Women Of SWPA Training

SWPA Trainings - Grinder Pumps & Pressure Sewers -
With Layla Wilhelm 

Pressure sewer systems have been an effective method to move residential wastewater through small diameter pipes of a wastewater collection system where other methods are less economical and less feasible. It has taken more than three decades for pressure sewer systems to take their proper place within the public health engineering field. Today, these systems provide daily service to more than half a million users worldwide and range in size from a single pump to thousands of pumps.
 

Layla Wilhelm is a Product Manager at Crane Pumps & Systems, in Piqua, OH. Originally from Galway, NY, she earned her BS in Chemical Engineering from Rochester Institute of Technology. During her undergraduate, she participated in multiple co-op rotations – two at a tungsten powder processing facility in their research and development lab, and one at a polymer start up in their research lab. Layla started at Crane Pumps & Systems after graduating as an Application Engineer, being promoted to Product Manager after a few years. She is currently pursuing her MBA from the University of Cincinnati. When she’s not working or going to school, Layla enjoys spending time outside with her husband and two dogs.

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SWPA Trainings - Grinders & Choppers- 
With Layla Wilhelm & Stefanie Vaughan

Historically, grinder pumps in the wastewater industry have been primarily used in residential pressure sewers or for smaller lift stations where downtime is costly (restaurants, retail spaces, etc.) These pumps were generally 1 or 2hp and located at upstream points where the wastewater enters the system. As wastewater has changed with the advent of lower flow fixtures and increased use of “flushables”, larger capacity downstream lift stations which have historically employed solids-handling pumps are becoming more and more challenging to maintain due to chronic clogging and jamming issues. Although significant improvements have been made over the years with respect to impeller design, their success has been limited and the increase in downtime issues has inspired manufacturers to find more aggressive ways of dealing with these challenges.

 

This training will provide a brief overview of the evolution of pump wet-end design, and then take a more detailed look into the new generation of larger HP grinder and chopper pumps, highlighting their differences, strengths, and weaknesses, and culminating with some real world examples of successful implementations.

 

At the end of this training, attendees will have a better understanding of larger HP grinder and chopper pumps and be able to identify when they might be the right solution to difficult applications.

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Stefanie is part of the 4th generation of Vaughan family who owns and operates Vaughan Company, Inc. Vaughan Company is a manufacturer of centrifugal chopper pumps, screw pumps, hydraulic mixing systems, and other specialty products sold worldwide.  She has worked for the business for 25 years.  Her role is Marketing Director, Trade Show & Event Coordinator, and Ops Challenge Vaughan Maintenance Event Coordinator for the 2023-2026 season.  Stefanie currently is a member of the WEF MARC, WEFTEC Advisory Committee, PNCWA Member, PNCWA Women of Water, SWPA Member, and WiM (Women in Manufacturing) Member.  In her spare time, she likes to coach softball, soccer, and basketball for her kids, watch live music, and get new tattoos.

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SWPA Trainings Continued - Smart Water Solutions-

With Rana Elbittibssi

As Infrastructure ages and loads increase on our wastewater treatment systems, operators are demanding equipment that delivers more efficiency, greater reliability, and lower life cycle cost. Leading Manufactures are finding ways to deliver these contradictory goals by integrating intelligent controls and sensors into state-of-the-art hardware which can act autonomously to deal with problems and optimize performance without operator intervention. 

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Rana Elbittibssi, professional engineer, with bachelor and master degree in mechanical engineering from Concordia University in Montreal Quebec. Rana role at Xylem is Regional products Manager Americas, has been with Xylem over 18 years, and more than 25 years of experience in pumps, mixers and rotating equipment that function within water, waste water treatment, transport, solid management, industrial and water infrastructure markets.