"Product of the year" competition is held by Plant Engineering magazine every year. Participating companies submit their new products/ideas introduced by them the previous year. The product has to be new to the world market and be useful in the plant engineering function. The contest features some of the most innovative ideas in the various categories such as material handling, HVAC, power transmission, plant engineering software etc.

All the entries are evaluated by a panel of judges (people well recognized in the field).

The panel chooses finalists in each category. The finalists are showcased in the November issue of Plant Engineering magazine. The readers of the magazine then vote for the top three in each category.

I have participated in this contest a number of times. The following is a summary of results:

2005 Silver Award:

Product: Plant Engineering Tools Suite

This product contains close to 400 programs in following areas:

• Mechanical Engineering Tools
• Engineering Utility Tools
• Hydraulic Engineering Tools
• Machine Design Tools
• Structural Engineering Tools
• Pulp & Paper Tools
• Heat & Mass Transfer Tools
• Electrical Engineering Tools
• HVAC Tools
• Heat Exchanger Tools
• Fluid Mechanics Tools
• Thermodynamics Tools
• Pipe Flow Tools
• Pneumatic Engineering Tools
• Engineering Financial Tools

2004 (Made it to the finalist):
Product: CMMS Implementation course

CMMS E-learning course is windows based and is ideal for plant engineers and managers. With the help of this course, the user will develop an individualized action plan to improve maintenance productivity and quality, reduce downtime, monitor and improve employee productivity, reduce outside contract work, monitor and control maintenance costs, and design, justify, and implement a CMMS.

These 31 programs reduce time and effort associated with manual calculations. This means you will have more time to analyze your information and make better informed decisions, thus helping your company maintain a competitive edge. It will save your company time, money and effort.

2000 (Made it to the finalist):
Product: Hydro Pack 2000

Hydro Pack 2000 contains 31 hydraulic/fluid mechanics computer programs, each with a brief description and sample calculation. The programs are easy to use and can switch between British and Metric units. Sample programs include pressure loss through valves, friction head loss in pipes, actuator speeds, centrifugal pump head, and flow rates of water.

1995 Silver Award:
It is a library of engineering clip Art symbols. It includes Fluid power, HVAC, Process flow, Plumbing, and Electrical symbols

1994 Bronze Award:
It is a library of 101 different plant engineering programs, each with a brief description and sample calculation. The programs are easy to use and can switch between British and Metric units. It saves time, money and effort

1992 Silver Award:
It is a library of 101 different engineering programs. Includes Mechanical, Industrial, Manufacturing, structural, and Design engineering programs. These programs reduce time and effort associated with manual calculations. This means users have more time to analyze their information and make better informed decisions, thus helping their company maintain a competitive edge. It saves time, money and effort.