DC's Technical Director, Steve Mackay, enjoys keeping his weekly blog up-to-date with useful tips and current industry matters for his fellow colleagues. He has a loyal and expanding following base reaching over 300,000 people around the world.
Engineering Blog
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As Engineers Always Stick to Simple English
Feb 19, 2019 | 04:33 am
Dear Colleagues,Surely, the KISS principle is one of the most useful engineering tools we have in our armory (KISS means Keep it Simple Stupid, for those who have forgotten). This should be applied to our writing so that it is simple and easy to understand.But this principle is often forgotten. Perhaps, the overriding consideration we mistakenly have is to impress our audience with lots of gigantic words. I believe it is a privilege when someone is reading your communications. Therefore, you should ensure you respond appropriately to make it as easy as possible to understand what you are endeavoring to get across.Spource: AZ QuotesEngineering Professionals Most of the communications that engineering professionals write are to colleagues – in my opinion – and this results in the use of lots of technology gobbledygook. Obviously one doesn’t want to descend to childish levels and treat one’s audience like complete orangutans with overly[…] -
As an Engineering Professional Always Work Hard on Getting Accurate Feedback
Feb 1, 2019 | 06:29 am
Dear ColleaguesIt is always hard to know genuinely how well or badly you are doing in your job when you try and get honest opinions from those around you. Especially if you are leading a team. The last thing on their mind is for a team member to give you an honest appraisal of how you are doing. In case it damages their position or irritates you. Thus you will often hear that you are tracking extraordinarily well and are the epitomy of success. Often this is very far from the truth.Thus a few strategies are sketched out below to get some good hard honest feedback on how you are performing. Often extraordinarily painful but ….one can’t hide from the brutal truth. And once you have key information about deficiencies (and indeed, great things you do or have done); you can work on improving on these problems. Actionable solid feedback[…] -
Make Engineering Learning and Development Part of Your Mantra in your Job and Team
Sep 19, 2018 | 04:02 am
Dear ColleaguesWe talk about ongoing learning and development for people all the time but I believe many managers only pay lip service to genuine learning opportunities. Many times, an employee is on a training course to ‘tick the box’ to comply with some ‘magical’ company development plan.We all need to make learning a key part of what we do in business. Not only does this provide useful technical skills but it helps to boost the firm’s culture in a positive way. There is no doubt in my mind that a huge amount of training is totally wasted with no tangible outcomes besides having a ‘jolly’ at the firm’s expense.Source: Meg Handley/Penn State NewsHumble SuggestionsA few suggestions on building learning as a key part of your activities:You should always talk to your colleagues about how your learning is genuinely boosting your skills and expertise. You have finished a course on variable[…] -
Curiosity Didn’t Kill the Engineering Cat
Aug 21, 2018 | 04:00 am
Dear ColleaguesWe wouldn’t have breakthrough discoveries without that wonderful quality – curiosity - from inventing fire, the aircraft to the Google search engine. That magical feeling that goes about investigating new information, pondering on a different way of doing something or simply trying something out new (and often having that incredible ‘Ah hah’ moment) is an innate quality we all have.No More BoredomWithout curiosity we would have a very boring and unproductive world. It is key to your success in your engineering career. However, many managers and companies fear it as it can be rather disruptive and encourage chaos. Something engineering professionals with their love of order aren’t always fond of. Certainly, you don’t want chaotic curiosity occurring in a bridge design otherwise you may have some catastrophic results.Without any question – curiosity is particularly important to engineering professionals and their organisations in lifting one’s creativity and strengths. It improves[…] -
What to do when you are overworked and overwhelmed
Aug 9, 2018 | 01:03 am
Dear ColleaguesAs we all know – at various times one can be absolutely overwhelmed with work and ‘issues’ to deal with. Nothing unusual in the engineering workforce especially with project type work and harsh deadlines to meet. Examples of stress include: you may feel that you can’t cope with yet another email as you have this seemingly unlimited list of tasks to do; the phone is ringing with urgent requests; people are shouting at you for your decision on a crucial project; you have to prepare for an awkward presentation next week… and there are snide comments about possible cost overruns with a project you are managing. And to add insult to injury, you may feel that in your leisure time at home that you should be working to catch up.It is important to deal with these times effectively so that you can pop out the other side with the[…] -
How to Beat YourMidLife (Engineering) Career Crisis Blues
Aug 6, 2018 | 07:04 am
Dear ColleaguesI believe most of us get to some stage in our lives where you start asking the inevitable questions such as: am I doing the right thing; am I in the right company or career; am I progressing somewhere; am I going to be financially secure when I am older; isn’t this work somewhat predictable and boring; should I be doing something more exciting and rewarding…. ?This is where you are seeking more meaning, fulfilment and satisfaction in your career (and indeed, life) against the backdrop of the usual financial pressures of paying off a home, car and putting the kids through (private) school and trying to afford an upcoming entertaining vacation. A veritable vice grip of constraints. And naturally, in keeping your family relationships on an even happy keel.This questioning period happens especially in mid life. You have realized that you aren’t immortal – time is moving on,[…] -
Listen carefully to their Body Language when Understanding Engineers
Jul 31, 2018 | 23:31 pm
Dear ColleaguesWhen I am discussing a critical issue with a colleague and confirming that he has ‘got it and agrees with my sentiments’, I also look carefully at his body language and I am never disappointed. Arms folded tightly, a quizzical frown and avoiding a direct glance are sure signals that what I have said hasn’t gone down well and disagreement is in the air.You need to study body language – that interesting combination of facial and eye movements and limbs - perhaps overlaced with the tone of your voice. Apparently, only 10% of the meaning transferred between two people talking is via words – the rest – a huge 90% is through that ungainly combination of tone of voice and body language.How to Use Body Language more EffectivelyTypical elements of body language include:Closed Body Posture. This means the person is hunched over, arms tightly wrapped around the body, legs[…] -
Most Strategic Plans aren’t strategic
Apr 9, 2018 | 23:59 pm
Dear ColleaguesNo matter whether you are an electrician operating a one-woman business in the middle of the Great Sandy Desert or a Chief Engineer of the largest car company in the world – you need to have a strategic plan to operate to, so that you can continue to operate successfully as a business. Most people don’t really know what a strategic plan really is.But these strategic plans are hugely helpful in keeping your enterprise on target in achieving great things.Not even close to a Strategic Plan As Graham Kenny in the Harvard Business Review remarked recently (‘Your Strategic Plans Probably Aren’t Strategic, or Even Plans’), most senior level managers often have no idea what a strategic plan really is. Typically examples thrown around for strategic plans include: achieve $50m turnover by next year/communicate better with stakeholders/donate 10% of profits to charity/launch a new engineering support service…and so forth. None[…] -
Garbage In, Garbage Out applies particularly to the Internet of Things (IoT)
Apr 5, 2018 | 04:25 am
Dear ColleaguesI clearly remember when computing started taking off, about the wry remark referring to garbage in, garbage out. This referred to a marvelous computer program developed at huge cost being fed absolutely useless data and thus spitting out useless information it had derived from the data. This is even more true today with the advent of machine learning and the internet of things (IoT). Imagine training your computer program in a machine learning application with shoddy data. The results could be catastrophic. And this is indeed what is happening today. In the frantic rush to write the best programs to predict outcomes, we often lose sight of the desperate need to ensure our data is valid and reasonable. I have some feeling for this challenge – as I have just completed a course on machine learning. This problem will definitely impact on you as an engineering professional and it is[…] -
Top engineering and technology trends for 2018: you need to STEEM forward vigorously
Feb 7, 2018 | 07:15 am
Image credit: ©everythingpossible/Dollar Photo ClubAt a recent function for would-be students of our engineering college on the need for more of a STEM focus, I was sharply corrected by a good colleague who remarked that we should think rather of STEEM: science, technology, engineering, entrepreneurship and mathematics. And he is so absolutely right.My take on the industrial automation industry in Australia is that we do not have enough entrepreneurial activity with a global focus. With the huge downsizing in employment at the large Australian mining and manufacturing companies, we need other entrepreneurial ventures to take up the employment slack in the engineering industries. For example, an inspirational Australian entrepreneurial company in the industrial automation sphere that I once worked for embraced this and went onto huge success globally: Citect (now part of Schneider Electric) created world-class SCADA software that took the world by storm.The evidence of a rapidly changing jobs[…] -
Make your Engineering Job Meaningful
Jan 2, 2018 | 07:30 am
Dear Colleagues I am always humbled by many people’s pride in what would initially appear to be a horrific job. These range from those who clean up often horrific levels of sewage and waste / work with toxic chemicals / operate on remote and harsh mine sites. You see the obvious level of pride and skill in their work coupled with a tremendous camaraderie and most importantly – a purpose in what they are doing. And then I see some engineering professionals - often well paid with what appears to be good jobs - who absolutely hate what they are doing and make sure everyone knows how dissatisfied they are. Why do some hate and others loveI thus puzzle why there are differences in how people approach their work. After all – it is a huge part of your life and it is best to either ‘chuck it in’ or re-assess how you[…] -
Fixed Price versus Variable (time and materials) Contracts
Aug 29, 2017 | 03:02 am
Dear colleagues When you are on a fixed salary in a company life is pretty certain. But in the more fraught world of consultant and contractor, life can be considerably more complex and financially tricky when dealing with contracts that require you to deliver a specific outcome. Remember if you don’t handle these correctly, you will end up considerably poorer despite putting in an enormous amount of hours working. So it is worth re-considering the different options here as discussed below.In a simplistic way, as a contractor, you can bid for work in three ways. Fixed price contracts. These arrangements lock you into a price. Generally, come hell or high water, whatever happens, this is the price you as the consultant or contractor get paid for delivering a specific outcome.Time and materials. You get paid for both your hours spent on the job as well as the materials supplied to the client. Two[…] -
How to Get Noticed in the Engineering Job Market
Aug 22, 2017 | 07:43 am
Dear ColleaguesI bumped into an engineering friend the other day – unfortunately he has been out of work for a number of months and is in his late fifties. He was becoming somewhat despondent about the employment situation and at his age it is undoubtedly tough. Employers are very cautious about employing engineering ‘veterans’ no matter how good they are. Unless the employers have a specific need for the specialised skill that you may have.My take on it is that if you are idling without work; you have to work every angle you can lay your hands on to get back into employment. The longer you are out of the workforce; the harder it is to get back in. Statistically, it is said that up to 80% of new jobs are never advertised. So what you see on the job’s website and in the newspapers are only a poor shadow of[…] -
Some spectacular engineering failures with simple solutions
Aug 15, 2017 | 02:42 am
Dear Colleagues As you all know – common sense is NOT so common around here when it comes to avoiding industrial failures. Often these failures are caused by avoidable (always) strategies such as good maintenance, better quality equipment and better training for staff.Historically, a hundred years ago a telegraph problem could have disrupted a few people’s lives – however the scale today of the impact of an electrical failure (power or communications) can be huge.Some examples of these spectacular failures (as listed in the IEEE Your Engineering Heritage: The $25 Million Ceiling Fan and the £100 Million Server by Robert Colburn) are quite laughable but were hugely painful to all involved:British AirwaysThe most recent failure which you may remember was the British Airways fiasco which probably cost the airline of the order of $120m involving a damaged computer server (and perhaps some inadequate training in remedying the problem). This caused the[…] -
Originally from the Wild West, we engineers now need to be attuned to style and culture
Apr 23, 2008 | 01:12 amDear ColleaguesI must confess I have always imagined engineers and technicians as the rough and tough, Wild West action types (who work out in the field in pioneering conditions), compared to our more dilettante, cultured brothers and sisters in Law, Medicine and the Arts. In a book entitled Does the Engineer Need Culture?, Prof. John Peck from City College, in New York remarked that engineers were “rough, tough spirits” who took “pride in cultivating construction-camp and bar-room manners rather than the deportment that would grace a drawing room”. Robert Noyce, the co-inventor of the integrated circuit, who himself came from the small town of Grinnell, in Iowa, said: “In a small town, when something breaks down, you don’t wait around for a new part because it’s not coming. “You make it yourself.” Interestingly, many of the founders of Silicon Valley came from small rural towns. In the biography; ‘The Tinkerings[…]
Dear Colleagues,Surely, the KISS principle is one of the most useful engineering tools we have in our armory (KISS means Keep it Simple Stupid, for those who have forgotten). This should be applied to our writing so that it is[…]
Gorataone is a graduate from the Engineering Institute of Technology; he has an Advanced Diploma of Industrial Automation. He is also a married man with three children; we congratulate him for ably juggling full time work, a family and his[…]
The prototype of the world's longest aircraft is being retired, with new aircraft innovation promised to hit the market soon.The aircraft in question was the Airlander 10: a weirdly shaped plane-airship/blimp that showed what the future of air travel could[…]
India's most famous civil engineer, Sir Mokshagundam Visvesvaraya, once said: ‘Work is worship.'Gustave Eiffel, the French civil engineer responsible for the Eiffel Tower, said: “Can one think that because we are engineers, beauty does not preoccupy us or that we[…]
In January 2019, the Consumer Electronics Show kicked off in Las Vegas, Nevada. And it seems mechanical engineering, propped up by artificial intelligence, is the talk of the town.Mercedes-Benz rolled their latest marvel of mechanical engineering out on the floor,[…]
Pearlitic steel, or pearlite, is one of the most durable materials in the world. This microstructure occurs in steel and can be made into steel wire.You might have seen these wires bundled together into ropes for suspension bridges or steel[…]
National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) has been working on nano-electrofuel (NEF) flow batteries for electric aviation.This means they could eventually power aircraft with non-explosive liquid rechargeable batteries.The development of these flow batteries is being done by the Armstrong Flight[…]
The World Economic Forum is inviting other industrial companies to study nine world-leading smart factories they have identified as having the latest in automation technology.Not surprisingly, these ‘manufacturing lighthouses' as the WEF call them, utilize the Industrial Internet of Things,[…]
Artificial Intelligence may be the key to empowering rural education and ensuring a future where no students get left behind.At least that's what venture capitalist Kai-Fu Lee believes.The momentum behind Artificial Intelligence does not seem to be slowing down. Some[…]
The Engineering Institute of Technology visited Kathmandu in Nepal, meeting with students and families in the area to encourage ongoing engineering education and skills development. Nepal is a landlocked country in South Asia and is located mainly in the Himalayas.[…]
