Since I'm hopping on a plane tomorrow headed to do a workshop for teachers in the Atlanta, GA area, I was interested in reading how engineers consider risk to human lives and endeavor to insure against structural, mechanical, and systems failures. Airplanes, automobiles, spacecraft, bridges, buildings... there have always been and likely will be more disasters, but learning from mistakes helps improve designs. Every time I step into a plane I am amazed not only at the human ingenuity that allows airlines to safely transport 200 people 35,000 feet up in the air inside a thin, aluminum tube, but I am also thankful for the safety that goes into designing complicated systems like jet planes that are one of the safest ways to travel if one were to count fatalities. Now if I could only get to ride in the Boeing 787 Dreamliner- what a feat of engineering it was to develop that aircraft! What were your thoughts as you read Chapter 1?
I, too, am amazed every time I board a plane. While I understand the basics of how the overwhelming weight of the aircraft manages to get into the air and the - miraculously! - stay there, I still feel it to be an awe inspiring event. All those pounds and all those people up in the clouds! Despite its inconveniences, I love flying because of this.
ReplyDeleteIt seems engineers manage to incorporate safety into their designs to an amazing degree. We don't stare at the cars going by us on the highway; it's only when we see the traffic accident that we gawk. Likewise, we only notice engineering when it fails. Yet engineers are often pitted against the strongest forces of nature - earthquakes, hurricanes, tsunamis. Is it any wonder that buildings fail and levees are breached? Think of the power that they are up against.
To tell the truth, I was surprised by the amount of deaths attributed to structural failure (page 5). Twenty-five deaths per year in the US seemed high to me and left me wondering who these people are and what kinds of failures led to their deaths.
Like I mentioned in an earlier post, I think twice now as I go over bridges, especially since all the news about bridge safety recently, even here in Maine. It makes me want to vote yes on those bonds asking for money to improve our roads and bridges!
ReplyDeleteI am not a flyer...because the whole idea of a huge heavy airplane staying up in the air is scary to me. I have flown and will if I really really need to but I think it is absolutely amazing that man had the "idea" to try to put a huge structure in the air and think that it will go! And it did. After many many many attempts. That is what engineering is all about to me.
Having just returned from travel that involved air travel, many of the same thoughts shared here are fresh in my mind! I too am "wowed" by the sheer act of getting tons of metal airborne but am also awed by the other engineered systems that accompany the flight. For example, how is it that my suitcase, handed to an attendant in Portland, greets me (more times than not!) at my destination? I find it fascinating to watching the ant colony like activity on the tarmac - especially as I consider the numbers of flights, people and bags that are moved through the system each day. It also reminds me that this sort of system problem solving is also something engineered - and one that is often overlooked when thinking of engineering. In what ways might we bring this sort of engineering to our classrooms?
ReplyDeleteProblem solvers is what we truly need in this world. I encourage my students to problem solve in my class. To think on their own.
DeleteProblem solvers. That is what we need to encourage. I try to model situations in my class so that they learn strategies for solving their own problems so that I am not the main focus as "The Solver."
DeleteLynn, how about just posing that scenario you just did. The whole shbang! Your flight, and all it entails, not just the airplane. I bet students would love that challenge to coordinate, choreograph, safely and efficiently plan every detail. It would be such and eye opener to them.
DeleteThis chapter really got me thinking about something I experienced when I designed our dock. Because I felt a bit of the fear that Petroski related, I brought my plans to two of my buddies who had a lot of experience with designing and building. (One was an IA teacher) They both looked at the plans and said, "It's over-engineered". I was, at first, really put off by their remarks. I had spent a lot of time on the plans, especially thinking about the integrity of a structure that would have to be both light and strong. They pointed out how I could make it even lighter and less expensive, without sacrificing its strength. They were right, and the dock lasted 15 years with little or no repairs needed.
ReplyDeleteAs I read Petroski's comments about the balance of structural integrity, safety and cost, it made me think about this. We know that "corners are cut" for a variety of reasons when something is built. We have to hope that the industry regulations are excellent, the safety guidelines are clear, and the codes officers are diligent so that our bridges and airplanes are safe.
The whole concept of safety factors and acceptable risk is a great arena for leading class discussions. In my bridge building project, we use a safety factor of 1.6, and then we test to failure to show how close we came with our calculations, and then investigate the failure modes to see how different types of failures lead to different safety factors. I follow that with a discussion of what safety factor was used for the Apollo Moon Landings where human lives and national pride were at stake (PS, I don't know what safety factor NASA used, but I am guessing it was well into double digits!)
ReplyDeleteI am amazed with all the creations in the world, skyscrapers, hybrid cars, ipads, electronic books and the list will always continue to grow. Our world is always looking to improve upon what it already has. As Petroski said in ch 1 every one takes a risk. If we did not there would be no progress. Society will always be looking for someone to blame when things fail or break. I know as a teacher that I have been scrutinized for introducing a new program to parents. I always stress to parents that I am trying something new to see what will work best for their children. So I too hope we never become a risk free society.
ReplyDeleteI am slowly catching up with reading, and responding. Last I read this afternoon, you were in San Francisco, and then I reread Chapter 1 , Being Human,
ReplyDeleteHenry Petroski on page 2 states, ”Engineering has as its principle object not the given world but the world that engineers themselves create.”
Both our daughters lived in California for almost a decade. Christie, lived in Berkeley, and Kensington. I remember, not so long ago, walking with her to the Berkeley Farmers Market and being struck by so many of the building designs which were visible beyond the massive glass exteriors. Repetitive steel triangles graced the interior. I commented on what appeared to me to be the uniqueness of the structures, and she responded, “the buildings are engineered to be earthquake proof.” Of course, “a world that engineers create.”
In the early 1990’s Chris, my husband, was involved with developing photographic equipment, and traveling to visit with customers was the norm.
During February vacation of that year I joined him on a trip to San Diego, CA. We stayed at the Marriot, on the 26th floor. I remember enjoying coffee, as I took in the view from the picture window. Chris was in the bathroom freshening up for a busy day ahead.
I noticed a change in the visual, initially I thought the outside view began to move, but as the seconds flew by, it was apparent the walls were swaying. I checked again, as I sat on the bed.
Yes, the walls were definitely swaying, and it felt as though the moments, the seconds, were frozen in time.
I yelled ( really it was a deep, guttural scream) to Chris, because I thought if I put my feet on the floor and walked to the bathroom, there was a potential of dropping several stories.
“We are having an Earthquake!”
His response was,” What? ”
I restated, with more emphasis, ” We are having an Earthquake!”
Again, his response was, “What???”
I changed my approach and said something like,” ---------, get out here!”
He immediately ran out of the bathroom, and understood what I was trying to express.
Then silence, and normalcy.
We tried to call the front desk, to no avail, and decided I would go to the first floor to find out what had happened. I exited the elevator and as I walked toward a small group of employees engaged in what appeared to be a meeting, I overheard, perhaps, the person in charge say, “Remember, nothing happened, nothing at all.”
Of course, he wasn’t an engineer.
How does that tie into a second grade science /engineering teaching format, “ Something has happened! What do you think it might have been? Why?”
The last thought I’ll share, evolved as I read page 6 and 7, relating to bridges, engineering and public safety.
“The effects of structural reliability can be measured not only in terms of cost in human lives but also in material terms. Other diverse phenomena, including … the collapse of bridges…costs well over $100 billion annually, yet could be reduced by half by better utilizing available technology and improved techniques of fracture control.
In the summers we have lived on an island in China Lake. One year for Mother’s Day, our son and my husband decided they would build the “Monet Bridge” I had hinted at for years.
Attached is a recent photo, it is in need of repair or rather replacement, and it was not the “Monet Bridge” I had envisioned, but it was a bridge, structurally sound, within budget, made with local materials,
And for a time risk free.
Making structures, bridges to hold items, can be a great learning experience for second graders, promotes the engineering process, and allows background knowledge for future learning endeavors.