a great feeling. 

9.     What would you say to someone considering Chemical Engineering?

It is extremely tough to be a chemical engineer, but the reward is worth it.  If you like a challenge, this is the job for you. 

10.  What do you like to do in your spare time?

Everything!  I spend a lot of time with my family and friends, including my two dogs.  I play piano professionally part-time.  I like to work out and I play several sports, my favorite being soccer.  I enjoy a lot of hobbies, including archery, cooking, fantasy football, sailing, scrapbooking, and video games, to name a few.  I love following the entertainment industry and am known for watching just about every major TV show or movie that comes out. 

11.  Tell us something interesting about yourself that others may not know.

I am a member of Phi Kappa Psi fraternity and I am President of my chapter’s housing corporation.  I also serve the fraternity on a national level as the Director of Scholarship. 

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Meet North America Technical Support - Laurie Wang

1.     What is your title?

Principal Technical Support Engineer

2.     How long have you been working for Invensys?  

Since May 2011

3.     Where did you go to school and what degree(s) do you have?

University of Ottawa, Master’s and PhD degree in Chemical Engineering

4.     Why did you choose to go for those degree(s)?

I chose to go those degrees, as I was learning English as a second language at the time. Doing some graduate studies in my field of training seemed to be a good challenge.

5.     Why did you come to work for Invensys?

The opportunity presented itself.

6.     Tell us about the toughest case you ever handled.

I cannot recall which one was the toughest. I get satisfaction knowing what we do makes a difference to the customers we help, regardless if it's a simple case or a tough one.

7.     What is one common error that people can avoid making in their simulation?

Forgetting the fact that simulation should be a representation of reality. Failure to do so will make the simulation meaningless.

8.     What is your favorite part of your job?

Excitement to explore the unknown and the satisfaction of knowing what we do makes a difference to the customers we help.

9.     What would you say to someone considering Chemical Engineering?

This is a profession full of challenge and excitement.

10.  What do you like to do in your spare time?

I like reading, watching documentaries on TV, swimming, and I just started taking a dancing class.

11.  Tell us something interesting about yourself that others may not know.

I swim over 1km a day.

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Meet North America Technical Support - Abhay Sawant

1.     What is your title?

Senior Principal Customer Support Engineer

2.     How long have you been working for Invensys?  

22 years

3.     Where did you go to school and what degree(s) do you have?

Bachelors in Technology (B. Tech) – Indian Institute of Technology (IIT), Mumbai, India

Masters in Science (M.S) – University of Southern California (USC), Los Angeles, CA

4.     Why did you choose to go for those degree(s)?

My brother-in-law was a chemical engineer and he developed my interest in Chemical Engineering.

5.     Why did you come to work for Invensys?

I worked as a teaching assistant for the Senior “Computer Aided Design” class at USC and this exposed me to different process simulators. I knew I wanted to be in the field of process simulation and Invensys offered me a job after graduating from USC.

6.     Tell us about the toughest case you ever handled.

I cannot pinpoint a single case as there have been numerous cases that have tested my ability as a chemical engineer and have helped me find innovative solutions to customer problems.

7.     What is one common error that people can avoid making in their simulation?

In many cases, users forget to apply field experience in validating simulation results, to ensure the results make sense.

8.     What is your favorite part of your job?

“Thank you! You have solved my problem” – finding solutions to customer problems is the favorite part of my job.

9.     What would you say to someone considering Chemical Engineering?

It is an interesting engineering profession, especially if you are working in process simulation. I see the future of chemical engineering as very bright.

10.  What do you like to do in your spare time?

Spending time with my kids - playing tennis, basketball and other outdoor activities

11.  Tell us something interesting about yourself that others may not know.

            I have been an avid bird-watcher since my college days.

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Meet North America Technical Support - Bryan McAlister

1.     What is your title?

Senior Principal Technical Account Manager

2.     How long have you been working for Invensys?  

Since Mid 2005

3.     Where did you go to school and what degree(s) do you have?

BS Chem Eng at University of Oklahoma

Ph.D. Chem Eng at University of Oklahoma

Currently pursuing MBA at University of Texas

4.     Why did you choose to go for those degree(s)?

I wanted the challenge.  When the BS was finished I was hungry for more (obtained my Ph.D. while working as a Chemical Engineer).  The MBA is to broaden my horizon.

5.     Why did you come to work for Invensys?

The JV (DuPont Dow Elastomers) I was working for split up and I wanted to find new employment.

6.     Tell us about the toughest case you ever handled.

It was a huge Pipephase case.  The file was a huge gathering network attached to a long pipeline that ended up at a small distribution network.  They had changed all of the operating conditions and could not solve it.  I had to break it up from the end and work my way toward the beginning to get it to solve.  Of course I logged my steps so I could teach them what I did and the next time they could solve it.       

7.     What is one common error that people can avoid making in their simulation?

Giving the simulation some thought beforehand so that the approach is logical (results in easy to solve/manipulate files).

8.     What is your favorite part of your job?

Being face to face with customers.  Earlier in my career doing research I was only ever able to get face time with internal customers – SIMSCI was a great change in that I can meet with customers.

9.     What would you say to someone considering Chemical Engineering?

Go for it, if you love the challenge.  But also, don’t be afraid to use it as a stepping stone for something else (medical school or business school). 

10.  What do you like to do in your spare time?

I bike when I can and I like to hit golf balls.  Lately, my spare time is full of MBA related activities.

11.  Tell us something interesting about yourself that others may not know.

I love plants.  The garden to me is just another place to experiment.

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Meet North America Technical Support - Ted Fediw

1.     What is your title?

Principal Technical Support Engineer

2.     How long have you been working for Invensys?  

6 years

3.     Where did you go to school and what degree(s) do you have?

Lehigh University, BS Chemical Engineering 1978, MS Chemical Engineering 1979

4.     Why did you choose to go for those degree(s)?

I found it to be the most interesting engineering discipline.

5.     Why did you come to work for Invensys?

I wanted to work in the OTS group.

6.     Tell us about the toughest case you ever handled.

Dynsim installation problems can be tough.  The problem with Dynsim installations is that each one seems to have a different problem.  For example, one time an SQL Server did not install properly, so it had to be done manually (could not let Dynsim do it).  Another time, users had several machines where they needed to complete an installation, and all but one installed fine. So, the question is, why did the one machine not install properly?  It is not always easy finding the answer, but you must keep trying until you do.

7.     What is one common error that people can avoid making in their simulation?

Check for inconsistent units of measure.

8.     What is your favorite part of your job?

Problem solving.

9.     What would you say to someone considering Chemical Engineering?

If you are interested, go for it.   

     

10.  What do you like to do in your spare time?

I like to golf and workout.           

11.  Tell us something interesting about yourself that others may not know. 

In 1981, I won the West Virginia State Chess Championship.

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Meet North America Technical Support - John Cunningham

1.     What is your title?

Senior Principal Support Engineer

2.     How long have you been working for Invensys?  

25 Years

3.     Where did you go to school and what degree(s) do you have?

Brigham Young University, BS, MS in Chemical Engineering

4.     Why did you choose to go for those degree(s)?

I was always interested in the sciences as a kid.

5.     Why did you come to work for Invensys?

I decided to leave academia.  I joined Simulation Sciences in 1982, as part of the Methods and Data group, which at the time was part of the Development Team.  I was part of that group for 20 years.  We were able to work on problems relevant to the CPI, and publish in the ChE literature.  I was in charge of maintaining the pure component library and mixture databanks, as well as do actual development work. In addition to working in the code, I provided worldwide secondary support for Thermodynamic and physical property questions.

6.     Tell us about the toughest case you ever handled.

Boy, after 25 years that is a tough question.  It would have to be one where a solution was just not possible, either because of the code or lack of modeling data for the system.

7.     What is one common error that people can avoid making in their simulation?

First, get all the formal training you can from IOM, double check UOMs and make sure that thermo interaction matrices have interactions for crucial binaries.

8.     What is your favorite part of your job?

Being able to solve problems that clients have been struggling with, some for quite a bit of time, with a simple call to the hotline.

9.     What would you say to someone considering Chemical Engineering?

I would tell them that it is a great career choice where an individual can make a solid contribution to making life better.

10.  What do you like to do in your spare time?

I enjoy golfing, reading, fishing, and activities with my grandkids.

11.  Tell us something interesting about yourself that others may not know.

With 4 boys, I was an active Boy Scout leader for 25 years.

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Meet North America Technical Support - Rick Pelletier

1.     What is your title?

Senior Customer Support Engineer

2.     How long have you been working for Invensys?  

6 years

3.     Where did you go to school and what degree(s) do you have?

Rowan University (Glassboro, NJ) – BS Chemical Engineering 2006, BA Music 2006, Math Minor

4.     Why did you choose to go for those degree(s)?

I started off as a piano performance major.  When I realized that I would struggle to live and support a family working as a musician, I decided to double major.  I had an interest in genetics and genetical engineering, and got into chemical engineering thinking it was the closest thing to that which Rowan offered.  I was obviously misinformed, but I grew to love chemical engineering and decided to stick with it. 

5.     Why did you come to work for Invensys?

I was fresh out of college and mainly just looking for someone to give me a chance.  I liked the position of technical support because it offered me a chance to interact with customers of many different backgrounds, use my teaching experience as a piano teacher, and I always had a knack for simulation software in college. 

6.     Tell us about the toughest case you ever handled.

The toughest case I ever handled was a PRO/II case where I had to upgrade the file from an older version of PRO/II to a newer version.  The model was extremely complicated with about 25 columns and several controllers, and everything was perfectly tuned such that individual tolerance values were fine tuned to specific values.  Because of how finely tuned the model was, it was extremely sensitive to any changes in the program or the model, so upgrading from one version to another and having nothing change but defaults within the program and internal changes to thermos and other methods caused the model to no longer converge.  After weeks of troubleshooting and a lot of help from some colleagues, we got the model converged, but it was no easy task and this was just one of many files that needed to be upgraded. 

7.     What is one common error that people can avoid making in their simulation?

Double check everything you enter into the program.  The most common error in process simulation is when a user enters the wrong value or an incorrect unit of measurement.  Always double check your work. 

8.     What is your favorite part of your job?

Helping people out.  When a customer says “thank you” because I helped him with a problem, it makes it all worthwhile.  Teaching is also part of this.  When I can teach a customer something he didn’t know before and they feel better knowing that what I taught them is going to make their life easier, that’s a great feeling. 

9.     What would you say to someone considering Chemical Engineering?

It is extremely tough to be a chemical engineer, but the reward is worth it.  If you like a challenge, this is the job for you. 

10.  What do you like to do in your spare time?

Everything!  I spend a lot of time with my family and friends, including my two dogs.  I play piano professionally part-time.  I like to work out and I play several sports, my favorite being soccer.  I enjoy a lot of hobbies, including archery, cooking, fantasy football, sailing, scrapbooking, and video games, to name a few.  I love following the entertainment industry and am known for watching just about every major TV show or movie that comes out. 

11.  Tell us something interesting about yourself that others may not know.

I am a member of Phi Kappa Psi fraternity and I am President of my chapter’s housing corporation.  I also serve the fraternity on a national level as the Director of Scholarship. 

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