HOUSTON: “WE HAVE A SOLUTION”

Even at a young age, there were hints of the mechanical engineer Eric Houston would become.

“I’ve always been kind of a tinkerer. I liked to take things apart and put them back together in ways they were probably never intended to be,” says Eric with a laugh, recalling one of his early innovations.

“When I was in high school, I used an old toy gun to make an alarm for my room. When someone opened the door to my room, it closed the contacts on the toy gun and made loud, annoying sounds,” he recalls. “I don’t think my parents enjoyed that very much, but I thought it was pretty fun.”

Eric took his creativity and curious mind to the University of Texas at Austin, where he earned a degree in mechanical engineering. He leveraged that degree to launch a successful career in mechanical integrity.

His career journey — including a deep dive into the nuclear power industry — has made Eric an expert in piping and pressure vessel analysis, including advanced methodologies such as finite element analysis and fracture mechanics. As a leader in the industry, Eric was tapped to help write code revisions for the American Society of Mechanical Engineers (ASME) — including the frequently used Code Case N-513, which provides evaluation rules and criteria for temporary acceptance of flaws in moderate energy piping.

As a Systems Engineer with Industrial Inspection & Analysis (IIA), Eric finds creative solutions to real-world industrial problems and has a passion for Design and Programs — solutions that give clients peace of mind.

He was drawn to IIA for the collaborative team environment and cutting-edge inspection technologies. He welcomes every opportunity to work closely with IIA’s non-destructive examination (NDE) experts.

“Engineering and NDE pair so well together. It’s really easy to exceed your customer’s expectations when you’re doing both of those activities as one company,” he says. When one company does NDE and then has to hand the job off to another company for the engineering, there’s just enough of a wall between those organizations to make data transfer difficult.”

Working together, IIA’s inspection and engineering teams can anticipate needs to make the customer experience seamless, swift and stress-free.

As Eric explains: “It’s feasible that we could say to the client: ‘Your inspection results did not meet your acceptance criteria, but we’ve already evaluated it, and it’s fine to continue operation.’ That’s the level of support and comfort IIA is able to provide by having engineering and NDE in one company.”

Over his impactful career, one assignment stands out as particularly memorable.

While others were celebrating the fourth of July, Eric received an urgent call from a nuclear plant after a leak was discovered in safety-related piping. As demand for electricity soared in the sweltering heat, the plant — located in the southern United States — was operating in a protected configuration because a shutdown could put the entire regional grid in jeopardy.

“They did not, for many reasons, want to shut this plant down. This was a case where there wasn’t a clear-cut answer from a regulatory perspective,” recalls Eric. “I was there for several days and worked with the NRC and another company to help them get the data they needed. We were able to show a success path, get NRC buy-off on that, and the plant was able to continue operating.”

His departure from that project was memorable, too.

“I was at the site working so much, I had no clue a hurricane was heading our way,” says Eric. “I got out just a few hours before the hurricane hit. That was one of the more memorable projects I had.”

Projects like these have fostered an ability to navigate regulatory complexities with confidence.

“Often, what appears to be a really difficult problem boils down to a regulatory issue. I have to come up with a solution that will give the regulator confidence that our analyses will show that this equipment can continue to operate safely,” says Eric, who also understands the nuances of run/repair/replace decisions.

“Repair or replacement may not be in the best interest of the company or the safety of everyone involved because you are taking resources that could have been used for other capital improvements or equipment modifications and diverting them to something that is unplanned,” he says. “Helping clients maintain their existing assets has significant advantages in terms of finances, as well as the safe operation of their equipment.”

Over the years, his technical know-how and holistic approach to problem solving have earned Eric a reputation as a leading expert in the nuclear industry. As his loyal clients have discovered, Eric Houston has solutions to their most pressing problems.

“I’ve built my career and client base on owning my client’s problems. That’s truly the only way I’ve found to help solve the problem,” says Eric. “I’ve always tried to listen to what my clients’ biggest problems and concerns are and tried to find the solution for those.”