This is Engineering March 2016
“Hmmm” followed by a smiling nod… is the usual response I get when I inform someone that I am an engineer. Is that because they don’t know what an engineer does and they are just being polite? And then when I meet people within my industry I quite often receive a raised eyebrow and what I will take as an impressed look, with some people even questioning it: “you’re an engineer”? I assume that is because I am female and I am not fulfilling the traditional and quite frankly outdated appearance of an engineer. There are no leather elbow patches on me that is for sure!
This response is no longer surprising, after all, most people would say that they have no interaction with an engineer or engineering on a daily basis. This is the misconception. Engineering is the “magic” that allows society to live the life it knows. Engineering is all around us, from the laptop, smartphone or tablet that you may be reading this article on, the takeaway coffee you are drinking, to the mode of transport, the roads and footpaths that pave your way to work and will take you home at night to the buildings you live, socialise and work in. They all require engineering solutions. The issue is that society takes all this for granted and it is only when they stop working does the term “engineer” come to the fore. These negative situations such as over running engineering on the railways or roadworks causing a delay tend to reflect badly upon the engineering profession. As a whole the industry is trying to continuously improve and that is the purpose of my article, to highlight how we work, what we work on and why we do it.
Within the industry there is a lot of focus on helping schools to encourage students to go into science and engineering, which is great to see. However, there is still only limited information available to guide students and the public into the vast world of the engineer. This merely comes back to my first point that people don’t see engineering and the huge influence it has on their life. Society acknowledges doctors, nurses, teachers, bankers, dentists because they are part of everyday life and many aspects of their role are very visible. However, if an engineer’s role is not visible how are the public supposed to know about what we do? I don’t expect this article to change the situation overnight but hope that it will give a short insight into my world as an engineer.
So what is an engineer? For me it is applying scientific theory to the practical environment. You need strong numerical skills but you do not need to be a mathematician. An engineer is a problem solver, we think in a different way, breaking down a problem or technical challenge into smaller pieces that are more manageable. We consider commercial implications, not only to our discipline but others – we ask: can this be built; is there an easier way of forming this; is there a safer way of achieving the same outcome? Most of all, engineers apply good old fashioned common sense and logic to resolving problems. There is nothing an engineer cannot resolve, it just comes down to how much the person commissioning the work (the client) is willing to spend. As an engineer we offer advice that will add value without compromising the end product.
A lot of people ask whether I can describe a typical day and the answer is no. No two days are the same and the challenges keep you busy, keep you on your feet, keep you continuously developing and learning and that is what I enjoy about my job. Bored is definitely not what you get in this job!
My role as a structural engineer involves working with architects, mechanical and electrical engineers, quantity surveyors, acousticians, contractors, specialist subcontractors, fabricators, geotechnical and geo-environmental engineers. From this list the public would only be able be familiar with the term “architect” or “contractor”.
Architects provide the visual concept and are generally the lead consultant in a building project. As the structural engineer, my role is fundamentally to make the building stand up. To do this I assess the usage and the spatial arrangements within the building and decide upon the most economical structural frame; this could be in steel, reinforced concrete, timber or load bearing masonry. Columns are generally positioned in partitions and can therefore be hidden wherever possible. The column positions form the structural grid and a floor slab or slab and beam arrangement spans between the columns. The floor slab is what supports people, furniture, lightweight partitions, finishes such as timber flooring, tiles or carpet and external walls if it is a multi-storey building. These are the vertical loads that the structure (slab, beams and columns) is designed to support. The other force that a building needs to be designed to resist is the horizontal load from the wind. The vertical and horizontal forces are resisted by the structure and taken down to the foundations which the structural engineer also designs.
This is the principle that is used to design any type of building, from schools, cinemas, leisure and shopping centres, high rise office and apartment buildings to traditional domestic homes – you name it, the process is still the same. Depending on the project the design will require hand calculations, and 2D and 3D analysis software. The information from the calculations is then presented on drawings that are passed onto the contractor to build.
Ensuring that a building has been designed to stand up is one aspect of the job. I have to communicate effectively with the other design team members to explain the structural requirements and how they may impact on other disciplines. This is done with telephone calls, emails, sketches, drawings, meetings and workshops. I also visit the site during the construction phase, partly to get some fresh air and muddy my site boots but also to inspect and ensure that works are in line with the structural specification and drawings. The aim of every project is to coordinate the architectural, structural, mechanical and electrical requirements for a building such that they are effectively invisible to the end user and in doing so create a comfortable environment with the right amount of usable space, daylight, heating, ventilation and technology to meet the client’s requirements.
This career can be tough at times, you have to defend your engineering principles and adapt to the team and client’s needs throughout the duration of a project and for that you have to be a team player. You need a good sense of humour and the ability to be flexible to work through technical issues and challenging deadlines. The most rewarding part of my job is to witness the end product. It’s fantastic to see how impressed and enthusiastic the end users are with a new facility that not only adapts for their current working needs but for the future too. I get a huge sense of pride knowing that my hard work ultimately improves the way people live their lives.
I have 10 years’ experience as a building structures engineer. During my summer vacations from university I gained valuable work experience which gave me an insight into the different engineering sectors. I graduated in 2005 with a MEng in Civil and Structural Engineering at the University of Sheffield and after taking a year out to do a ski season and travel I started to work for Faber Maunsell (now AECOM). I successfully completed the graduate training scheme and became a chartered engineer with the Institution of Civil Engineers in 2010, which is the professional qualification in the engineering world.
I have now been working for Hydrock in Bristol for two and a half years and successfully delivered a range of projects in the public and private sectors, from £2 - £40m. These include new build and refurbishment projects in and around the south-west. I am currently working on a local £40m residential and commercial development in the centre of Bristol and look forward to completing the design stage with the project starting on site in January 2017.
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Helen, great read well done. some very good points there. I remember someone once saying that if engineers went on strike it would take the public a number of years to realise as our impact on the world is not instant.
Helen great read well done
Great article. Like the engineer definition "applying scientific theory to the practical environment"
A very well written article which provides a good insight into the industry.
A wonderful article. Bravo, Helen.