Perf Feedback for Jim Benzel (2015 Q3) (2)

Jim Benzel (benzel) | 3/Hardware Testing Engineer III Feedback for 2015 Q3

Jim Benzel is nominated for promotion in this cycle.

Rating

Exceeds Expectations

Achievement/Project

1

Carbon Fiber Propellersfor experimentalaircraft

Built 4 carbon fiber (2 sets)

propellers for experimental

aircraft

2015-12-28 /2016-04-30

Impact: Critical

Project Description:

With minimal supervision and without a work order, Michael Prather and I built two sets of carbon fiber

propellers for the Demeter aircraft. We were able to remove four pounds of weight from the second propeller

set by changing the internal rib and strut manufacturing processes. We also improved how these internal

support structures were bonded to the forward and aft faces of the propellers and then how the two faces were

bonded together to complete the assembly of an individual propeller blade. The second set of propellers were

12% lighter and 10% more efficient. I must also thank the lead engineer on this project (Nick Renold) for

allowing us to "Do what we do"

Summary of key contributions:

We employed known, proven and acceptable aircraft methods, techniques and practices to fabricate, assemble

and improve these propeller sets. . Engineering confirmed the second propeller set was 10% more efficient.

Each propeller blade is 6 ft 6" long and an assembled set with titanium hub measures 13' 5"

https://drive.google.com/a/google.com/file/d/0B_RGEQmU2ttVX1lBazhjV3V...

https://drive.google.com/a/google.com/file/d/0B_RGEQmU2ttVSmVRVUJuM...

Reviewer/Role Role Familiarity Impact Feedback

Lance Hall

(MANAGER)

Hardware Testing

Engineer

Very familiar

Jim and (Michael Prather) took over this project

when the contractor was unable to finish it. He

was able to complete the first propeller with very

little instruction or guidance from an engineer.

When the second propeller was constructed, using

his vast experience, he was able to reduce the

weight and get better performance. The efficiency

of the 13 ft propeller was critical for the Demeter

being able to fly.

Allen Lynch

(PEER)

3 / Hardware Testing

Engineer III

Machinist

involved in prop

hubs, spinners,

and testing

Somewhat

familiar

During the propeller builds I was brought in to

perform various machining tasks. While doing so I

was able to witness first hand the amount of the

skill Jim and Mike possess. They were crucial in

lightening the propeller blades, fitting the blades to

the titanium hub, setting the blade pitch, and

balancing the entire assembly.

They also were responsible for modifying the

propeller assembly to attach the spinner and

spinner bulkhead. The spinner did not fit as

designed and interfered with the prop blades. The

blades had to be trimmed and most of a rib

removed. They reinforced this area on the fly to anexcellent result.

Their expert ability and aerospace backgroundcarried this project to success.

Christian Nielsen

(PEER)Mechanical Engineer

None Not very familiar

Dan Cornew


Supervisory Very familiar

Propellor Manufacturing is an extremely difficultarea. Due to the fact that propellors spin anyvariations in weight or aerodynamic quality lead todramatically adverse characteristics.

Jim (and Mike Prather) created this propellor withessentially no supervision. The aluminum tool wasprovided and that was it. Jim had to construct thetooling needed to build the internal propellorstructure.

David Barland

(PEER)6 / Staff MechanicalEngineer

observer, advisor Very familiar

This was a high-priority effort that was performedwithout ANY clear engineering direction, and wasaccomplished solely based on Jim's vastexperience and raw talent, and UNCOMMONcommon sense. Aside from conventionaldevelopment iterations, this effort was completedby he and Mike based on astute intuition that wasnecessarily and frequently invoked, on a dedicatedteamwork basis, due to conflicting and impropersuggestions made by assigned engineer staff. Thisresulted in production of some of the very fewtrouble-free parts produced during the entiredebacle.

David Cochran

(PEER)Hardware TestingEngineer

StructuresTechnician

Very familiar

Gary Osoba

(PEER)Mgr, Ops Tech III

Design andmanagement

Very familiar

Jim did an excellent job in this respect as a juniorengineer had not given much guidance on thisproject. Jim and a fellow worker (Michael Prather)took the initiative to improve the process using skilland insight. They were also careful tocommunicate key developments to me, and ourcollaborative efforts were very successful.

Additional info: Jim and Michael took over theproject from an outside contractor, and there wereseveral errors and problems associated with it thatthey subsequently remedied.

Kyle Liske

(PEER)Mechanical Engineer Mechanical Somewhat

Jim and Mike took over this project when theoutside shop could not meet the deadline. Jimwas critical to taking over the project anddelivering useable parts. Jim used his large

Engineer familiar amount of aerospace and composites experience

to fill in gaps in the engineering knowledge

required to build (and improve) the prop.

Matt Murphy(PEER)

Mechanical Engineer

I did not have a

role in this item.Not very familiar

Michael Prather(PEER)


Engineer III

Worked directly

with JimVery familiar

Jim is a master composites technician he knows

the work @ the highest level I have ever worked

with in over 27 years. He has completed all task @

a professional level every time.

Nick Renold(PEER)

4 / Technical Program

Manager II

Lead engineer Very familiar

I was supposed to be the "mechanical engineer" on

this project, but with Jim's wealth of experience I

was able to let him develop the manufacturing

methods and steps to complete the propeller

manufacturing, while my responsibility was to track

and report on the schedule, material inventory, and

accept or reject design changes proposed by Jim

or others.

I worked with Jim to capture the steps he was

planning to use for manufacturing and turn it into a

schedule that was used to report on the status of

the project. We worked together to create a

schedule at the beginning that Jim felt he and Thor

(Mike Prather) could accomplish, and I was able to

let him manage the day to day execution of the

tasks. We both recognized that weekends were our

only slack time available and they would have to

work on the weekends if there were any

manufacturing setbacks, which did occur. We

developed the schedule (link) on Feb 12 with a

claimed delivery date for Prop S/N 2 on March 16.

The prop was delivered on time, with Jim and Thor

working through the slack time (weekends) to

accomplish it.

Rick Wilder(PEER)

Hardware Testing

Engineer

observerSomewhat

familiar

This was a major accomplishment to the program.

Jim took the initiative to make this prop better than

what was asked.

2

Carbon fiber wing ribtest layups

Prep Tooling and fabricate

test pieces

2015-07-01 /2015-09-10

Impact: Large

Project Description:Mold prep tooling mandrels, laminate, by wet lay-up and pre-preg carbon fiber vacuum bag techniques, scaled

wing rib sections for process improvements and material testing, 1/4" diameter unidirectional carbon fiber

tubes and panels for assembly into test pieces for lightweight rib truss panels

Summary of key contributions:Mold prep tooling mandrels, laminate, by wet lay-up and pre-preg carbon fiber vacuum bag techniques. Michael

Prather assembled the pic of the unidirectional carbon and Rohacell rib truss mock up.

https://drive.google.com/a/google.com/file/d/17zz80STx5bFxi-clMRGFT7rS...

https://drive.google.com/a/google.com/file/d/1njRx0icc7_yq6vkb-vCv7o3MX...


Lance Hall(MANAGER)Hardware TestingEngineer

Very familiar

As the team tries to look at new constructionmethods to achieve lighter and stronger structures,Jim knowledge has been invaluable in suggestingmethods to approach this task. His familiarity withrapid prototyping techniques allows for exploratoryconcepts to be built and evaluated very quickly.

Allen Lynch(PEER)3 / Hardware TestingEngineer III

Machinist - 1/4"diametermandrelprocurement

Somewhatfamiliar

Jim has worked with engineers on several testprojects like this one. He is typically able to quicklyfind or make tooling for test samples withoutneeding custom CNC machine work or specialtytooling materials. He knows what works and whatdoesn't before he even attempts a layup. I've seenhim devise tooling and produce composite partstime after time without fail.

Christian Nielsen(PEER)Mechanical Engineer

Thea materialsprogram lead

Somewhatfamiliar

Jim worked to create samples to test out ribstructure ideas. The ideas and materials wereselected by the engineers in consultation with Jim,as he has extensive experience in hands-oncomposite work and can make recommendationson what can and cannot be fabricated.

Dan Cornew(PEER)Mechanical Engineer

Customer for theresultant data

Somewhatfamiliar

These small, lightweight, and very finickystructures are an excellent example of Jim's layupskills. These style of layups are relativelyunusually, and Jim is able to leverage hisexperience to execute on them very well.

David Barland(PEER)6 / Staff MechanicalEngineer

observer, advisorSomewhatfamiliar

Jim has a unique and very noteworthy combinationof skilled, practiced, and rigorous methodicalconsistency, along with a potent research andinnovation focus. The industry in which Jim excelsis undergoing rapid development, and he sharedmany of the pertinent aspects of his knowledge ofthe state-of-the-art forefront during this effort.

David Cochran(PEER)Hardware TestingEngineer


Very familiar

Gary Osoba(PEER)Mgr, Ops Tech III

aero designSomewhatfamiliar

JIm possesses many decades of experience, muchof which has occurred with composites andtooling. His thoroughness and good planning areevident in his work.

Kyle Liske(PEER)Mechanical Engineer

MechanicalEngineer

Not very familiar

In the rib development program at this point we arein the exploratory and concept development phase. This means that not everything is well laid out, the

Matt Murphy


I am in charge ofthe ribdevelopment.

Very familiar

details are not well understood, and there can be adecent amount of ambiguity. Everything that weare building and testing is at the "edge of theenvelope". Jim is able to work with this very welland adapt as the design evolves. He also hasprovided valuable input and insight into newpotential options, changes, and processes thatwould result in a more efficient and successful endproduct.

Michael Prather

(PEER)3 / Hardware TestingEngineer III

Worked with Jim Very familiar

Nick Renold

(PEER)4 / Technical ProgramManager II

Not at all familiar

Rick Wilder


Tool DesignerSomewhatfamiliar

Jim not only did the layups for these parts he wasinstrumental in the design of the tooling. Jimalways go beyond the expectations of the job. Jimalso has the talent and has shared his knowledgewith his co-worker to make them better employees.

3Carbon fiber test sparlay up test samples

Prep tooling and fabricatetest pieces2015-07-15 /2015-09-11Impact: Large


Fabricate, scaled wet lay-up and pre-preg unidirectional round tube and square tube, thin wall carbon fiber spartest sections.


Mold prep tooling mandrels, laminate, by wet lay-up and pre-preg carbon fiber vacuum bag techniques

https://drive.google.com/a/google.com/file/d/1Db9aOXVJT0ll63RH8TnrymR...

https://drive.google.com/a/google.com/file/d/1Y7pryEZBzKQBZZpWAlEuF0...

https://drive.google.com/a/google.com/file/d/1myXsboo9nXzITr1ch7GQZpR...

https://drive.google.com/a/google.com/file/d/0B_RGEQmU2ttVdUxtcHBjbkd...


Lance Hall

(MANAGER)Hardware TestingEngineer

Very familiar

The spar test samples that Jim has been doinghave been crucial to sizing the spar requirementsfor Thea. His rapid prototyping skills allow theengineer to quickly evaluate construction methodsand materials needed for the final design of thespar.

Allen Lynch


Machinist -tooling support

Somewhatfamiliar

Jim was the lead technician on creating small spar

Christian Nielsen



Somewhatfamiliar

sections to evaluate structural ideas. The partswere very thin and their high quality was a directresult of his care and attention to detail.

Dan Cornew



Somewhatfamiliar

This style of layup is practiced by a relatively lownumber of companies on the planet. Again, Jim'ssuperior experience and craftsmanship allow thesetest parts to be created with a minimum ofiterating.

David Barland


observer, advisor Very familiar

This is a difficult, on-going effort which is, to saythe least, unconventional and risky. Jim is in thevery thick of it and is making an indispensabledifference.

David Cochran



Very familiar

Gary Osoba


aero designSomewhatfamiliar

Kyle Liske


MechanicalEngineer

Somewhatfamiliar

Jim has been critical in building small scale testparts for the wing structure development program. His extensive knowledge and attention to qualitymake him an excellent resource for buildingdifficult prototype parts where the variation inworkmanship would be very detrimental and theprocess is not yet defined.

Matt Murphy


I did not have adirect role, but Idid observe thisproject.

Somewhatfamiliar

Michael Prather


worked with Jim Very familiar

Nick Renold


Not at all familiar

Rick Wilder


Not at all familiar

4Thin film wing skin testfixture set up and wingfilm (tedlar) install

Assemble test fixture and


Assemble test fixture and apply different films in different orientations, with and with out solar cells


Fabricate mock up of wing section cord, approximately 8 ft in length by 8 ft wide. This consisted of end plates,

apply various films to testapparatus.2015-08-01 /2015-09-11Impact: Large

ribs, threaded rod spars (for adjustment) and foam leading edges. Different films were applied to wing mockup and then shrunk to size with a heat gun for evaluation of extremely lightweight wing skins

https://drive.google.com/a/google.com/file/d/1jAHG1rHqvxF4B8T_kIEMg9G...



Very familiar

Jim provided a lot of input on this project. Hisknowledge of film material was key in evaluatingthe feasibility of using it in this type of wingconstruction.


Machinist -produced skintest fixturecomponents

Somewhatfamiliar



Somewhatfamiliar

Jim worked with a candidate wing skin film(Tedlar) and this test fixture, applying the film andtrying multiple configurations.



Somewhatfamiliar

This is an extremely unusual construction methodfor aircraft aerodynamic surfaces. Jim's work onthis task speak to his ability to tackle new andunusual problems.


observer Very familiar



Very familiar


aero design Very familiar

When developing new techniques and methods, itis often beneficial to experiment quickly and iteraterapidly. Jim's efforts with this project assisted theexploring engineer to evaluate more quickly andwith a focus on the area being studied.


MechanicalEngineer

Somewhatfamiliar

Jim worked on building the fixture designed to testfilm wingskins. He worked with Jesse to test avariety of film skin materials and applicationtechniques. As usual, he also provided greatfeedback and helped troubleshoot the issues thatcame up during the tests.

Matt Murphy(PEER)Mechanical Engineer

I did not have adirect role, but Idid observe thisproject.

Somewhatfamiliar

Michael Prather(PEER)3 / Hardware TestingEngineer III

Peer Very familiar

Nick Renold

(PEER)


Manager II

Not at all familiar

Rick Wilder

(PEER)

Hardware Testing

Engineer

Tool DesignerSomewhat

familiar

Without Jim's expertise this project would have not

been able to be tested.

5

Launcher for scaledmodel developmentprogram.

Built it to provedied

engineering drawing

2015-08-21 /2015-09-04

Impact: Large


Build launcher for scaled model flight testing to launch models on a consistent, repeatable basis.


Cut, fabricated, fit and assembled structure.

https://drive.google.com/a/google.com/file/d/1Vo4jHCfeY1QmJYb6HW9RT...


Lance Hall

(MANAGER)

Hardware Testing

Engineer

Very familiar

Jim readily accepted this short notice

task to allow the Wing Advisory Group to

have a repeatable launch method to

evaluate test design that are being

considered for the Thea conceptual

design.

Allen Lynch

(PEER)


Engineer III

Machinist - supportSomewhat

familiar

Jim single handedly built this launcher in

one day give or take a few hours while

still attending meetings.

Christian Nielsen

(PEER)

Mechanical Engineer

None Not at all familiar

Dan Cornew

(PEER)

Mechanical Engineer

Supervisory. Very familiar

I provided Jim a very rough hand sketch

of this launcher, and he built it. He

devised all the details himself. This is

truly the mark of an excellent Shop Guy.

The ability to take bad or cursory

engineering work and create a usable

high quality product.

David Barland

(PEER)

6 / Staff Mechanical

Engineer

observerSomewhat

familiar

David Cochran

(PEER)

Hardware Testing

Engineer

Structures Technician Very familiar

This project was put together quickly


managing Very familiar and adapted as required to fulfill the testneed. Jim is a willing and capablecontributor.


Mechanical Engineer Not very familiar

Matt Murphy(PEER)Mechanical Engineer

I did not have a direct role,but I did observe thisproject. I do not know all ofJim's specificcontributions.

Not very familiar

Michael Prather(PEER)3 / Hardware TestingEngineer III

Peer Very familiar

Nick Renold(PEER)4 / Technical ProgramManager II

Not at all familiar

Rick Wilder(PEER)Hardware TestingEngineer

observerSomewhatfamiliar

Before this tool ,they were launching theaircraft by hand , it was not a repeatableprocess.Jim's design gave the team atool to a repeatable process to be ableto judge the different aircrafts in flight

6Quality AssuranceProgram CompositesCertification

Participant2015-08-03 /2015-08-07Impact: Medium

Project Description:Fundamental of Advanced Composite Auditing class at Arabis Composite Training Facility.

PS I was also involved in the fabrication and assembly of Demeter, this was a painful and agonizing processfor me as we did not follow acceptable composite aircraft methods and practices. The failure of this aircraftmade me truly realize the importance of a good QA program and the mandate of applying known, proven,repeatable manufacturing and assembly practices. That's all I care to say about Demeter.

Summary of key contributions:Attended 40 hours of class room and laboratory instruction to provide the attendee with knowledge of thequality issues inherent to manufacturing advanced composite panels, components, and assemblies. Thiscourse also provides the student with a better understanding of advanced composite materials, processes,layup/lamination, vacuum bagging, adhesive bonding, tooling, repair, and inspection methods and techniquesused in industry today.



Very familiar

This was an essential class for Jim to take to helpthe team produce quality parts to evaluate anduse. He readily shares this knowledge with othersto increase their own experience in compositelayups.

Allen Lynch


None Not very familiar

Christian Nielsen


None Not at all familiar

Dan Cornew


Not very familiar

David Barland


observerSomewhatfamiliar

David Cochran



Somewhatfamiliar

Gary Osoba


not involved Not at all familiar

Kyle Liske


MechanicalEngineer

Not at all familiar

I wasn't aware that Jim had attended this class, butit does not surprise me. Jim is very determined toimprove the quality and capability ofmanufacturing and prototyping at Titan. He took alot of time during the Demeter build to teach meand improve my composite design ability and buildquality. He is motivated and continues to lead andagitate for improvements.

Matt Murphy


I did not have adirect role. I didsee some of theresults andlessons learned.

Somewhatfamiliar

Jim has a "can do" attitude and has never oncerefused to help transfer his knowledge for thebetter of my project and the program as a whole. He has many years of hands-on experience. Despite this, he is very willing to learn new thingsand realizes that there is always room forimprovement, even for him. This is a very positivething as it allows him to adapt and bring newsolutions. Composites is an ever evolving fieldwith many lessons learned. Having people withpast experience and the willingness to keeplearning is very important to the success of theprogram. An example of his proactive approach tolearning was his self-motivated pursuit of the"Fundamental of Advanced Composites Auditing"class.

Nick Renold


Not at all familiar

Rick Wilder(PEER)Hardware TestingEngineer

Very familiar Jim is the "go-to -guy" for any layup questions. Heis a great teacher/mentor.

What's one thing you do really well that you plan to continue doing?

Reviewer/Role Feedback

Jim Benzel(SELF)3 / Hardware TestingEngineer III

Develop and/or evaluate flyable composite structures to to put the Google Air platform in a HALE (High AltitudeLong Endurance) aircraft. This will result in Google making the world a better and more informed place to liveby bringing the internet to areas where internet connectivity is currently unavailable.


Jim brings a vast wealth of knowledge and experience to the team. His insights have made a huge contributionto exploring ideas and concepts that will make this project a success. He is always willing to share thisknowledge with all team members when they have questions on composite parts.


Jim is an expert composites tech with aerospace and airframe experience. He is able to execute any layup orsecondary operation such as bonding, trimming, drilling and assembly to the highest aerospace standards.

He has built airframe structures that were used during the endurance record breaking flight of the Orion UAV.

I can alway rely on his feedback during tool design and machining. He advises me on tolerances, surfacefinishes, draft angles, protrusion needed for molds with call plates, trim lines and more. He knows what willwork and serves as a quality inspector for composite tooling.


Jim's experience and attention to detail make him a go-to composite technician for engineers looking to trysomething new or hard. He can take an idea for a part and figure out a way to make it. He has high standardsand makes excellent parts. He should keep doing all of that.


Jim should continue to take poor/rushed engineering work on create excellent products out of it.

The propellor build is the best example of this. But Jim has demonstrated this on numerous smaller projects.


Pure adherence to teamwork, industry-standard methodology, a strong desire to innovate, and a very strongdesire, among all other peers, to "Do It Right".


Jim is communicating to the less experienced A/C design and manufacturing Engineering group on theindustry standard methods of composite manufacturing of aircraft parts. This is critical to the success of theHAP program, and should continue using his knowledge of the process.


Bringing many years of practical experience and quality technique to a relatively young team. Our juniorengineers could learn much by spending more time observing, listening to, and working hands on with Jim andother more experienced personnel in the shop.

Jim is really good at doing high quality composites work. He is the default guy for working on the hardestprojects. He has both the skills and the commitment to work on a difficult project; he is willing to put in a lot oftime to make things work. I've seen this many times: the propellor build, test parts for the Thea wing

Kyle Liske


development program (spars, ribs, skins). He will also help people who are struggling to achieve quality; he hasstayed late to help me build parts (aeroprobe mounts) and he will take time to interject helpful caution andadvice when he sees someone about to execute a bad fabrication decision (all of the boom bonding operationson Demeter).

Matt Murphy


He has a positive attitude about trying new things and attempting to make it successful even if it looksdifferent or not plausible. I believe that this is an important attribute. In addition to the positive can do attitudeit is valuable to have his many years of experience. This combination of the willingness to try new things alongwith the many years of experience is a critical skill set to have for this program. This means that Jim can takeall of the lessons learned from past experience and apply them to the challenge at hand while not beingweighed down by just meeting the status quo. In other words he does not just understand an existing solutionand apply it, but rather he is able to understand the details that led to an existing solution and pull importantones that can be applied in a new combination to a new challenge.

Several times I have been able to give Jim a "half" or "open-ended" solution that he can think on. I do this onpurpose to empower him to come up with a unique solution from his perspective. Many times he has comeback with an innovative and successful solution that I would have not thought of.

Michael Prather


Use his knowledge of composites to teach other team members.

Nick Renold


Jim has a wealth of experience and I think he should continue to leverage his experience. I saw this first handwhen he was able to recommend assembly methods and create tooling for the propeller ribs. He shouldleverage this experience by writing down, documenting, and photographing the methods that he knows andcommunicating this to the engineers so that they can learn from and leverage his methods to design the bestparts possible.

Rick Wilder


Jim need to continue his mentoring of his workmates.

What's one thing you plan to do to have more impact?


Jim Benzel

(SELF)3 / Hardware TestingEngineer III

Communicate with others better. Listen and be more compassionate. Try to explain myself better. Sometimespeople misunderstand my intentions, which is always completion of the mission. I am taking instruction oncompassionate communication. This involves how I listen, what I hear, and how I express myself to others andwhat they here me say as opposed to what I meant. It sounds easy, but trust me, for me, it's not. It's muchharder than building the Orion wing for Aurora Flight Sciences or the cars (composite parts only) that wonLeMans1986, the 12 Hours of Sebring 1985-6 and the 24 hours of Daytona 1985-6..https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3jr9DscHTv0

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Porsche_962_119_diffuser.jpg

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Lowenbrau962.JPG

Lance Hall

(MANAGER)Hardware TestingEngineer

Jim's passion for his work can get the better of him sometimes. I agree with his assessment and I know thathe is working hard in this area to make improvements. Being able to calmly explore all presented ideas willhelp us reach our goals.

Allen Lynch


I feel that Jim needs to be more involved in training others. He is one of the two composite techs at Titan thathave real experience building composite structures for full scale HALEs.

If he were in a role that would allow him to teach and train other techs we could end up with a team that will beable to build anything that the design team can imagine.

I think he could start training people now and I know he has to some extent. There are probably someprocedures that need to be put in place but having a properly trained group of techs is crucial.

Christian Nielsen


Jim already is teaching less experienced technicians good composite fabrication methods, and he shouldexpand this work, especially during some of the current developmental work.

Dan Cornew


Jim should be more insitent that his ideas are acted on.

During the Demeter build I deliberate ignored much of his advise, in order for us to meet schedule (Which was awaste, since we missed our build goals repeatedly).

Jim should endeavor to make his suggestions and complaints more formal, so that they are harder to ignore.

David Barland


He could be released by the "system" to actually exercise his experience and knowledge to their fullest.

David Cochran


Jim is definitely making a positive impact for the program, using his knowledge and jumping in on Engineeringprojects using new materials and methods that can be critical to the success of the program. Working after theDemeter project is more of an R&D atmosphere and is somewhat challenging understanding what the directionof the technicians will be going. This probably contributes to the misinterpretation of Jim's communication,trying to decipher are we working on proven manufacturing processes or going to be just doing R&D testing.

Gary Osoba


Jim has many good observations and recommendations. He should be commended for communicating theseboth politely and freely. One suggestion might be to concisely write these down in a helpful manner, andcommunicate this to invested parties in written form.

Kyle Liske


Now that I'm not working in the shop as much, I haven't had as many opportunities to absorb knowledge fromJim. Maybe some of this information could be presented in tech talks or something similar. This wayeveryone can benefit from Jim's extensive knowledge, even people not working directly with him. Theengineers with less composites experience have learned a lot from Jim in the past, I think that should continuefor everyone.

Matt Murphy


I partly agree with Jim's assessment that communication could be an area of potential improvement. Ipersonally have never had an issue with communicating with Jim. I appreciate his honesty and openness. However, communication is a very powerful tool that most everybody can benefit from additional refinement. Everybody responds differently and an approach that works with one person may not be effective with others.

Michael Prather


Jim could have better communication skills which he his taking training .

Jim could get better at documenting his work. Since he has so much experience, I allowed him to develop themethods for manufacturing the propeller without work instructions. He would have much more impact if heused the opportunity to document and capture his methods into work instructions for future propellers. He

Nick Renold

(PEER)


Manager II

could do this by taking lots of photos and writing down notes from each step of manufacturing, and storing

them in a single place such as a drive folder for each project he is working on. Then his pictures and notes

could be used by the engineer in developing work instructions for the next project or similar projects. This

would expand the impact of his experience beyond the project that he is actively working on.

Overall how has Jim Benzel performed in their role (Hardware Testing Engineer III) since their last review?


Lance Hall

(MANAGER)

Hardware Testing

Engineer

Since joining the team, Jim far exceeds the expectations set for a level 3. His many years of composite

experience shows when working on projects. He regularly mentors engineers and technicians when they have

questions about composite work. Jim is able to make of plan of work from ideas that an engineer might for a

project. He is able to on complex projects with excellent results. Jim has had large impact with completing

projects that kept the Demeter schedule on track.

You are currently up for promotion. Provide your rationale.

Reviewer/Role Promote? Feedback

Jim Benzel

(SELF)


Engineer III

Yes

I have 37 years of experience fabricating large, fast, lightweight composite structures and

their related tooling in the aircraft, automotive, marine and construction industries. I am

the go to guy when the chips are down and a project needs to be completed on time. I will

do whatever it takes to complete the mission.

I think Google can produce a platform to bring the internet to the world. You need people

like me, to build or oversee the building of an aircraft to support such a world changing

feat. Making information more readily available to the world masses will make the world a

better, safer, cleaner place.

I am here for a purpose / mission. My mission is to build a HALE aircraft that will enable

Google Air to complete their mission.

Thankyou

Perf Feedback for Jim Benzel (2015 Q3) (2)

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