Showing posts with label engineering. Show all posts
Showing posts with label engineering. Show all posts
The work of engineers can be seen all around, including:
- Buildings
- Bridges
- Roads
- Vehicles
- boats, trains and planes
- Sanitation
systems - sewers and plumbing
- Computers
- Cell
phones
- The
internet
The list goes on and on. Engineering is responsible for much of
what humanity uses today.
Always striving to improve
Engineers work to improve the world as well as to maintain it.
Engineers are typically driven by a desire to make things work better - faster,
stronger, more efficient, less expensive. The desire for these improvements
motivates engineers to use their knowledge and understanding to always improve
on what currently exists.
Engineers are also known for their ability to take an idea and make it a reality. There are many different types of engineers, but it is this ability to take the abstract and make it practical and concrete that helps define the profession.
How engineering works
At its most basic, engineering is the discipline of using
mathematics and sciences to solve problems or to make improvements. Engineers
can use mathematics and physics to create models of their proposed design, and
can sometimes determine right away whether it is viable, before anything has
actually been built.
Engineering requires constant and stringent testing to produce a good result, and can sometimes be quite tedious. The end result, however, could be something that changes the world.
Alone or together
While it is popular to imagine great thinkers and inventors
slaving away alone in a laboratory, the reality is usually much different.
Great ideas often require the combined efforts of many different people to
become reality. It is no different in engineering. For example, if a group of
engineers wanted to build a new type of skyscraper, it would take the various
talents of multiple people to accomplish.
Just a few of the different engineering disciplines involved might be:
Just a few of the different engineering disciplines involved might be:
Structural engineers - to calculate how the building will bear its load and stay structurally sound
Mechanical engineers - to help design things like the ventilation system to provide clean air throughout the building
Electrical engineers - to design all the wiring to keep the building functioning with lights and electricity
Environmental engineers - to determine what environmental impact the building will have and to ensure it meets all environmental regulations
There would of course be many more people involved in such an undertaking.
However, it is important to realize just how many different disciplines fall
under engineering, and how many undertakings require a wide variety of skills
to properly execute.
Necessary to civilization
Engineering is
an incredibly important discipline to civilization. Many of the things humanity
takes for granted were created through engineering, and engineering will be the
answer to many more problems to come.
Each and every day you will have access to using dangerous tools,
but should this really be allowed? Certain tools should only be used by
specialists; this is because you will need to have some sort of knowledge on
how the tool works and past experience using similar tools so you can
understand how to handle the tool safely.
Many professionals such as carpenters and manufacturers will agree
that there should be some sort of rule in place to prevent the general public
buying and using dangerous tools. Each year thousands of people will go to
hospital with life threatening injuries due to not using equipment safely.
Tool Safety
There are many safety rules that are in place for using tools;
however most of the general public will not even consider abiding by these
rules. The number of professional woodworkers and qualified carpenters being
injured as a result of using dangerous tools has not risen, it is just the
general public and each and every year this number is increasing.
For some reason, much of the public seem to think they are
inferior to injury, this is when accidents happen. You are always told to take
your time when using tools and machinery and not rush into it.
Before you use any tools or machinery you should always make sure:
- Always read the instruction manual before use.
- Make sure you understand how to use the tool/machine.
- If this is the first time you are using the tool, make sure you are being supervised.
- Understand how to stop the tool in an emergency.
- Understand
how to use the tool safely.
As well as understanding how to use the tool properly, there are
some other safety tips you should follow:
- Always wear safety gloves when using tools.
- Wear protective clothing if necessary.
- Tie all your hair up and remove any jewellery.
- Wear
a hard hat if appropriate.
What Is Classed As A Dangerous Tool?
You may be wondering what is actually classed as a dangerous tool,
you should think of a dangerous tool as anything that can put you at risk of an
injury. The severity of danger may change depending on the tool, the more
danger it imposes the more cautious you should be.
Most people will not even class ladders as a tool; however between
1990-2005 more than 2 million people were sent to hospital after an injury
happened when using ladders. Other dangerous tools can include saws, drills,
grinders, sanders etc.


