Navigating COVID-19 disruptions
Edward P. Salek, CAE, Executive Director | TLT Headquarters Report August 2020
STLE programs adapt to changing member needs.
STLE’s online education program continues to target current needs.
Let’s begin with a personal statement on behalf of STLE leadership and staff. We sincerely hope that members and the broader community around the world are coping with the COVID-19 pandemic as well as individual circumstances permit.
From a business and professional standpoint, STLE is doing all we can to support constituents as they navigate through this difficult and disruptive situation. Our focus remains on finding ways to keep up with changing member needs.
McKinley Advisors, a business consultancy serving associations, recently summarized the mindset in this way: “The COVID-19 pandemic has required associations to rethink operations (e.g., remote work, Zoom meetings), shift how value is delivered (e.g., virtual meetings) and even reprioritize the work of staff.”
In what’s now the sixth month of this environment, the results of this operational transformation are becoming evident at STLE. At its core, it has been our commitment to provide online learning opportunities to members and non-members who have been or continue to be on a restricted work schedule due to health and safety rules.
A program called
STLE Webinar Wednesdays , which ran from March through June, offered a new prerecorded technical webinar each week at no cost to STLE members. We also provided links to TLT articles related to the webinar to help people more thoroughly explore the topic. Over its 14-week run, this program served 2,525 participants, an average of 180 listeners per week.
Although Webinar Wednesdays has ended, STLE’s online education program continues to target current needs. The
most recent offering was a 90-minute webinar titled “How to Remain Safe and Productive in Working with Metalworking Fluids During the COVID-19 Pandemic.” A team of four experts covered the basics of the virus that causes COVID-19 and related illnesses, ways to minimize the risk of exposure and the role of disinfectants in deactivating the virus.
Online education also has emerged at the local level. Several STLE Local Sections, unable to hold face-to-face meetings due to social distancing requirements, secured speakers and worked with STLE headquarters staff to present valuable technical information in a virtual format.
Looking ahead to the fall, STLE is transforming the
Tribology Frontiers Conference into a virtual event that has been designated a Tribology Frontiers Week Celebration. The online conference, which will run Nov. 9-13, offers participants from around the world convenient access to a program that includes eight keynote speakers, more than 100 technical presentations and special sessions. Plus, there will be eight to 10 hours of networking time available during the week in addition to Q&A sessions, with speakers and presenters, and designated times for visiting virtual posters and exhibits.
STLE leadership also has approved additional measures to support members during these unusual circumstances. For example, anyone experiencing hardship due to COVID-19 can request a three-month extension of their membership renewal due date. The headquarters staff also has been reaching out to request alternative contact information to ensure that email messages and publications like TLT reach people working at home or in locations other than their normal business address.
While no one can predict when the pandemic will subside, STLE has made a firm commitment to remain an essential partner with our members and the lubricants and tribology business sector. Just as businesses are striving to adjust their operations, STLE leadership and staff are taking the necessary steps to maintain our relevance as a technical society through the remainder of 2020 and into the coming year.
You can reach Certified Association Executive Ed Salek at esalek@stle.org.