Re: List Reborn

If you look at my paper www.pipingdesign.com/articles/piping_surges.pdf you will see an issue addressed along the same vein as the complaint about lack of "studies" and "layouts". I prepared this paper with a view to raising the understanding about the risks associated with the ignorance of this topic of surge. P{erhaps can post the downside of the lack of "studies" in a technical paper. I have been asked to present mine by the Instition of Engineers Australia and the Institution of Mechanical Engineers.

Yes, the topic I addressed is complex and I think that is why engineers shy away from it. Understanding the reality that momentum change results in energy release should be comprehended by a college student of physics. But quantifying it in the world of fluids is beyond the capability of most civl and mechanical engineers.

We have tools now to quantify and get a much better understanding of what is going on in piping systems. However the software, books and seminars cost orders of magnitude more than MS Excel, common engineering handbooks and management workshops. Engineers dont have the time or energy to convince their MBA adorned managers that they have to invest in this skill.

This I believe is a direct result of the dumbing down of the design engineering profession. Although we have centres of excellence the average project engineer is far too busy with environmental, community, quality assurance, occupational health and safety, non discrimination, planning, concept engineering and non specific training to actual learn and practice their craft of design engineering in depth. Why should they for the riches come from getting your MBA and moving into management.

It has nothing to do with intellect. Rather it is the application of that intellect to matters "real" rather than the "fog" of all these other neferious pastimes thought up by the MBAs in management. The non technical matters are work creation for the dumb MBAs to justify their exculted position above the technically adept. A modern form of lords over the serfdom.

Young project engineers prefer to aim for lordship over serfdom.Thats where the gold is after all.

Perhaps thats why draftsmen shy away from 'studies", they would have to "think and challenge" not "point and click". They cant become section leader or squad boss by being good at layouts. They get there by knowing how to produce 3D images for the MBAs. As long as they produce glossy "walk throughs" the dumb MBA couldnt tell if it worked or not. So they get the pay rises and promotions, go to ACAD seminars etc.

Enough Buffalo hunting meanderings for the day.

Geoff

Design Detail and Development (a division of Blenray Pty Ltd)

Mail Address PO Box 1351 Castle Hill NSW 1765 Australia Tel Mob 0402 35 2313 Office 02 8850 2313 AH 02 8850 2324
We specialise in pipe network and waterhammer analysis, pipe stress analysis, the design of buried pipelines and thermoplastic pipe systems.

[Non-text portions of this message have been removed] Received on Tue Oct 18 20:02:00 2005