IAS July 2021 - Flipbook - Page 4
IAS NEWSLETTER July 2021
Assessor Spotlight –
Lawrence J. O’Connor,
PE, LS, F. NSPE
inspection bodies, testing laboratories,
building departments, product certification
agencies, calibration laboratories and
management system certification bodies
in the US, Canada, the Middle East, Europe,
Asia and Central America. In addition, he
teaches seminars on the importance of
special inspections and Chapter 17 of the
International Building Code and ISO/IEC
17020.
O’Connor served in the United States
military as a member of the New York Air
National Guard from 1970-1976. In 1977, he
was elected Mayor of the Village of Delanson
in Schenectady County, New York, and
was re-elected twice. Then, ran for higher
office and was elected Town Supervisor for
Duanesburg, New York for 1982-1983.
Larry O’Connor has over 40 years’ experience
in New York as a civil engineer working in
government, industry and consulting. He
earned a Bachelor of Science degree in civil
engineering in 1973 from Union College in
Schenectady, New York, and a Master of
Public Administration degree in 1979 from
SUNY’s Graduate School of Public Affairs in
Albany, New York.
O’Connor began his engineering career as
a Junior Engineer in the NYS Department of
Transportation in 1973. Through promotions,
and budgetary reductions in force, he served
in four other roles at NYS DOT plus positions
with the NYS Office of Parks Recreation and
Historic Preservation in Albany and on Long
Island. The last fifteen years of his state
career was with the NYS Thruway Authority
/ NYS Canal Corporation retiring in 2006
as the director of management services at
the Thruway Authority Office of Design in
Albany.
His professional experience includes
serving as a Senior Civil Engineer for the
city of Schenectady, New York, a project
engineer for C.T. Male Associates, P.C. in
Latham, New York, and an associate quality
assurance engineer for Niagara Mohawk
Power Corporation. He also has maintained
a private land surveying and engineering
practice throughout his career. From 20062010, O’Connor worked as deputy chief of
the Bridge, Highway and Rail Division for
M.G. McLaren, P.C. in West Nyack, New York.
Since 2010, O’Connor has served IAS in
several roles. In New York City, he focused
on special inspections for building
construction, bringing ISO standards to the
building industry in New York. Larry has
performed over 470 assessments for the
accreditation of special inspection agencies,
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Over the years he has been an active
member of several professional
organizations, including the New York
State Society of Professional Engineers
since 1995, for which he currently chairs
the Professional Engineers in Government
interest group. He is presently a trustee for
The Practicing Institute of Engineering, a
board member for the Eastern NY Society of
Land Surveyors, a member of the Municipal
Engineers of the City of New York and a
director of the Foundation for Engineering
Education, Inc.
IAS had me flying out on Sunday and flying
back on Saturday! I have enjoyed the journey
so far.
Q: How did you transition from living and
working in New York to becoming this world
traveler?
A: Having worked in NYC, I was used to the
multicultural and cosmopolitan working
culture found in a big city. However, joining
IAS and traveling the world was a different
experience. My first international trip for IAS
was to the Bahamas, which was easy. After
that I went to Turkey. I had never been to
that part of the world before, but I got a lot
of help from George Anastasopoulos, who
is a VP of IAS. I had a great experience; I
met a young engineer who had good English
from watching American TV and movies and
playing video games. He showed me around
on his day off; he was very generous with
his time. I am still friends with him and his
wife, and we keep in touch. These travels
and encounters with so many colleagues
and customers around the world have
brought a different dimension to my view
of the world. I have a better understanding
and appreciation of working in different
environments, being sensitive to the
differences, and knowing how to overcome
those with the right attitude
O’Connor and his wife Donna have eight
children and 19 grandchildren and live in
a historic, 1800s-era Victorian home in
Delanson, New York. Here’s what Larry he
had to say about his experience working
with IAS.
I spoke with Raj Nathan on the phone and
from our first conversation we understood
each other completely. I knew the hurdles
that would have to be overcome to form an
accreditation body in New York and asked
Raj if IAS would provide trainings. IAS
organized two trainings on the topics of New
York City (NYC) special inspections and IAS
accreditation related to AC291 to satisfy
NYC requirements. These trainings served
as the beginning of a partnership with IAS.
Later, I went to a few assessments as an
observer. I transitioned to a part-time role at
the consulting firm I worked for in October
2010. In December 2010, I slowly started
doing assessments with IAS and, by 2013,
Then a young man came by in an expensive
dune buggy and said he would get his uncle
to help us. His uncle soon arrived, racing
over the dune, in an old-model Land Cruiser
with oversize BFG Radial T/A tires. Although
dressed in fine Qatari attire, fit for a visit to
the Emir’s palace, he set right to work. He
got in and simply drove my friend’s truck out
of the sand like it wasn’t stuck. He had to
tow my SUV out; two wheels were getting no
traction at all. I was so grateful; I tried to give
him a big tip, but his nephew wouldn’t let me,
saying, “He is a rich man—he just does this
for fun.” The uncle led us back to our “camp”
on the shore and the two other assessors
and I headed out, because we needed to get
back to our hotel.
By this time, it was dark, and when it’s dark
in the desert you can’t see anything. My
colleagues assumed we would be sleeping
in the desert that night. I have an app on my
phone that shows safe paths through the
dunes. I drove those last 10km in the desert
with one hand on the wheel, the phone in
the other, using the driving equivalent of
instrument flight rules. We got back to the
hotel at a decent hour and started a new
assessment in the morning.
Q: What is your favorite part of doing
assessments?
A: I get energy from being with people and
seeing new things. I learn something new
every day and learn how the world fits
together. I have made friends all around the
world and have learned a lot about different
people and cultures. It’s been a real blessing
at this stage in my life.
Q: What led you to become an IAS assessor?
A: In 2009, I was the vice president of The
Practicing Institute of Engineering and serving
on the executive board of the New York
State Society of Professional Engineers.
I led a task force to study the creation
of an accreditation body in New York. I
understood the complexity of this task and
resolved to form a partnership with IAS.
Later, when my friend was leading, he went
through some bushes but I diverted uphill to
miss a bush and got stuck. My friend tried
to help but he got stuck, too! We couldn’t dig
our way out, either. We were 10km off the
road and it was getting dark.
Q: What is the most interesting experience
you have had while traveling for IAS?
A: When I am traveling for IAS and I have
some time between assessments, I don’t
just sit in the hotel room. At this point in
my life, learning languages, experiencing
other cultures and traveling are my hobbies.
I’ve been skiing in Dubai and snorkeling
in Oman, but one of the most interesting
experiences I’ve had was when I went dune
bashing in Qatar. In December 2017, I rented
an SUV to go to the Inland Sea in Qatar. I
had been before, but this was the first time
I was driving. I went with a few friends and
two fellow assessors. For some reason
they said, “Larry—you lead.” Maybe it was
because they knew I had lots of experience
driving in the snow. It was an exciting day
and I did well; I put 90 off-road kilometers
on the Ford Explorer.
IAS External Newsletter
Accreditation, Standardization and
Conformity Assessment
California State University-Dominguez Hills and IAS partnered together to offer a fourmodule certificate program, held on four Saturdays in March and April. This course was
geared toward IAS clients, ICC membership, assessors, subject matter experts involved in
conformity assessment, university students/alumni, STEM professionals and professionals
with practical experience in one or more of the following areas:
•
•
•
Quality management
Members of standards development organizations
Accreditation authorities and the staffs of testing and measuring laboratories
This course was delivered via a cohort format, with instruction provided by recognized
subject matter experts in various areas of standardization and conformity. Topics covered in
the sessions included:
•
Conformity Assessment Principles
Techniques for assessing whether requirements related to specific standards,
regulations and technical specifications have been met
•
Management System
Key elements of a management system and their implementation
•
Systems of Accreditation and Certification
Differences and common elements of accreditation and certification standards
•
Risk Analysis in Conformity Assessment
Risk assessment process
•
Role of Metrology in Conformity Assessment
History of metrology, importance of metrological traceability, calibration hierarchy
•
Case Studies Related to Certification and Accreditation
The virtual classroom delivery aspect of this course allowed for easy participation of
attendees from across the globe, and without incurring travel costs. The classes were
tailored to be more interactive and discussion-oriented for the participants. Overall, the
feedback on this initiative was very positive. IAS plans to work on refining the program even
further, then will present it to other prospective participants in the upcoming offerings.
We encourage anyone interested in deepening their knowledge about accreditation,
certification, risk management, metrology and management systems to participate in the
program. To learn more about the program, please contact Prasanth Ramakrishnan at
pramakrishnan@iasonline.org.
www.iasonline.org
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