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Contract Piping Designers – Code of Conduct

#1 – Do Your Time
– As a Contract Piping Designer you must do your dues as a Staff Piper for at least 5 years. You have to appreciate where they are coming from to understand the whining and winging about being underpaid, overworked and unappreciated.

#2 – Timesheets
– As a Contract Piping Designer, Timesheets and Invoices must be submitted right at the suggested deadline. Early submittal my look like an act of desperation.

#3 – Weekly Meetings
– Attend weekly gatherings at the local with fellow Pipers. Friday lunch is optimal but Thursday, Wednesday, Tuesday or Monday can be reserved as alternative days. Alcoholic beverage should be consumed to bring everyone to the same level of conversation.

#4 – Tip Well
– As a Contract Piping Designer you should be willing to tip well for good service, especially for the very good looking or very friendly servers. The tip also serves well to the young staffy who is invited along but blew his wages the previous Friday night.

#5 – Piping Design Books
– Own a copy of at least 3 of the following Titles

“The Piping Guide”
Rip Weaver’s Process Piping (Volume’s 1 and 2)
Process Plant Layout
Microstation for Dummies
AutoCAD for Dummies
Trouvay and Cauvin
The Fundamentals of Piping Design
PDS User Manual
Optional Extras include – An old circle template and a Kellog Piping Slide.

#6 – Advice to Trainees
– When offering advice to New Piping Designers, remind them that when they grow up, they want to be a Contract Piping Designer too.

#7 – CAD Jargon Phrases
– Learn and Revise (off by heart) 5 jargon phrases associated with your 3D Modeling System, whether it be PDS, PDMS, AutoPlant, PlantSpace, Plant4D, Cadworx or other system. These phrases will help to baffle your area lead.

#8 – Site Visit
– A Contract Piping Designer should have experience of working at Site. You really need to know just how big those valves and equipment really are.

#9 – Cleanliness
– Keep yourself clean at all times. If there are people in your office who smell, and there seem to be more and more these days. It is your right to let them know. These people may not even realise it themselves until it is pointed out by a caring colleague.

#10 – Teamwork makes the Dreamwork
– Stick together, form a network of Piping Designers. Remmember, it is an extreme rare occasion that Agents find the work for you. Tou soon realise that they just look after the paperwork. New Contracts come from referrals from fellow Piping Designers working from the inside out.

#11- Happiness
– Be happy, the Contract Designer is well reimbused for his effort, however, he also spends far too many hours in the office for it not to be a happy place to work . “Don’t Worry, be Happy”.

#12 – Fit In
– When in Rome do What the Roman’s do. Fit in with your fellow Contract Piping Designers as much as possible. Generally speaking the Piping Designer is a good sort, however, there is the occasional “Rat” that slips in through the cracks. Find out who they are and encourage them to move on. Movement is always good for Industry rates.

#14 – Understand Outsourcing
– The Contract Piping Designer has always been a little weary about outsourcing work away to Countries where the work can be done for pennies on the dollar. Let’s face the reality of outsourcing – It is the only concept outside of poor management that has allowed the same Project to be designed twice.

Everything can be outsourced! Have you ever considered outsoucing your Bookkeeping or Accounting? Even a virtual assistant is available so inexpensively you wouldn’t believe it. Don’t worry, you can still employ the wife and convince the accountant that she really is useful to your company.

Keep the contact details of all the major Engineering Companies in your area and don’t be afraid to contact the Piping Lead directly.

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