UNIVERSITY OF PRETORIA

The impact of engineering activity

Theme 1: Engineering and society (3 lectures) Engineering in history

Engineering in the modern era

Case studies Theme 2: Engineering and the environment (4 lectures) Environmental systems, human systems, and social science Resources of the earth Climate change Energy and society Theme 3: Engineering on a personal, cultural and social level (3 lectures) Philosophy of engineering Sociological insights Case studies Theme 4: Occupational health and safety act (2 lectures) Introduction Occupational health and safety act

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1.1 Engineering in the modern era

The automobile industry and changes in production Modern manufacturing System theory and system engineering Taylor scientific management The effects of trends and cycles Consumer rights and protection product liability

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Engineering in the modern era The automobile industry and changes in production (p43-49)
Internal combustion engine
Most common in vehicles and portable machinery 4 stroke engine Conceived by Beau de Rochas (1862) 4 stroke engine 1st made to work by Nicola Otto (1876) Started as a toy for the rich but as it became cheaper it gave the middle class the freedom to travel when they wanted It reduced the need for people to live near railway lines and stations as long as there were roads to connect them This expanded the road network It created mobility on a scale never seen before (Modern endurance horse back riding = 80-160km in a day (single rider, no wagon) Changed city life and accelerated the expansion of cities into suburbs New jobs were formed due to the impact of the automobile Expanded the use of credit Development of motels and drive-in business (Fast food, banks, movie, shopping on the corner of Attebury and the N1) Negative impact: Traffic congestion, Atmospheric pollution, Fatalities and injuries
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Impact of the automobile

The joy of engineering is to find a straight line on a double logarithmic diagram.

Engineering in the modern era The automobile industry and changes in production (p43-49)
Crude oil Used in transport end of 19th century Distillation of crude oil LPG gas Gasoline Kerosene Diesel oil Fuel oil Lubricating oil, paraffin wax, asphalt Gasoline Diesel oil

Improvement makes strait roads: but the crooked roads without Improvement are roads of Genius.

Engineering in the modern era The automobile industry and changes in production (p43-49)
Gotlieb Daimler 1st motorcycle 1885 Karl Benz 1st Automobile 1885 William Maybach 1st carburettor (Patent 1909) Charles Kettering Electric starter (1912) Rudolph Diesel Compression engine Difficulty with fuel injection Diesel powered ships from world war 1

"Flying is learning how to throw yourself at the ground and miss."

Engineering in the modern era The automobile industry and changes in production (p43-49)
Early automobile industry: Initially we had highly skilled craftsmen Parts were hardened and had to be manually filed to fit Automobile were made to custom order Ford Introduced the moving production line (1913) (said to have been adapted from Chicago meat works chain conveyors (1890s) Used common gauging system throughout the manufacturing process Model T was designed for ease of assembly To start with labour turnaround was as hi as 380% Ford doubled pay rates and held on to his workers but there were little intrinsic satisfaction in there work

A good scientist is a person with original ideas. A good engineer is a person who makes a design that works with as few original ideas as possible

Engineering in the modern era Taylor scientific management (p46-47)

Division of labour to a level of minute detail, allowing just those amounts of skills to be purchased as were needed for each subdivided element of the overall task Separation of planning and execution with planning completely removed from the shop floor Time and motion study to find the best and quickest way of doing work and to allocate time for doing it Payment by piecework, later replaced by machine pacing .

Water which is too pure has no fish

Engineering in the modern era The automobile industry and changes in production (p43-49)
Scientific management and organized labout in the automobile industry Developed by Frederick Taylor, pursued by Henry Ford Aimed to maximize management control and labour productivity Base for mass production of many standard items Takes away control from the shop floor and people doing the work. Despite demotivating workers it was successful in increasing production Ford initially used OEM components but moved rapidly to complete vertical integration (even had his own steel mil) this nearly bankrupted him US remained wary of organized labour In contrast Japanese government strengthened union rights. Japanese workers refused mindless jobs the Toyota production system
Art has to move you and design does not, unless it's a good design for a bus. 9

Engineering in the modern era The automobile industry and changes in production (p43-49)
Toyota production system (1948-1975) Main objectives: Design out overburden, inconsistency and to Eliminate waste Seven types of waste: Waste of overproduction Waste of time on hand Waste of transportation Waste of processing itself Waste of stock at hand Waste of movement Waste of making defective products Largest automotive producer in 2010 by revenue

Creative minds have always been known to survive any kind of bad training.

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Engineering in the modern era The automobile industry and changes in production (p43-49)
Social impacts Collingridge (1980) the initial understanding of any new technology is so limited that control can only be arbitrary: Automobile: Early control measures for dust, frightening horses and scaring cows. but missed the problem of road toll. (By the year 2000 automobiles killed 25-30million people approaching that of the two world wars)

"Mach 2 travel feels no different." a passenger commented on an early Concorde flight. "Yes," Sir George replied. "That was the difficult bit. - Sir George Edwards -

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Engineering in the modern era Modern manufacturing (p64-67)

Manufacture: The making of goods or wares by manual labour or by machinery, especially on large scale (Marquarie Dictionary) 1890 - 1900 Manufacturing replaced agriculture as the leading source of economic growth in the US In 2010 China contributed 19,8% of world's manufacturing output. It became the largest manufacturer in the world that year, a position the US held for about 110 years.

The major difference between a thing that might go wrong and a thing that cannot possibly go wrong is that when a thing that cannot possibly go wrong goes wrong, it usually turns out to be impossible to get at and repair.

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Engineering in the modern era Modern manufacturing (p64-67)

Computer aided machinery CNC milling/turning CNC EDM machinery (spark eroding, wire cutter) CNC 2D Manufacturing (Plasma cutting, Laser cutting, wire cutting, Waterjet cutting) Rapid prototype and 3D printing. 3D printing, sintering in power metallurgy, lost wax casting

Every generation laughs at the old fashions, but follows religiously the new

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Engineering in the modern era System theory and system engineering (p68-78)
We use systems engineering on projects that are to complex for a single engineer or specialist to work on . When human behaviour is involved problems become much to complex to solve completely for this we need a multidisciplinary soft systems approach. A systems approach guides us to address all the aspects of the problem in a structured and organized way Development in systems engineering
Systems may be assembled from smaller less complex elements Testing at each level of assembly is necessary because the properties are likely to be different than those predicted simply from studying the elements that make up the system A consequence of this is that complex systems can fail in ways that can only be discovered after very extensive testing it might also imply that complex failures can occur after the system has gone into service NASSA skipped the final total system test on Hubble - as a result they failed to realize that the primary mirror was ground to the wrong shape

Reality leaves a lot to the imagination

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Engineering in the modern era System theory and system engineering (p68-78)
No use in using a systems approach unless the object is reasonably complex The object of study should:
Have a purpose and performance Include a decision taking process Have components which are themselves systems that are connected and interact Exist in a wider system or environment with which it interacts Be bounded Have resources and some degree of continuity and stability

The complexity implies that they will have emergent properties (see Challenger example) We draw the system boundaries and choose what may pass through the boundaries To get good answers we need to ask good questions and draw good system boundaries We need to simplify the system to a level we can analyse in doing this we might loose essential detail See Section 3 of the prescribed textbook
Have no fear of perfection - you'll never reach it 15

Engineering in the modern era Effects of trends and cycles (p46-47)

If parameters such as GNP per capita/energy requirements/ research funding is plotted over time certain trends become apparent. Exponential growth as a secular trend is useful. Individual product life: The sigmoid curve. y = 1/(1+e^(-x)) where x = k(t-t0) (t-t0) = elapsed time, k = constant that describes the rate of diffusion of the product K is essentially empirical Cyclic behaviour British and American wholesale prices from 1800-1950 Hi price index indicates a hi level of demand-pull and possible surplus 3 predominant wavelengths fundamental wavelength = 53 years (Kondratieff cycle)
If your advertising goes unnoticed, everything else is academic 16

Engineering in the modern era Effects of trends and cycles (p46-47)

Long cyclic behaviour not only in economic activity and innovation but also in invention on average the economic peak occurs about 28 years after the innovation peak which itself occurs about 27 years after the corresponding peak in inventive activity It can be argued that most innovation occurred in times of prosperity that afforded freedom to invent. If this is true then it might be an explanation for the average two generation gestation period between an major invention and the associated economic return. Clustering of innovation The introduction of innovation was bunched into periods of rapid expansion As a technology comes of age it tends to become specialised, overorganised and unprofitable.

A computer lets you make more mistakes faster than any other invention in human history, with the possible exceptions of tequila

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Engineering in the modern era Consumer rights and protection product liability (p175-181)
Major purpose of Engineering is the creation of new technologies and to innovate right? Two US judges concluded that engineering is an exact science and proceeded to specify damages accordingly for an engineering failure. This view has gained widespread acceptance and has stifled the development of new products in certain areas. One of the implication is that we as engineers should be more open to the possibility of failure and the acceptance of risk Engineers do not really solve problems. They make choices between options for the deployment of resources in response to a need, in the face of considerable uncertainty and gap in knowledge. It follows that whatever choice is made, it must be, to some extent, wrong : IEAust

Fast, good, cheap: pick any two

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Engineering in the modern era Consumer rights and protection product liability (p175-181)
Do we need consumer protection and regulations? Conspiracy by motor vehicle/tyre/petrol cartel General motors, firestone and Standard oil developed a market for there product by destroying public transport. They bought the electric trolley network in 45 US cities and replaced them with busses, then ran the service to the ground forcing the public to buy there products

A table, a chair, a bowl of fruit and a violin; what else does a man need to be happy?

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Engineering in the modern era Consumer rights and protection product liability (p175-181)
Do we need consumer protection and regulations? Ralph Nader Unsafe under any speed (1965) He successfully challenged the worship of the automobile and dramatically exposed some of the shortcomings of the American Automobile Cheverolet Covair. ...had such poor suspension geometry that it could roll over if it hit a bump going round a moderate curve at 60km/h. The irony of the Covair was that the problem could be corrected by simply fitting a stabilizer bar. Swing axel suspension Great amount of single wheel camber change. Rebound on suspension unloading causes positive chamber which can overturn the car Reduction in cornering force due to camber change can lead to over steer
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Engineering in the modern era Consumer rights and protection product liability (p175-181)
Ford Pinto Tests showed that the fuel tank could be punctured in a rear end collision The cost to prevent this was around $11/vehicle Ford decided against it because its costs would be significantly higher than likely compensation claims for deaths and injuries

Everything should be as simple as it is, but not simpler.

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Engineering in the modern era Consumer rights and protection product liability (p175-181)
Is someone always at fault? Attitude arose that the hazards, injuries and deaths on the road were all caused by the manufacturers This attitude is remarkably similar to some tribal societies that all illness is caused by the ill-will of some other person Its ultimate extension is that life should be safe and that all injuries are therefore the result of negligence and should be compensated The problem has been compounded by exaggerated claims for the safety, reliability and social benefit of all sorts of extreme technologies. Such claims fed the unfortunate notion that engineering is an exact science One result of these developments have been the rapid increase of government regulations In the US the cost of litigation has become a major constraint on the introduction of new products and processes The expected cost of litigation is said to be the cost of a motorcycle helmet.
A man should look for what is, and not for what he thinks should be. 22

Engineering in the modern era Consumer rights and protection product liability (p175-181)

Legislation and innovation

We do need to consider how the law affects product commercialization There is an increased recognition of the need to protect consumers from products that can harm them Design and manufacturing need to produce safer products Wrt. liability a few things you can consider are: Packaging, labelling and warnings (The Coviar was sensitive to rear tyre pressure - proper warning could have reduced the risk for rollover) The effect of the manufacturing process and risk associated with changing it Intended use and possible misuse scenarios List of accessories that can be used with the device and there interaction

Standard Bodies
Have promoted a uniform approach to product development ISO is a nongovernmental society established in1947 for the purpose of developing worldwide standards, improving international communication and collaboration, promoting smooth and equitable growth of international trade

A creative man is motivated by the desire to achieve, not by the desire to beat others

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Engineering in the modern era Consumer rights and protection product liability (p175-181)
Negligence and strict liability Two main approaches when it comes to liability: Negligence and strict liability Negligence: The injured party must show that there was a defect in the product and that that defect caused him/her injury or loss 2ndly he/she must show that the defect resulted from negligence of the designer/manufacturer in that they failed to exercise a reasonable duty of care in the design/manufacture of the product 1st step of duty from designer/manufacturer would be to insure that the product met the relevent statuatory requirements

Tact is the art of making a point without making an enemy

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Engineering in the modern era Consumer rights and protection product liability (p175-181)
Negligence and strict liability Two main approaches when it comes to liability: Negligence and strict liability Strict liability The onus of proof is on the manufacturer to prove that The product was not defective. (A product is only defective of it fails to provide the degree of safety that people are generally entitled to expect The defect that caused the damage probably did not exist when the product was put into circulation The manufacturer did not put the product into service The product was only defective because it had to meet the requirements of a mandatory standard The state of scientific knowledge at the time the product was put into circulation was such as not to enable the existence of the defect to be discovered
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To every action there is always opposed an equal reaction

Engineering in the modern era Consumer rights and protection product liability (p175-181)
Increased emphasis on safety When hazards cannot easily or inexpensively be removed by good design, the inherent risks must be communicated clearly to those responsible for preparing product warnings and instructions A comprehensive hazard assessment is essential . The requirement to prove misuse can be costly and a constraint on product development

One cannot really argue with a mathematical theorem

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Engineering in the modern era Consumer rights and protection product liability (p175-181)
Were still getting it wrong DePuy ASR hip replacement was recalled October 2010 Higher than normal failure rate (5 year failure is 13%) Metal ions and wear particles lead to Metalosis and Osteolysis

**

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Engineering in the modern era Consumer rights and protection product liability (p175-181)
Were still getting it wrong Last months FDA recalls (http://www.fda.gov/safety/recalls/default.htm) 17/07/2012 EnVe Ventilator A leak may occur in the patient breathing circuit resulting in the ventilator not holding the present positive end expiratory pressure 06/07/2012 Flow-i-Anaesthesia system Software problem with Man/Auto switch 06/07/2012 Stryker Rejuvenate, ABG II Modular neck hip stems Potential risk associated with fretting and corrosion at modular neck junction 02/07/2012 AirLife Infant breathing circuit. Can develop cracks and lead to leaks in the closed ventilation system

Research is what I'm doing when I don't know what I'm doing.

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Engineering in the modern era Consumer rights and protection product liability (p175-181)
Consumer protection in South Africa. The Consumer protection act, No 68 of 2008 (dti.gov.za / info.gov.za) It aims to:
Promote a fair, accessible and sustainable marketplace for consumer products and services; Establish national norms and standards to ensure consumer protection; Make provision for improved standards of consumer information, to prohibit certain unfair marketing and business practices; Promote responsible consumer behaviour; Promote a consistent legislative and enforcement framework, related to consumer transactions and agreements; Establish the National Consumer Commission; and Replace, in a new and simplified manner, existing provisions from five acts, including the Consumer Affairs (Unfair Business Practices) Act of 1988; Trade Practices Act of 1976; Sales and Service Matters Act of 1964; Price Control Act of 1964; and Merchandise Marks Act of 1941 (specifically Sections 2-13, and 16-17).
Being right too soon is socially unacceptable. 29

Engineering in the modern era Consumer rights and protection product liability (p175-181)
Consumer protection in South Africa. The Consumer protection act, No 68 of 2008 (dti.gov.za / info.gov.za) It applies to the following:
Every transaction occurring within the Republic of South Africa; Promotion or supply of any goods and services occurring within the Republic; and Goods or services that are supplied or performed, in the Republic, in terms of transactions mentioned in the Act The Act is not applicable in respect of: Goods or services promoted or supplied to the state; Industry-wide exemption being granted to regulatory authorities; Credit agreements, in terms of the National Credit Act, but not goods or services; Services under employment contracts; Agreements giving effect to collective bargaining agreements; and Agreements giving effect to bargaining agreements (Section 213 of the Labour Relations Act).
One man's "magic" is another man's engineering. 30

Engineering in the modern era Consumer rights and protection product liability (p175-181)
Consumer protection in South Africa. The Consumer protection act, No 68 of 2008 (dti.gov.za / info.gov.za) What are consumer rights?
The Bill of Rights enshrines the rights of all South Africans including consumer rights. The Consumer Protection Act further outlines these key consumer rights, of which all South African consumers should be aware. These include the following: 1. Right to Equality in the Consumer Market and Protection Against Discriminatory Marketing Practices; 2. Right to Privacy; 3. Right to Choose; 4. Right to Disclosure of Information; 5. Right to Fair and Responsible Marketing; 6. Right to Fair and Honest Dealings; 7. Right to Fair, Just and Reasonable Terms and Conditions; 8. Right to Fair Value, Good Quality and Safety; and 9. Right to Accountability by Suppliers.
The supreme irony of life is that hardly anyone gets out of it alive. 31