ENGINEERING MANAGEMENT: Communicating Within Companies
EMCI aims to serve both seasoned and prospective engineering managers through professional development.
By Gregory N. Marino
They call this organization ASME. There have been quips that the “M” could stand for “multidisciplinary.” There is also an argument that it could stand for “management.”
A recent survey of engineering society members found nearly half of them reporting that their jobs require management skills. What’s more, many said that as much as 60 percent of a typical work day is spent performing management-related tasks.
The survey was sponsored by Engineering Management Certification International, part of the ASME Standards and Certification Sector. Between January and August last year, Deloitte & Touche LLP interviewed about 1,900 engineers, members of ASME and also of three other professional societies, the American Institute of Chemical Engineers, the American Society of Civil Engineers, and the American Institute of Mining, Metallurgical, and Petroleum Engineers.
The importance of management skills to these engineers was underscored when they described their plans for professional development over the next five years. More than half—55 percent—said they planned to undertake management training, such as project management, general management, strategic planning, marketing, or accounting and finance. Nearly half of those planning to pursue management-focused professional development would consider pursuing certification or a degree.
It is to serve the professional development needs of current and prospective engineering managers that Engineering Management Certification International was created. The program that would eventually become EMCI began in 2004 in large part through the efforts of the ASME Management Division, after market research among members of ASME and of other engineering societies identified a need for engineering management training and some form of professional certification.
According to Heather Santa Maria, director of EMCI, “In today’s marketplace, an engineer wears many hats. Technical knowledge alone is no longer adequate to effectively compete in today’s business environment. Engineering managers distinguish themselves from managers in other functional areas by possessing the ability to apply both engineering principles and skills born from practical experience while managing engineering- or technology-focused projects and teams.”
Santa Maria herself is a case in point. A chemical engineering graduate of Tulane University, she holds an advanced dual engineering and management degree from the Wharton School of Business. Today she is overseeing a program that provides certification and continuous professional development in engineering management, specifically designed for engineers and other technical professionals.
To achieve its aim, Engineering Management Certification International needed to create an interdisciplinary and uniform set of standards and skills in management, and so it developed a formal Body of Knowledge, a compendium of skills needed for successful management in technology- and science-focused enterprises.
This Body of Knowledge is the framework for the engineering management certification exam, which tests candidates on their understanding of the sources of management knowledge and on the depth of their professional experience. Not unlike the P.E. exam, there are two levels of certification that candidates can attempt, Engineering Management Certification Fundamentals and Engineering Management Certification Professional.
COOPERATIVE EFFORT
There is an EMCI Body of Knowledge Committee that oversees and updates the content. According to John Bozewicz, who chairs the committee, the Body of Knowledge was assembled by consultation with a range of experts, including engineering managers in industry, independent technical-business consultants, and subject-matter experts in academia. There were also contributions from other engineering societies. The chemical, civil, and mining engineers participated in the launch of the program.
In 2008, the American Society of Engineering Management approached EMCI to collaborate on a unified Body of Knowledge, whereby their subject-matter expertise would lend strength and credibility to the industry-based perspectives of the other professional societies. The Society of Automotive Engineers became a partner society earlier this year.
The Society of Manufacturing Engineers had developed a certification program, which conferred the distinction of Certified Engineering Manager. That program was merged into the ASME certification program in July of last year, Bozewicz said.
Upon the merger with EMCI, all those holding certificates under the CEM program had their credentials converted to EMCI certification designations.
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"In today’s marketplace,
an engineer wears many hats.
Technical knowledge alone
is no longer adequate to
compete in today’s
business environment."
— Heather Santa Maria, Director of EMCI
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Bozewicz heads the Information, Sensors, and Control Systems Division at the U.S. Naval Surface Warfare Center in Philadelphia. Besides chairing the Body of Knowledge Committee for Engineering Management Certification International, he is also Technical Group Leader of the ASME Engineering and Technology Management Group.
The Body of Knowledge has become a proprietary resource for expertise in engineering management. It covers a vast array of knowledge, which is organized into eight domains. One of them, for example, is “Market Research, Assessment, and Forecasting.” Among the skill areas that it includes are risk analysis, trend analysis, technology assessment practices and techniques, and even presentation skills. Another domain, “Leadership and Organizational Management,” covers such areas as managing and motivating knowledge workers, organization structure, and strategic management.
The Body of Knowledge itself is accessible to the committee members, of course, and to the network of ASME’s Authorized Knowledge Providers. This title, which can be given to universities, private training organizations, or individuals, indicates competence to teach the management skills included in the Body of Knowledge and to market the certification in their geographic spheres. Currently EMCI has 16 Authorized Knowledge Providers in the United States, Trinidad, Egypt, Qatar, the United Arab Emirates, China, and Australia.
Only those who meet eligibility criteria can attempt the examination, and that is after their applications have been reviewed for eligibility. Members of the cooperating societies are offered special rates. ASME members who meet the eligibility criteria for the fundamental or professional examination receive a discount on examination fees and publications. Members of the six other partnering professional societies are also extended similar discounts.
The Body of Knowledge has grown substantially. This month, ASME will publish a revised edition of EMCI’s textbook, A Guide to the Engineering Management Certification International Body of Knowledge, or more briefly the EMCI-BOK Guide. The guide will be available in conventional printed form, as an encrypted CD, and in a downloadable portable document format.
The new guide represents a major revision from the previous edition.
EXECUTIVE CONCERNS
Deloitte & Touche’s survey last year also included interviews with senior engineering and management executives from 30 companies focused on science, technology, or engineering. During the course of the interviews, three management challenges facing industry emerged as crucial concerns among those executives.
One is an impending shortage of engineers. As older, experienced engineers in management continue to retire, companies need a time- and cost-efficient way to increase the management competency of their smaller pools of younger engineering talent.
Another is globalization. With companies steadily becoming globally integrated enterprises through outsourcing (to China and India, in particular), the need to implement quality, standardized management training, especially in emerging markets, is particularly acute.
Yet another is the complexity of innovation. Companies need managers well-versed in the disciplines of both technology and business to remain successful in a world where product innovation is increasingly becoming a matter of multidisciplinary and international (often multicultural) collaboration.
It is the aim of Engineering Management Certification International to identify the next generation of engineering managers, who will lead companies through the challenges they face today and those that will emerge tomorrow.
Gregory N. Marino is the manager of Engineering Management Certification International.
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