The Making of an Expert Engineer: How to Have a Wonderful Career Creating a Better World and Spending Lots of Money Belonging to Other People

557 Pages·2014·27.456 MB·English

by  James P. Trevelyan

The making of an expert engineer
The making of an expert engineer
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1 How to have a wonderful career creating a
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Cover photo: Engineers discuss the implications of vibration measurements at SVT
EngineeringConsultantsheadofficeinPerth,Australia,photographedbytheauthor.
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b PrintedandboundinTheGretaBritainbyCPIGroup(UK)Ltd,Croydon,CR04YY
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de Allrightsreserved.Nopartofthispublicationortheinformationcontained
oa hereinmaybereproduced,storedinaretrievalsystem,ortransmittedinany
nl formorbyanymeans,electronic,mechanical,byphotocopying,recordingor
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Althoughallcareistakentoensureintegrityandthequalityofthispublication
andtheinformationherein,noresponsibilityisassumedbythepublishersnor
theauthorforanydamagetothepropertyorpersonsasaresultofoperation
oruseofthispublicationand/ortheinformationcontainedherein.
LibraryofCongressCataloging-in-PublicationData
Appliedfor
Publishedby: CRCPress/Balkema
P.O.Box11320,2301EHLeiden,TheNetherlands
e-mail:[email protected]
www.crcpress.com–www.taylorandfrancis.com
ISBN:978-1-138-02692-6(Hardback)
ISBN:978-1-315-74228-1(eBookpdf)
Dedication
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Table of contents
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1
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2 Acknowledgements xvii
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c Listoftables xix
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Ma Listoffigures xxi
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8 Preface:Engineeringpracticehasbeeninvisible xxiii
5
6: Practiceconcept1:Thelandscapeofpractice xxv
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at Misconception1:Theseareallnon-technicalissues xxvi
] Practiceconcept2:Socio-technicalfactorsshapethe
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ali landscapeofpractice xxvii
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A 1 Whyengineer? 1
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ste Practicequiz1 3
We Practiceconcept3:Whyengineeringprovidesvalueandwhatthis
f meansforyou 9
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y Technicalexpertise 10
sit Anindicatorofengineeringpractice 11
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v Discoveringexpertengineers 14
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U Priorlearning 16
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y Practicequiz2 17
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d Practiceconcept4:Whatdoesitcosttoemployyou? 19
e
d Ideasfromeconomics 20
a
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wnl 2 Whattypeofengineer? 25
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D Choosingadiscipline 28
3 Flyingstart,nowings,wrongdirection 41
Avoidingahardlanding 41
Areyoureadytolearntofly? 43
Reworkingournotionsofengineering 44
Misconception2:Engineeringisahands-on,practicaloccupation 44
Misconception3:Engineersarenaturallyconciseandlogical 46
Misconception4:Engineersworkwithobjectivefacts 47
Misconception5:Engineersareproblemsolvers 48
Practiceconcept5:Engineeringismuchmorethandesignand
problemsolving 49
viii Table of contents
Practiceconcept6:Asequentialprojectlifecyclemodel 54
Practiceconcept7:Engineeringproblemsarerarelypresentedwith
completeinformationinwriting 60
Practiceconcept8:Logicalexplanationsareessentialandcanbe
challengingtowrite 61
Practiceconcept9:Engineershavetoworkwithmissinganduncertain
information 63
Reworkingnotionsofdesign 65
Practiceconcept10:Mostdesignisbasedonaprecedent 66
Practiceconcept11:Precedentsprovidesomeofthebestguidance 67
Practiceconcept12:Codesandstandardsenablefastand
16 efficientdesign 68
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2 Practiceconcept13:Engineersprogramwithspreadsheets 69
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c Practiceconcept14:Thereisneverenoughtimeto
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Ma investigateeverything 70
2 Findingthebeamloadings 71
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8 Engineering–awonderfulcareer 72
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at 4 Becominganexpert 77
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a Whatweknowaboutexpertise 77
rali Becominganexpertengineer 80
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u Motivation,inspiration,arolemodel,drive,anddetermination 81
A
n Sourcesofongoingencouragement 82
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e Practiceconcept15:Abilitytolearnfromothers 83
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We Seniorengineers 83
f Suppliers 85
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y Foremen,tradespeople,artisans,techniciansandcraftspeople 85
sit Financiers,accountants,andlawyers 85
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v Ordinarypeopleinyourcommunity 85
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U Practiceconcept16:Abilitytoevaluateyourownperformance 86
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y Practiceconcept17:Deliberatepractice,persistence,andresilience 87
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d Rolemodel:C.Y.O’Connor 89
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nlo 5 Whatengineersknow 97
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o Misconception6:Weneedtoknowitall 98
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Definitions 99
Practiceconcept18:Anengineeringenterprise 99
Knowledgeandinformation 102
Practiceconcept19:Typesofknowledge 103
Explicit,codified,propositionalknowledge 103
Proceduralknowledge 104
Implicitknowledge 104
Tacitknowledge 105
Embodiedknowledge 107
Contextualknowledge 108
Practiceconcept20:Competencydependsonknowledgefrom
otherpeople 109
Table of contents ix
Practiceconcept21:Knowledgeisdifficulttolearnandtransfer 110
Practiceconcept22:Knowledgethatinfluencesperceptionandaction 111
Practiceconcept23:Mappingengineeringknowledge 111
Mappingknowledgetypes 112
Practiceexercise1:Mappingcomponentandtoolsknowledge 114
Howmuchknowledgedoyoustartwith? 115
Misconception7:Self-learningisneededbecausetechnology
keepschanging 116
Misconception8:Gradesmatter 116
Technicalknowledgeintheworkplace 118
Casestudy1:Aircraftenginedesign 118
16 Casestudy2:Aluminiumextrusion 122
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2 Casestudy3:Laboratoryandphotocopiertechnicians’knowledge 125
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c Casestudy4:Planningaconstructionproject 127
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Ma Casestudy5:Softwareengineering:aJapanesephotocopier
2 becomesEuropean 128
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8 Casestudy6:Japaneseelectronicsandconsumer
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6: productengineering 129
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at Casestudy7:Wastedisposalinfoodprocessing 130
] Casestudy8:Impossibleengineering 130
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ali Practiceconcept24:Distributedknowledge 132
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st Practiceconcept25:Knowledgeiscarriedbypeople 138
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A Practiceconcept26:Valueofunwrittenknowledge 139
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r Practiceconcept27:Distributedcognition 140
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st Practiceconcept28:Socialrelationshipslieatthecoreof
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technicalengineering 143
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o Misconception9:It’sallpsychologyandmanagement,notengineering 144
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sit Practiceexercise2:Mappingyourknowledgenetwork 146
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U 6 Threeneglectedskills:Listening,seeingandreading 155
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by Priorknowledgeandperception 156
d Practiceconcept29:Perceivingrealityrequiresustounderstandhow
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a priorknowledgecanhelpusanddeceiveus 156
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nl Practiceconcept30:Engineeringisbasedonaccurateperceptionskills 160
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o Perceptionskill1:Listening 161
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Practiceexercise3:Observinglisteninglapses 163
Practiceconcept31:Listeningstartswithengagingtheotherperson 163
Buildingrapportwiththespeaker,developingarelationship 163
Posture 164
Appropriatebodymotion 164
Eyecontact 164
Environment 165
Emotionandfatigue 165
Activelistening 166
Roadblocks 169
Practiceconcept32:Listeningaccuratelyandtakingnotes 171
Writingaccuratenotes 171
x Table of contents
Practiceexercise4:Listeningandnotetaking 173
Practiceconcept33:Contextuallistening 174
Practiceconcept34:Helpingotherstolisten 175
Summary:Listeningisanimperfect,interactive,
interpretationperformance 176
Perceptionskill2:Reading 177
Practiceexercise5:Readingforlearning 179
Practiceexercise6:Writtenrequirements 180
Perceptionskill3:Seeingandcreativity 181
Practiceconcept35:Developingseeingskillsbysketching 183
Practiceexercise7:Evaluateyourseeingskills 183
16 Practiceexercise8:Evaluateyourpotentialforimprovement 185
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c 7 Collaborationinengineering 189
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Misconception10:I’llneedcommunicationskillswhenI’mamanager 191
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2 Misconception11:Ialreadyhavegoodcommunicationskills 193
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5 Misconception12:Communicationskillsandteamworkcannot
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at Misconception13:Mybosswilltellmewhattodo 194
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a Misconception14:Intherealworld,slackerswillbefired 195
rali Practiceconcept36:Communicationisallaboutpeoplecollaborating
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u andcoordinatingtheirwork 196
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n Practiceconcept37:Communicatingtechnicalideaseffectivelyrelies
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e ontechnicalunderstanding 199
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We Practiceexercise9:Specificationwriting 200
f Practiceconcept38:Engineeringisaseriesofcollaboration
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y performances 201
sit Collaborationgenres 207
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d Relationshipbuilding 209
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d Discoverylearning 209
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nlo Asserting 210
w Seekingapproval 211
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D Combinedperformances 211
Practiceconcept39:Engineershavetobeinformalleaders:
theyperformtechnicalcoordinationbyinfluencingandteachingothers 212
Practiceconcept40:Learningrequiresmuchmorethan
logicalexplanations 213
Practiceconcept41:Engineersnegotiatefortime,space,andresources
toperformtheirwork 215
Somenecessarycommunicationconcepts 216
Practiceconcept42:Vocabularyandjargon 216
Practiceexercise10:Projectvocabulary 218
Practiceconcept43:Culture–habitualwaysinwhichpeopleinteract
sociallywitheachother 218
Table of contents xi
Practiceexercise11:Observingculture 220
Practiceconcept44:Languageiscontext-dependent,
person-dependent,andtime-dependent 220
Practiceexercise12:Meaningsandcontexts 228
Practiceconcept45:Conveyingintentaccuratelyiscriticallyimportant,
challenging,anddifficulttomaster 228
Practiceexercise13:Learningfromexperiencedengineers 232
Practiceconcept46:Teamsworkbecauseofdiverseinterpretations 233
Practiceexercise14:Interpretationdifferences 234
Practiceconcept47:Expertengineersspendalotoftimelistening
andtalkingwithotherpeople 235
16 Practiceexercise15:Relationshipsrevisited 235
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2 Practiceconcept48:Expertengineersmanagetheirtimeeffectivelyby
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c thesmartuseofe-mailandcalendars 236
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Ma Practiceconcept49:E-mailandtextmessagesseldomconflicts 239
2 Practiceconcept50:Systemsforcoordinatingengineeringactivity 240
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8 Collaboration–summary 241
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at 8 Informalteaching:Morethananinterpreter 247
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ali Theoryandconcepts 249
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st Someengineeringfrustrations 249
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A Discoveryandteaching 250
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r Misconception15:Aconciseandlogicalexplanationissufficient 251
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st Practiceconcept51:Planning:thelearningobjectiveisaperformance 252
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Practiceconcept52:Alllearningisbasedonpriorknowledge 252
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o Collaborativediscoveryperformances 258
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sit Effectivelearningfromdiscoveryperformances 260
er Teachingperformances 261
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ni Practiceexercise16:Identifyingteachingandlearning
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[ performances 265
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b Variationsinteachingperformances 266
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e Practiceconcept53:Value,interests,expectancy,andenvironment:
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a motivationforlearning 267
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nl Subjectivevalueandinterests 268
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o Practiceexercise17:Identifyyourowninterests 269
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Expectancy 269
Environment 269
Practiceexercise18:Findyourcompanyvalues 272
Practiceconcept54:Deliveringthemessage–morethanbeing
aninterpreter 272
Variationmethod 274
Zoneofproximaldevelopment 275
Collaborativelearning 276
Mastery 277
Checklistforeffectiveteachingperformances 277
Summary 280
xii Table of contents
9 Technicalcoordination:Informalleadership 283
Willingandconscientiouscollaboration 289
Ethicalbehaviourbuildsrespect 292
Practiceconcept55:Technicalcoordinationprocess 292
Phase1:Planning,requirements,andorganisation–discovery
performances 294
Phase2:Monitoring–adiscoveryperformance 295
Contrivingcasualencounters 300
E-mailandSMS(ShortMessageService) 301
Socialculture 301
6 Phase3:completionandhandover 301
01 Technicalcoordinationperformanceattributes 302
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h Socio-technicalenvironmentattributes 303
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r Materialandtoolquality 303
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Environment,maintenancestandards 303
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2 Supportingdocumentation 303
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5 Qualityculture 304
06: Peerattributes 304
at Healthandfatigue 304
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a Priortraining 306
rali Taskattributes 306
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u Ergonomicsandhumanfactors 306
A
n Technicalchallenge 306
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e Subjectivevalueandexpectancy 307
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We Workthatallowsfreethinking 307
f Cleanwork 307
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y Coordinatorandworkpreparationattributes 308
sit Expertise 308
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v Resourcesandsupervision 308
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U Location 308
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y Qualityofsupervisionandinformalsupport 309
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d Scope,documentationoftask,andaccuratelyconveyingintent 309
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d Priororganisation 310
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nlo Understandingofconstraints 310
w Performancequalityassessment 310
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D Workorganisationattributes 310
Interruptions 311
Shiftwork 311
Safety 311
Clothing 311
Self-organisation 312
Handlingproblems 312
Territory 312
Timing 312
Presence 313
Exposuretoconsequences 313