Engineers are ‘misrepresented by the media’
Chris Stanley is not alone in being annoyed by the misrepresentation of engineers by the media (Letters, PE February).
Shivering in the dark during a power outage, I was in admiration of those workers out in the dark, wet, windy night working to restore my electricity, only to be disappointed by a news bulletin reporting that “engineers” were striving to restore power to thousands of homes.
This prompted me to complain to the BBC about their use of the word “engineer”. I pointed out that the only engineers on site might be the ones on the ground probably wearing ties, organising the teams and doing the vital safety liaison with the switching centres.The BBC replied, claiming that their use of the term “engineer” was to remain as it was commonly accepted.
In 2016 there were at least two examples of how different the situation is in the US. Commenting on a rising tennis player on TV, respected American commentator John McEnroe pointed out that the player would likely be very analytical about a match as both parents were engineers.
The other instance was a heavily spoofed series about a female American cop. A character infiltrating a major gang was being introduced to the gang members. The specialists were shown in full spoof mode – the bomb specialist, sleeves rolled up, working on electrics and explosives, and the IT specialist in a T-shirt pounding a keyboard at dazzling speed. When it came to the gang’s engineer we were just shown an executive type in a suit and tie!
Denis W Oglesby, Bingley, West Yorkshire
Positive role models, please
It often appears that the individuals writing letters to PE display none of the characteristics necessary to provide a positive role model for developing engineers.
Four letters from April’s issue illustrate my point. Two of them, “Why defence costs soar” and “Poor project control”, have a common theme in which the engineer is painted as a poor victim. I often mentor young engineers and one of the key points I make is that changes of scope happen. To fight that is a waste of energy.
Sometimes the people driving changes have no understanding of the fall-out from their decisions and it is part of our role, as experts, to communicate those clearly and maintain a record of how and why these choices have been made. The US government Audit Office has produced studies on the delays and cost overruns caused by poor programme management and these provide excellent ammunition in the battle against corner cutting.
Shedding vehicle weight is important in improving dynamics and efficiency. Highlighting tyre wear is a false analogy because we have no idea about the driving habits and relative tyre durability between the examples given. I managed to double the life of the tyres on my car by changing the brand, while improving fuel economy.
The letter writer’s stated choice of a supercharged petrol engine is a curious one. Given his requirements, and finance allowing, a Tesla sounds like the ideal choice.
Finally, I can agree with the model for reducing costs in NHS purchases by collective bargaining. However, a manifesto on how to reinstate that cost-saving model or a review of the lessons learnt from Alfred Reading’s various positions would have been more useful than the whingeing over what was done.
Some robust strategies to engage with those making the decisions would be a useful contribution to the development of young engineers rather than the negative and helpless message given.
Chris Elliott, Coventry
The truth about toys
I am disappointed that 11 out of 12 Soundbites responses about the engineering Barbie doll are from men (PE March). Surely this article should have targeted female engineers to understand how to generate more uptake of engineering amongst girls?
Secondly, why should Mattel be responsible for generating interest amongst girls in the sciences? Mattel will develop dolls to suit the market. I commend Mattel for what they have done. But it is our responsibility as role models to improve the uptake.
I am one of four female associates in a large building services consultancy. I am on my second maternity leave, having returned after my first maternity and obtaining my promotion to associate to be a fore-leader for what females can achieve in engineering.
When I was a child I played with Barbie dolls, who I dressed in pretty pink dresses. You do not need to be a girl who likes “boy” toys to be a successful engineer. You can dress feminine, and you can enjoy girlie pastimes. By promoting engineering to girls in a male fashion we are missing the point.
I have a three-year-old girl, who is attracted to pink. She likes girlie toys and she would not want to play with “adjusted” girls’ toys. I enjoy taking her sense of exploration to explain to her about science, nature, space travel, how things work.
We need to train teachers better. We need to make our education system more relevant to industry and we need to help teachers encourage girls who are good or interested in the sciences.
I have attended many girls’ schools as a Stem ambassador where the teachers have never heard of building services, and are insecure in their abilities to promote the sciences as a career. This is where we need to focus.
Nicola Bagshawe, Ferndown, Dorset
Passion in print
Welcome aboard, Katia. Great editorial enticing me to flip the pages to read the interesting articles that follow (Editor’s comment, PE April). And not a word about being a woman – just a passionate engineer like the rest of us.
John Verity
Economical with heat
John Davis’s suggestion to only raise temperatures in occupied spaces in buildings unfortunately ignores the dynamics of built structures and of their replacement rates (Letters, PE April).
Since the UK housing stock is replaced at the rate of less than 1% a year, most savings have to be made by improving existing buildings. Most of those are of heavyweight construction, with dense inner structures and slow response times. I once met a very solidly built, underfloor-heated office block where the heating failed 48 hours before anyone realised it.
Not only does insulation need to be improved, but we need to increase the speed of response of the interior, so that temperature rise occurs in a short time in the occupied space. The great danger then becomes interstitial condensation, which can cause structural damage.
Also, particularly in well-insulated buildings, ventilation air becomes the major part of the heat demand. There are already worries in education buildings of poor air quality due to cutting down ventilation rates. To minimise that, heat loss needs powered extract with energy recovery.
Having worked to try to reduce energy consumption in local authority buildings, I am aware that there are no easy solutions, particularly where the occupants do not perceive it as their responsibility to manage their usage.
M J Woods, Monmouth
Current calculation
G D Johnston objects to Bryan Leyland’s characterisation of tidal current energy in terms of static head – but this is the basis of Bernoulli’s equation and is conventional (Letters, PE March).
Johnston seems to be using alternative maths when he suggests that a cubic metre of water in a 5 knot current is carrying 3.25MW of power. One cubic metre per second slowed from 5 knots to zero would generate around 3.25kW, not 3.25MW.
If tidal currents contained that much energy, the economics would be quite stellar and entirely worthy of his final exclamation mark.
E R Jefferys, Berkhamsted, Hertfordshire
Flight folly
The Soundbites cartoon showed a drone with all four rotors turning anticlockwise (PE April). A good job the drone was on the ground, as once it took off the clockwise torque reaction of the four rotors would cause it to whirl furiously clockwise. Any four-rotor drone must have two rotors turning clockwise and two anticlockwise to remain in stable flight.
But perhaps the joke is on me, as the publication date was 1 April!
Gordon Latham, Worthing, West Sussex