Engineering: issues, challenges and opportunities for development ...

AN OVERVIEW OF ENGINEERINGcompared to science or other branches of engineering andtechnology such as ICT.Other reasons for such perceptions are:■■■■The study of civil engineering is hard with a high mathematicalcomponent compared to other study programmes suchas the social sciences, and the entrance salary is low comparedto other professions; and the new Bachelor degrees incivil engineering may make this even worse.Civil engineering companies and other professions withinthe built environment do not encourage continuous professionaldevelopment; they employ engineers when there iswork and drop them when the contract terminates.In the hierarchy of building companies, civil engineers areoften regarded as expendable, less important than otherprofessionals when in fact they are the resources uponwhich such companies are based.Time and working pressure is extremely high during the‘hot’ phases of construction and supervision at buildingsites, which are usually away from the company office anddemands additional time for travelling or working awayfrom home.Fight against corruption in civil engineeringThe infrastructure construction sector faces the greatest challengesof corruption in both developed and developing countries.Corruption has a human cost; it damages economies,projects and careers. Unfortunately, many societies have totolerate a certain level of corruption as routine. Corruptioncan occur in both the public and private sectors, in the procurementphase as well as during the design and constructionphase of a project, and among both employers and employees.Furthermore, companies that refuse to pay bribes may bedenied contract awards, certificates, payments and permits.Corruption is a complex problem and there is no single or simplemethod to prevent it, but laws against corrupt practices arenot enough. As part of the solution it is vital that civil engineeringsocieties and institutions adopt and publish transparent andenforceable guidelines for ethical professional conduct. Universitiesshould teach compulsory courses in ethical professionalconduct and raise the awareness of future civil engineers in howto recognize and fight corruption. On construction projects,corruption should be addressed as part of safety and qualitycontrol using a comprehensive and systematic approach. In thisrespect it is important to highlight the activity of TransparencyInternational and their Anti-Corruption Training Manual forinfrastructure, construction and engineering sections (discussedelsewhere), which is a very important tool that provides an easyread overview of what constitutes corruption.The importance of clean drinking water and sanitationMany people believe that improved medicines are the basis of amore healthy society. Fewer realize that civil engineering worksare the first line of defence in public health. Potable water andimproved sanitation are the most effective means of improvinghealth whether for a person, a community or an entire society.Many waterborne diseases are preventable by treating drinkingwater to potable standards, and delivery of water to the homefrees up time for family, education and livelihoods. Implementinga wide range of sanitation schemes will to help control liquidand solid wastes. Proper treatment and disposal of human andanimal waste will reduce the opportunities for infection, takethe strain off medical facilities and improve the aesthetics ofa place through adequate control of odours and insects. Suchsolutions bring communities together to establish organizationsand governance for their shared resource, and hence they reduceconflict. Furthemore, initial implementation at the school andvillage level reaches larger populations. The development andimplementation of such actions is primarily the responsibilityof the civil engineer.The provision of potable water may be on an individual or community-basedsystem. Thus, the civil engineer can support thedevelopment of the entire society while improving the healthof its people.4.2.2 Mechanical engineeringTony Marjoram, in consultation withvarious national and internationalinstitutions and organizations inmechanical engineeringMechanical engineering is one of the oldest and most diversebranches of engineering covering the design, production and useof tools, machines and engines, and can therefore be considereda central feature of the transition from ape to tool-designing andtool-using human. Mechanical engineering includes the use ofmechanics, materials, heat, fluids and energy, and combines theapplications and understanding of associated underlying principlesand science in static and dynamic mechanics, structures,kinematics, materials science, thermodynamics, heat transfer,fluid mechanics, energy systems and conversion. Mechanicalengineers not only apply but also generate underlying sciencein such areas as finite element analysis (a numerical method forsolving partial differential equations in the analysis of complexsystems such as mechanical simulations and weather modeling),computational fluid dynamics, and computer-aided design andmanufacturing (CAD-CAM). Mechanical engineering underpinsindustrial development in such areas as manufacturing andproduction, energy generation and conversion, transportation,automation and robotics.© Wikimedia - Arpingstone Concorde.125