As in any professional field, communication plays a profound role in the practice of engineering. Unlike many other areas of occupation, however, communication’s place in engineering lies largely among massive amounts of data. Engineering firms, amassing data from any number of sources, must take an approach to communication based largely on practicality and repeatability, rather than on rhetoric and inflection.
The difference between engineering and other professions is the nature of the data being collected and distributed, as well as the receiver of the data. For instance, while a doctor may need to translate a diagnosis into layman’s terms for a patient, an engineering firm simply tries to process and record a given data set in a manner that is simply efficient and accurate, as a doctor may communicate with another doctor.
Imagine, however, that two doctors conferring on a diagnosis do not speak the same language. While each is independently competent and fluent in terminology, the lack of uniform communication hinders their effectiveness, rendering the pair ineffective. This, in short, is just part the struggle faced by the engineering community.
Despite the furious pace of technological advance taking place in the
The first step of an engineering project is the design process. Coinciding with globalization and an increased number of developed areas around the world, the field of engineering has seen increasing international collaboration. In the case of design, technology possesses a potential for enhanced collaboration that has yet to be realized. To address this issue, an initial application to establish a means of international cooperative engineering was proposed by design engineers Jiansheng Li and Daizhongd Su. According to Li and Su (2008), the intention of their proposal is to assist “geographically dispersed users to communicate and collaborate over the Internet.” Their system, or what they refer to as a Web Enabled Environment (WEE), would be adaptable to diverse design programs as well as languages, ultimately creating a universal design platform.
In order for the designers’ work to see the light of day, the second step of the engineering process is manufacturing or construction (depending on the nature of the design). In order for this step to take place, however, the builder has to have supplies. As with the design process, the supply process requires detailed, real time data sharing in order to achieve maximum efficiency. Babin et al. (2007) proposes an electronic system of product monitoring using sensors and “Radio-Frequency Identification (RFID) Systems” that would allow buyers and suppliers to receive instant product status updates. This “on-demand information exchange” (Babin et al. 2007) would enable more intuitive decision making on the part of both parties. Essentially, this system would create an instant, ongoing electronic conversation between the buyer and seller.
Within the study of supply and demand, though, technology is not the only solution to the problem of inefficiency. According to Chan et al. (2008), the importance of a healthy work relationship between a buyer and seller far surpasses that of instant data exchange. The proposal not only opts for human relationship as apposed to technological solutions, but questions whether information technologies (IT) have any positive effect at all within supply chain management. The only consolation the study offers on behalf of information technologies is the suggestion that they may “generate sustainable competitive advantage by facilitating collaborative communication and fostering relational capabilities.”
The alternative offered by the proposal is the suggestions that cultivating professional relationships is the most effective means of gaining a competitive advantage in today’s marketplace. According to the proposal, “Effective and efficient communication between supply chain partners reduces product and performance-related errors, thereby enhancing quality, time, and customer responsiveness.” Additionally, a warning is offered regarding short sighted and monetarily focused buyer-seller relationships; the paper suggests such practices “can inhibit the development of relational competencies, frustrate collaborative communication, and heighten opportunism, which ultimately dissipates relational rents” (Chan et al. 2008).
After successfully negotiating the realm of supply and demand, the next step of the engineering process is construction. While construction sites are a common site in today’s ever developing world, communication issues on the site are most likely unapparent to the common onlooker. It is easy to see, however, that monitoring a large construction site would be difficult to accomplish from one location. The result of the sometimes immense sprawl is multiple centers of data, or what Bernold and Lee (2008) refer to as “islands of information.” The end result of the “islands” is a disjointed information system that is neither centralized nor consistent. In order to address the issue, Bernold and Lee (2008) suggest a Local Area Network (LAN) based system of cameras placed strategically around a site. Working similarly to a WiFi network, the cameras would allow wireless monitoring of an entire site from a central location, resulting in consistent, consolidated information gathering and processing, cutting out the process of data transfer entirely, and thereby solving the communication issue.
The last step of the engineering process is long term condition monitoring. The practice of condition assessment is very common in the field of transportation, where miles of roads keep agencies busy assessing, reporting, and processing road conditions. In addition to the immense amount of data inherent in such an extensive undertaking, the process is further muddled by inconsistent data gathering and processing. Each transportation agency uses a set of standards and measurements to assess road conditions, known as an Infrastructure Management System (IMS) (Capuruco and Tighe, 2006). According to Capuruco and Tighe (2006), agencies within the
Ultimately, the majority of proposals regarding information sharing within the field of engineering call for automated, instant transfer which, ironically, effectively eliminates actual communication from the process. The lone study pushing for more established relationships within a business community is an exception to the common school of thought. Within this paper, the proportion of human based solutions to technologically based solutions roughly matches the proportion produced by academic writers in the field of engineering; technology is undeniably the future of business and engineering. While I would not presume to assign a “correct” time and place for professional relational improvement, I would venture that human contact has, and always will have, its place in each field, and should not be forgotten as the foundation of both.
1.) Capuruco R, Tighe S. A Web-Centric Information Model for Managing Road Infrastructure Data. Computer-Aided Civil and Infrastructure Engineering [Internet]. [cited 2008 April 5]; 21: 357-368. Available from EBSCO Host: http://web.ebscohost.com.proxy.lib.utk.edu:90/ehost/detail?vid=3&hid=120&sid=58c59aa5-89bd-4034-98ec-ae3b8c0a2f56%40sessionmgr109.
2.) Chen I, Lado A, Paulraj A. Inter-organizational communication as a relational competency: Antecedents and performance outcomes in collaborative buyer-supplier relationships. Journal of Operations management [Internet]. [cited 2008 April 5]; 26: 45-64. Available from ScienceDirect: http://www. Sciencedirect .com.
3.) Li J, Su D. Support modules and system structure of web-enabled collaborative environment for design and manufacture. International Journal of Production Research [Internet]. [cited 2008 April 5]. 46: 2397-2412. Available from Informaworld: http://www.informaworld.com.
4.) Bernold L, Lee J. Ubiquitous Agent-Based Communication in Construction. Journal of Computing in Civil Engineering [Internet]. [cited 2008 April 5]. 22(1): 31-39. Available from ASCE Research Library: http://scitation.aip.org.
5.) Babin G, Carothers C, Hsu C, Levermore D.
6 comments:
I tihnk it's interesting that language is even related to engineering because I would never have thought it had that much of a connection. One thing you did a great job of is explaining engineering while using examples (relating it to other professions like a doctor). You talk a lot about communication and engineering but you don't touch on what engineers disagree on about language. I would say keep all your paragraphs but add onto each of them talking more about what engineers say about language..maybe try encorporating statistics or surveys. Also remember to cite your sources with footnotes. I noticed you started citing more as your paper went on but there are probably some ideas you wrote down in the first couple paragraphs that are from a source. You can tell you've done extensive research and it makes your paper very educated and credited!
This was a nice read. It's very interesting to think that all that technology is involved instead of just learning a second language. I can understand why, though. I like everything you touched on, but I agree that it does only go on way. I didn't notice any, "This is what one says, but this is what another says." Maybe if you could find another source with a different solution. All-in-all, it's a good paper. Minor changes...very minor changes...that's all.
I think people may be caught up on communication having to be a language. I did find it interesting that there's no uniform way to list data for easy communication between groups.
Overall, a good essay, and I can't think of any major order concerns here.
I really enjoy the intro with setting us up with how the paper is going to go. You start off immediately telling us the use of language in the field and how it's different from other fields. I really like how this lets your readers know what to expect and the you hit them with the meat of your paper and why it is important. I would recommend possibly looking at why engineers disagree because of their systems not being able to integrate. I think if you were to include why certain engineers prefer some systems as opposed to others it could strengthen your point on how to go about combining the different systems and thus making language more efficient in the engineering field.
Sounds like big brother to me! I like the idea of effective communication until it finds its way into my personal space. I realize that when you’re at work you are technically supposed to be working the entire time. But I do not feel that people should be screened. As far as the paper is concerned I feel that you have found a way to show the arguments in how to correct the communication. But maybe give more personal insight or maybe even ethically how it effects everyone involved.
I think this paper works well. One thing you may want to consider is the source of the lone article that seems to stand out Is there anything unique about Chen et al. that might explain the different perspective presented there? Is it printed in a different journal than the rest, in a different county...anything? There might not be, but it's worth considering.
Post a Comment