Engineering Changes Through Technology Improvement Over The Past 50 Years - Thesis Example

?Topic:  Engineering changes through technology improvement over the past 50 years Introduction Science and technology have greatly affected and influenced the historical course of development and advancement through time. The present and future of human society, the daily lifestyle, factors such communication, transportation, manufacturing and virtually all other activities have been shaped by science and technology and its various fields of scientific engineering. Burkins and Grasso (2009), state that the engineering fraternity and its multitude of professions and dimensions have engineered structures, chemicals, DNA, materials, machinery and so much more that has been responsible for shaping the current society in to the structure that is seen today. The great revolutions in the fields of industrial and agricultural technology are examples that show how engineering and technology had a greater influence on how human beings lead their lives when compared to the influence of the political and social revolutions of time. New discoveries in preventive medicine and sanitation have led to population explosion as well as its control. Weaponry from the time of arrows and bows to nuclear power and gun powder have also contributed to changes on how wars were fought; in the field of computers, the microprocessor has changed how people bank, shop, run businesses, communicate with other people and conduct research activities. While these are very minor example, there is no dispute that the engineered technologies are responsible for large scale transformations that have contributed to the increase of urbanization in society and developing interdependence of societies worldwide (Ahlgren & Rutherford, 1990). All these changes in the world have been as a result of gradual development of artisan skills in engineering professions which have in turn gradually contributed to scientific knowledge and increased technological discoveries. Most of the technological and scientific discoveries have been a result of engagement in artisan skills of engineering. These artisan skills have gradually led to new discoveries and developments which occurred through empirical observations and regular experimentation. The artisan skills was the main way through which technological and scientific discoveries were arrived at prior to the development of active science skills that could anticipate situations and conditions as well as maneuver situations to achieve results in the experimental field. Practical engagement in various engineering artisan skills has directly led to vast acquisition of engineering experience and the building of a wealth of knowledge which has contributed to greater scientific advancements (Hughes and Hughes, 2000). In fact, most early scientific and technological discoveries were made by individuals who were practically engaging in engineering fields as either professionals or apprentices in their respective roles. It is for this same reason that engineering has always acclaimed practical old world artisan skills as the best mode of development of engineering skills. Prior to the emergence of formal science training and engineering studies, much of the learned skills in all forms of engineering were passed down generations by craftsmen and specialist through apprenticeship programs that attached learners to professionals for a length of time through which they could extensively develop their artisan skills in various engineering practices (Martin & Christensen, 2009). Throughout the apprenticeship period, all of these apprentices would learn their skills through practical engagements that would make their experiences ingrained to their personality as they learned from their actions. It was through the process of apprenticeship that construction skills such as building structures, roads, bridges and many other forms of constructions got developed and passed on to the others. Apprenticeship – Over the years However, with advancement, the mode of learning and engaging in scientific studies the acquisition of engineering knowledge has greatly transformed. The discovery of writing has led to the formal documentation of engineering knowledge under various forms of engineering courses and research. Initial learning in the fields of engineering has taken a different form because much of learning happens through a ‘pen-and-paper’ method which involves a mix of written theory work and some minimal practical engagement during the process of acquisition of knowledge (Horning, 2001). With the paradigm shift, apprenticeship has lost favor and it has been relegated to mere artisans that have a low standing in the engineering fields. It has been noticed that the professionals in the engineering field with high levels of artisan skills and years of experience do not gain the same level of recognition and status as the professionals who have certifications and doctorates claim in the same field (Yerian, 2000). It now seems that, in the engineering field, people with more theory and learning experience are valued when compared to those with richer artisan skills and a wealth of experience. This situation has been worsening along with the fact that there is now greater automation and use of computerized systems to do much of the practical design. This approach reduces rigorous mental challenges and physical or practical engagements in the intricacies of design and implementation. This has resulted in the engineering fraternity losing a great deal of the older pride held in old world artisan skills that were important to building the early first body of engineering knowledge through practical experience and physical engagement in the implementation of engineering plans (Hofmann and Lehner, 2001). The greater concentration now has shifted to the usage of modern bolt technology instead of relying on artisan skills such as physically designing things as in the past. Automation has become a very important element and it now nearly controls all engineering systems. Design processes have also been automated. Additionally, even troubleshooting and correction of any engineering inconsistencies is done with the help of automation. The process of physical engagement in design, controlling engineering systems, troubleshooting and correction has greatly been lost at the expense of increasing automated efficiency and quick design and implementation. Of course, this has increased engineering efficiency. For example, in the field of automobile engineering or engineering systems of complicated machinery that could be designed for several months or years can now be simply designed in a couple months on an automated computer design system such as auto-CAD or Archi-CAD for engineering structures (Dorf, 2005). Modern firms do not even offer apprenticeship programs anymore to students in the engineering profession. Computer systems attached to factory plants can now detect faults and troubleshoot for any problems in the system and give alerts to the engineering team which makes the checks and responses necessary to correct the systems (Yerian, 2000). This is all happening at the expense of losing experience in the practicality of the system by eliminating the use of experience and practical physical checks to troubleshoot the system and solve the associated challenges. In the past engineers had to physically troubleshoot systems to determine and solve the associated problems. In fact this was essential in the discipline of engineering because engineers got a first hand experience into how systems worked, what made them fail, where they could often possibly fail and the reasons as to why they could fail. Learning and getting such insight into engineering systems contributed to gathering knowledge and a wealth of experience which led to the development and advancement of engineering systems (Yerian, 2000). With the help of this practical knowledge, engineers could understand why and where the system failed and hence they could incorporate measures that would help their design phase in order to develop better newer designs that would exhibit less failure. Perhaps the only place where this possibility still occurs is the boiler making engineering discipline, where boiler makers take up raw pieces of metal and turn them into useful parts of engineering systems. There is no dispute that the past method of gaining engineering experience and knowledge is the one that directly contributed to the sophisticated systems that we currently have (Lord, 2005). More importantly, important, their further development and advancement also relies on this same factor. The automated systems that simply report errors and automatically initiate correction or call for engineering intervention may as well possess early warning systems that are efficient, but the key question to consider is: What are they adding to the engineering field? Are they helping to learn about the systems and better them or are they simply increasing our complacency in the engineering field and dulling our acute senses that are necessary for any engineer? Engineering Progress It would not be wrong to say this is increasing our complacency and dulling our engineering senses. Automatic troubleshooting systems that directly point to the problem in any engineering system do not let the engineer develop their keen analytical senses and skills that can help them not only determine the problem, but also anticipate and possibly develop an understanding on the cause an effect of any problems. Despite the advantages of efficiency and automation that have developed in to today’s engineering systems there is a need to still develop the old traditional human skills and wealth of experiences that characterized earlier forms of engineering professions. This is because these skills are essential and important, not only to understanding the system, but also to the development of solutions and bettering of the system. The development of computer systems in engineering and automation of most processes has robbed the profession the development of human skills, insight and experience which are necessary in furthering the development of the profession (Nieweg et al, 2006) and to avoid any risk of stagnation. It is not that the current automated systems are bad, if anything they can boast of greater efficiency, early detection and reporting of error. In-built redundant systems which have the capacity to take over during malfunctions can ensure smoother operations of the systems. In essence, they are much better than older systems, but the only issue and challenge is that they do not offer a positive contribution to knowledge in the field of engineering and limit the scope of potential advancement and development. Literature Review The world we inhabit has been greatly influenced and shaped in numerous important ways through the action of human beings. The human populace has created technological options to lessen threats to human survival, eliminate or prevent threats to life as well as to environment and to make our social, economic and cultural needs fulfilled. Through our economic activities we have cleared forests, made roads and bridges, dammed rivers, and constructed new machines. These machines have enabled us to cover vast tracts of land with infrastructure such as roads and cities, and even helped the human beings take decisions at times about the fate of some other living organisms in our environments. According to Ahlgren and Rutherford (1990), all these feats have mainly been accomplished through engineering efforts and have actually shown how man can “make the world go round” in his own way. Woods et al. (2009), states that humans have relentlessly been interested with the idea of how the universe is operational and the laws and rules that govern its operation. This great quest and bid has obtained most of its answers through the field of engineering science. The building of our understanding of the universe as a whole has surely not been concluded, but there is a lot of progress that has been achieved. Considering the fact that human beings inhabit a universe which is made of vast distances that cannot be easily reached and of particulate matter too minute to see and countless for numeracy, it is a great tribute to human intelligence that humans have been able to make such progress in our lives, just as it has been accounted for how the puzzle fits together though not conclusively (Burkins & Grasso, 2009). This great level of understanding of the universe is made possible through engineering which studies laws nature, nature of materials and influence of various natural powers on materials and natural forces within the universe. As laid out earlier, this has been made possible through vast learning experiences that have been exerted throughout humanity through the use of apprenticeship in arts and crafts, leading to the development of the body and knowledge of engineering. According to Woods et al. (2009), in fact, in the past men and women of craft were greatly upheld in society and highly treasured and sought after by kings and kingdoms for various engineering fits such as forging of weapons and making of important engineering structures such as bridges, motes, walls, roads canals and so on. The greatness and the magnitude of these achievements were grand and amazing may be historically witnessed in the pyramids at Giza and many other places on earth such as the Aztec Mayan pyramids, the irrigation canals in ancient Egypt and Mesopotamia and the and expansive road networks of the early Roman empires, its magnificent structures such as the amphitheatres. All these magnificent developments attest to grand engineering feats that show how humanity has developed through engineering skills that had developed among human beings even prior to the discovery of writing and formal documentation of engineering books with facts and formulas and designs of various engineering systems (Nieweg et al, 2006). Therefore, it can be concluded that engineering was here long before formal learning, but the question is: How was engineering knowledge developed and passed on to future generations? Apprenticeship is the answer, and there is a cause to worry, because apprenticeship seems to be dying at the moment, and this leads to another question: Is this good for the development of the field of engineering? The answer is rather obvious, a vessel that has carried knowledge throughout ages since time immemorial is about to be compromised and this implies that the transmission of engineering knowledge will be greatly affected. Halpern (2009), states that since time immemorial, humanity has been transferring engineering knowledge and skills from a generation to the next one via apprenticeship and development of old artisan skills in various branches of engineering. Four thousand years back, the Hammurabi Babylonian code held that artisans teach their specialty crafts to the youth. The records of Rome, Greece and Egypt from ancient times show that skills in various crafts were passed on this format. In the past, when youth attained the craft workers’ status, they became useful and important members in society (Kemp, 2005). The prestige of attaining this in old England can be inferred from a dialog from the 14th century Red Book of Hergest, a Welsh Bardic manuscript (Washington State Department of Labor and industry, n.d). “Open the door! “I will not open it. “Wherefore not?” “The knife is in the meat, and the drink is in the horn, and there is revelry in Arthur’s Hall; and none may enter therein but the son of a King of a privileged country, or a craftsman bringing his craft.” Washington State Department of Labor and industry 1 The status given to the craft workers as per this text was indeed great during those times, and the craft workers were well placed and privileged in society. Currently, it is a well known fact that most countries may not have kings, but virtually all nations still have craft workers. What it was like to be an apprentice in early English days is well indicated in these words that originate from a 1640 indenture that shows how crafts and apprenticeship was acquired. "Know all men that I, Thomas Millard, with the Consent of Henry Wolcott of Windsor unto whose custody and care at whose charge I was brought over out of England into New England, doe bynd myself as an apprentice for eight yeeres to serve William Pynchon of Springfield, his heirs and assigns in all manner of lawful employmt unto the full ext of eight yeeres beginninge the 29 day of Sept 1640. And the said William doth condition to find the said Thomas meat drinke & clothing fitting such an apprentice & at the end of this tyme one new sute of apparell and forty shillings in mony: subscribed this 28 October 1640." (Washington State Department of Labor and industry, n,d). But later as it turned out the apprentice, Millard lost the stated amount of money that was mentioned as shown by the following statement made on the indenture’s foot. "Tho Millard by his owne consent is released & discharged of Mr. Pinchons service this 22. of May 1648 being 4 months before his tyme comes out, in Consideration whereof he looses the 40s in mony wch should have bin pd him, but Mr. Pynchon givith him one New sute of Aparell he hath at present.— by Thomas Millard 22nd of May 1648 (Washington State Department of Labor and industry 1). The Washington State Department of Labor and industry (n.d) states that such indentures were forerunners to the modern agreements on apprenticeship in engineering. However, today the apprentice’s state is far and different from that of Millard. The entire system of apprenticeship has undergone a change and apprentices are nowadays not bound to their masters and no longer depend on their masters for everything. Currently, apprentices are members of production forces which train on the job as well as in classes. They get wages, work on a regular work week time table, and live independently. There are agreements and contracts about entry into apprenticeship which dictate the work processes in which they are to train and training period and pay terms. In the end of the apprenticeship, they get awarded with certificates which are similar to diplomas that are offered to graduates in engineering universities (Liepmann, 2003). In a particular year, there are almost half a million apprentices that are registered in all American industries ( Roth and Barton, 2004). They learn under the guidance of craft workers that are more experienced in skilled occupations such as dental laboratory technician, drafters, machinists, die makers, bricklayer, computer operator, maintenance mechanic, electronic technician and many more other crafts. Management, government and labor work jointly to promote apprenticeship to ensure sound standards of practice, and in most communities, labor apprenticeship committees carry out and supervise these programs. These apprenticeship programs generally generate well and highly skilled professions in most fields of engineering as compared to higher university graduates in similar fields, in fact the schemes have been lauded for producing some of the most skilled apprentices (Halpern, 2009). In comparison to these apprentices, the university graduates have been found out to have less practical knowledge and skills at work when compared to their fellows in the engineering profession from apprenticeship programs. This is mainly because they lack practical values and apprenticeship skills, which are rarely offered by most educational institutions in the engineering fields of operation currently. This is indeed worrying when it comes to industrial practice in engineering, because an engineer with more technical scientific know how, but with little practical on the job skills may actually fail to perform well in the current industry which as earlier stated is too much automated and in use of computer systems that offer even lesser practical engagement in the industry and thus lesser skill development is realized (Ostlund, 2007). Therefore, the era of automated computers along with engineers who have less practical knowledge can make the engineering science stagnant. Engineering Technology and its Development According to Billington , (1996)engineering combines both scientific enquiry and practical values. Engineering is the component of technology which is closely allied to scientific inquiry and mathematical modeling. In a broader sense, engineering involves the construing of problems and coming up with designed solutions for the problem that is construed. The basic method involves devising a general approach and thereafter, working out the rest of the technical details to come up with a requisite object such as computer chip, automobile, toy or process such as irrigation that can solve the problem. During early times, technology and engineering developed out of personal experience with properties of things and the discovery of techniques. The knowledge gained was handed by experts to their apprentices through numerous generations along with scope for improvement. Today, the know how handed down is not the craft of a few sole practitioners, but rather an extensive literature of numbers, words and diagrams which give directions and descriptions of various phenomena and systems. As important as the accumulative knowledge, is the contribution to technology that results from comprehending the principles that define how things behave from a scientific perspective. Engineering is the systematic application of knowledge acquired from science in applying and developing technology has developed from a pure craft during the purely apprenticeship era into a science in itself. The scientific knowledge offers a means to make estimations of what a behavior of a certain object might be even prior to the making or observation of the object (Ahlgren & Rutherford, 1990). Science also often offers suggestion of new kinds of behavior that could not be imagined before and thus, leading to new technological findings and design strategies that can be used to solve problems. In a return process, technology or engineering offers the ears and eyes of science as well as the muscle too (Hill, 1973). For example, the electronic computer has led to greater progress in weather studies, gene mapping, demographics and numerous other complex systems, which would not have become possible. Technology is thus an essential tool in science for computation, data collection, measurement, transportation and treatment of samples and many other ends of science and research that have been enabled by technology. Therefore, with the help of technology and engineering products, the human race is able to achieve various scientific discoveries. Technology also provides direction and motivation for theory research, and not just tools required for scientific research. The energy conservation theory was, for example, developed in part because of the engineering problem of trying to increase efficiency in steam engines of commercial vehicles (Lundvall & Christensen, 2004).The gene mapping efforts are examples of motivation by technology from genetic engineering which have made the mapping a possibility. As engineering develops, sophisticated technologies and the links of these technologies to science grow in strength. In certain fields such as solid state physics that concerns superconductors and transistors, the ability to make and study a thing depend on each other and thus science and engineering are scarcely separate. Scientists views patterns in phenomena and use them to make the world understandable. On the other hand, engineers see them as these patterns and thinks of them as tools to make the world manipulable (Liepmann, 2003). The mathematicians seek to demonstrate logic and proof in abstract connections, while scientists seek to prove that theories fit the data; on the other hand engineers seek to show that designs can work. The mathematicians may not provide solutions to all questions, scientist cannot offer all answers and similarly engineers cannot make designs of solutions to all conceivable problems. However, engineering affects the society, culture and system directly more than scientific research. This happens with immediate implications for the failure or success of human enterprise and for the better or worse of human enterprise. Challenges in Engineering Development The course of the field of engineering is commonly charted by constraints that determine the direction of flow of the engineering design and ideas. The essence of the engineering field is design put under constraint. All engineering designs work within constraints which should be noted and taken into account. There are, for example, absolute constraints such as energy conversion, conductivity, stretch limits, and friction all of which are related to physical laws. Other designs may also have non-absolute constraints such as social constraints (e.g. public opposition), ecological constraints (likely high levels of pollution), political constraints (such as local and state opposition), or ethical constraints (such as potential disadvantage of harm to some people. Engineering effort is thus driven towards acquiring an optimum design which takes into account all these constraints and in the end strikes a compromise that is reasonable to come up with an engineering solution (Ahlgren & Rutherford, 1990). Reaching such compromises may at times include the decision to avoid the development of specific technologies and it all requires consideration of social and personal values. At times, design needs routine decisions about the combination of familiar parts. It often involves more creativity in the invention of new approaches to the problems, new combinations and even new components. The consideration of all these constraints and the fact that some technological systems fail, has led to further advances and changes in technology meant to monitor the potential of these failures. This has led to remarkable engineering incorporating changes meant to produce greater reliability, increase automation, prevent a lot of human intervention and enhance safety. As a result, failure in these systems has reduced considerably (Petroski, 1992). This also implies that the systems require little human intervention in terms of control and repair. However, these changes meant to cater for potential failures lead to complexity in the systems and as a result even further increase chances of failure at times. An engineering device or system may fail because of a number of reasons: these may include failure of component parts, occurrence of mismatches on parts or because of inadequacy in design. Overdesign is one of the main reasons of these failures. For example, making something bigger or stronger than necessary may indeed be a cause of failure. Another hedge against failure is redundancy which entails building of back up secondary systems to take over in cases of failure. Martin and Christensen (2009), state that some of these changes in engineering technology, such as in-built redundancy have reduced reliance on humans and their skilled intervention. For example, a system with an in-built redundancy in case of a system failure is able to take over immediately when the primary system has failed and this may eliminate the constant monitoring or intervention of an engineer, because the secondary redundant system continues to operate. Future and Engineering In essence, it reduces the requirement of constant human interventions of skilled engineering service and thus leading to lesser chances of practice of human engineering skills on the job. There are other systems which are designed to reduce harm that occurs, especially if the system is found to likely cause greater harm in case of a failure (Burkins & Grasso, 2009). These systems are thus designed with an allowance of failure, but which ensures that the failure is safe or at least causes minimal harm. Examples in these categories of engineering technology include automobile window glasses that shatter into blunt bits that can cause least harm and bombs which fail to explode in case of fuse failure. All these designs are a good end in engineering and they present what may be regarded as ultimate solutions to engineering challenges and thus reducing any further strain in the engineering search of skills that can be used to further any new developments. These represent the culmination of engineering success where engineering knowledge takes over and reduces any further potential human intervention (Vincenti, 2003). Other methods used to reduce the chances of engineering failure include design improvement which is enhanced through collection of more data, making of more realistic working models, including the accommodation of more variables, making computer simulations, building automated sensors and controllers, building self correcting systems and so on. These means of minimizing and preventing failure are highly likely to hike costs of production, but they at least cut down similar costs required in making interventions of skilled labor and requiring constant monitoring of the engineers concerned. However, no matter what extent of precautions is taken or how much money is put into the process reducing the risk of engineering systems, failure can become zero. The only fact is that these failures will be reduced. Therefore, the best option is the analysis of risk in order to get the probability of the undesirable occurring. There is also a need to be cognizant of the fact that there is no perfect design, but there is a possibility of getting closer to the perfect design. This is because the accommodation of one constraint always leads to the development of another constraint. As an example, the lightest material may indeed not be the strongest and efficient or shapely material available for use. Therefore, despite the success in design that currently obtained in engineering, failures are still a greater possibility. The only difference of the present from the past is that there are lesser failures in systems and devices and development has allowed greater independence and automation of systems and thus cut down the greater need of constant human monitoring or intervention. These advances and changes are ultimately good, because they have enhanced greater efficiency, cut back on monitoring costs, led to less needs of repair and constant re-checking of systems for consistency. However, the negative side is that they have led to less and less involvement of the basic old hand on job skills that have led to the development of skills and knowledge in the field of engineering (Ostlund et al., 2007). Summary The factors that play a major role in the life style of human beings such as communication, transportation, manufacturing and virtually all activities have been shaped by science and technology and its various fields of scientific engineering. The engineering fraternity with its diverse dimensions has engineered structures, chemicals, DNA, materials, machinery and so much more that has been responsible for bringing about advanced changes in the world. All these changes in the world have been as a result of gradual development of artisan skills in engineering professions which have gradually contributed to scientific knowledge which has in turn increased technological discoveries. Most of the technological and scientific discoveries have been a result of engagement in artisan skills of engineering, which have gradually led to new discoveries and developments that have occurred through empirical observations and regular experimentation. However, currently the learning of engineering knowledge has taken on a more theoretical perspective with less and less engagement in practical hands on the job skills. This has reduced contact with active development of knowledge and thus led to the development of complacency as apprenticeship schemes and provisions disappear and greatly reduce on our industrial arena. The famous ‘half baked’ term may now apply to what we have as engineers-well versed with the books and formulas, but lacking in practical knowledge. This has been worsened by the fact that advances in engineering have increased automation, monitoring and active checking and control of engineering systems and thus leading to less engineer-system interaction which has been the basis of development and most advances in the engineering field. Lundvall and Christensen, (2004), state that despite the advantages of such technologically advanced systems such greater attained efficiency, less need of repairs, control and monitoring, the engineering field with its ever present possibility of failures still requires old human skilled intervention, experience and monitoring. This is because these are core to the development of more engineering knowledge, insight and advancement in the field which has greatly relied on practical experience and apprenticeship. These have ensured that engineers get into the field and acquire true experience that can enable them to develop better systems. The advances in engineering systems that are present today are a result of extensive human-system interactions in the engineering context, which has led to the development of knowledge through keen observation and practical experience with systems. Work by Nieweg et al (2006), holds that anything that threatens this continued interaction is highly likely to affect the development of the future of engineering and all that it entails. As a response to this challenge, there is a need to develop more apprenticeship schemes, which are apparently the only way that we can ensure that this interaction that has been responsible for our advances is upheld and always maintained in the engineering fraternity to ensure creativity is maintained highly. This is essential because no matter how much automation, less monitoring and control we obtain; there is still a need for human skills, insight, experience and intervention, all of which are necessary for the development of knowledge and advancements in new systems. (Washington State Department of Labor and industry, n.d). Works Cited Ahlgren, A. & Rutherford, J.F. (1990). Science for all Americans. New York: Oxford University Press Dorf, R. (2005). The Engineering Handbook. 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Maryland: The Johns Hopkins University Press Washngton State Department of Labor and Industries (n.d), History of Apprenticeship. wa.gov. Retrieved Nov 20, 2011 from http://www.lni.wa.gov/TradesLicensing/Apprenticeship/About/History/default.asp Woods, J. Thagard, P. Meijers, A. and Gabbay, M. D. (2009). Philosophy of Technology and Engineering Sciences. New York : Elsevier Sciences Yerian, S.A. (2000). Science for all Americans: Developing Conceptions of Science and Diversity in Teacher Education. Washington: University of Washington Press Read More