The Structural Engineers Quiz
Holidays over, back to school. Engineers’ career go through a lifecycle of changes in roles but I believe we have a responsibility to future generations of engineers and we start this through our calculations. We must assume responsibility for the quality, not only of the analysis but also of the calculations.
This is like some glossy magazine pop quiz, without the gloss!
Ask yourself these questions;
1) Do you like doing calculations?
- Hate it
- Avoid it at all cost
- Got to do it
- Love it
2) Are you proud of your calculations?
- Didn’t understand the question
- The bigger the better, I aim for size!
- Would like to be but got to admit, there’s something wrong.
- Definitely. It is planned, easy to read and pleasant.
3) Have you ever picked up a calculation that made you sit up and enjoy?
- What planet are you on? You don’t enjoy calculations!
- Never, only my own.
- I read one a long time ago that was good
- Keep hoping.
4) When did you last train on MS Word?
- waste of time, I am not a secretary.
- Never, I hate it.
- bought the reference, haven’t had time
- My boss is all over me to do all the training
5) When did you last train on MS Excel?
- waste of time, I use MathCAD
- Never, I know how to use it well
- Forget it, I am into Access
- Everybody loves my spreadsheets
6) When was the last time you had any formal PC training?
- Don’t need it
- Only lunch and learn sessions
- Don’t know what I need to know!
- Looked up courses at college, went for Professional Development
How did you do?
Score as follows: a) zero, b) one, c) two, d) three
Reveal yourself! Imagine, 80% of all engineers spend 80% of their time doing calculations and they cannot tell you how they feel about their calculations. Do they shrug their shoulders?
0-6 points: Sometimes you wonder why you are an engineer. People annoy you and you hate checking calculations. You are set in your ways and will resist change at all costs. You spend time thinking about what else you could be doing. Fortunately, you don’t really exist!
6-12 points: You often work alone and don’t talk about your calculations. You like to spend more time with the analysis and find preparing the calculations are a tedious last minute task. You neglect to talk to other disciplines and spend little time with the designers. The idea of working to deadlines is not terribly exciting.
12-18 points: You are an enthusiastic engineer open for change. You find yourself stuck in a rut wondering how to become a better engineer. You want to meet the deadlines but there is so much work to do and so little time. Under the pressure of a deadline, you also spend a lot of time checking calculations and wonder if it they are adequate. You know calculations are vital tools of the trade. You look in bookshop for inspirations.
19-24 points: You are well on the way to being a better engineer for trying to find the ways to improve your calculations. You know good calculations means good engineering. Confusion and miscommunications are avoided because you think about the reader, the users and talk all the time to all people who have an interest in your work. You are a clever engineer who learned to be smart.
