CHANGES I’D LIKE TO SEE IN THE ENGINEERING PROFESSION

[C-Dog]

I thought those SOB FULL OF THEMSELVES P.E's on the State Board were being SOO stupid!!

Atleast you have PEs on the state board. I think, here is Conn. there is only 1 PE on the board, the rest are Esq.!

 

[C-Dog]

But, frankly, I don't want to live in a world where I have to always remember to call them "train drivers" when talking to my son about his favorite thing.

I just read a Thomas the Tank Engine book to baby C-Dog tonight. They are "train drivers" in the book. After baby C-Dog was asleep, I had to check out one of the recorded shows we have and, you guessed it, they are drivers, not engineers!

 

[IlPadrino]

Well, that's a major point of argument (on which I have no real opinion). States do the majority of regulation of commerce within the state. That's why incorporation is a state issue. But the commerce clause of the consitution does give the federal government the right to regulate commerce between the states. Interpretation of that clause can be a big bone of contention among people.

Right... engineering is not an INTER-STATE commerce.

How does a state regulate an industry that is national or global? They can't, the constitution forbids it (I am stretching here). If you want to get rid of the exempt status, then you need to get federal gov. regulating licences.

Unless you're arguing that people from outside the state can pass through and be affected (think safety) by the engineers... that' would be interesting. But how are doctors and lawyers licensed? I thought they were the same as engineers - there's a national testing system but each state licenses their own. So if they don't merit a national license, we engineers sure as hell don't.

 

[IlPadrino]

I agree - can't do much without actively policing your profession to INSURE compilance.

You meant ensure, right? Or does Loyd's of London have policies covering this?!?

 

[mudpuppy]

But what about this: an unlicensed engineer in Detroit designs a car for an auto company. The auto company plans to sell the car in all the states. California decides that all cars sold in CA have to be designed by a California-licensed PE, so the company, based in MI, can't sell its cars in CA.

Doesn't this hinder interstate commerce? And if so shouldn't it fall under the Commerce Clause? Also say that a car company based in Japan was also banned from selling its car in CA because it was not designed by a PE. Wouldn't this fall under "foreign commerce" within the Commerce Clause?

 

[mudpuppy]

Get a coupon for free Ensure here!

 

[SuperAlpha]

How does a state regulate an industry that is national or global? They can't, the constitution forbids it (I am stretching here).

simple - A non-compliant engineering firm cannot solicit engineering services and deliver the designs to clients in a state that has such laws in place. This is already the case. If the client wants to do it by proxy, and circumvent it, that is up to the client.

 

[C-Dog]

I think the engineering profession should make the switch to SI units.

 

[Guest]

I think the engineering profession should make the switch to SI units.

Isn't this a thread topic for discussion on its' own??

I am not particularly married to using SI or english units. I come across applications of both systems of units in the work I perform on a daily basis.

I am sure other more informed opinions will differ ...

JR

 

[Katiebug]

I think the engineering profession should make the switch to SI units.

Agreed.

Several times a day I have to make the switch in my head between feet per minute and meters per second. Darn the US and Canada for sticking with English units when everyone else uses metric!

Oddly enough it's not unusual to hear from colleagues in Germany, France, etc. who refer to FPM but every other parameter is in SI units. I think it's because FPM was used as the primary velocity unit in our industry for 100+ years.

 

[ROBIAMEIT]

I think the engineering profession should make the switch to SI units.

PennDOT tried that a few years back and it was a DISASTER. i myself prefer English. Ever try to figure out what a cylynder break at 26,000 MegaPascals means???? Please just give me the old 5,000 psi and i am good.

Highway stationing in Meters is MADDENING!! We also tried to do it in West by god Virginia . . . . we designed a WHOLE seciton of highway in SI and had to re-do the WHOLE thing in English because the WVDOT didnt get ONE SINGLE BID on the job . . . .contractors said they couldnt figure out quantities!! . . . . thats what you get for trying that kinda thing in WV!!!

 

[Casey]

Yeah... Working in multiples of 10 is madness!

Give me the straight forward logic of 5280 ft per mile... 12inches per foot... 3 feet per yard... 16 ounces per pound...

Screw the French and their whacky 10 base system!

Long live fractions!

 

[EM_PS]

There is nothing more purely rational than the metric system, based on science, universal in application, unencumbered by local variants, impeccably logical. Jefferson was a strong proponent of a base 10 system of measurements, and the opportunity that this gave the average citizen of dealing on equal terms w/ those more educated than himself. Originally the basis of measure was the ten millionth part of a quadrant of the earth's meridian (established by french geodesists), now measured by light in a vacuum (meter). In the late 1700's, a prototype meter and kilogram, made of copper, set forth from France bound for Philadelphia. Unfortunately, a storm diverted the ship to Guadaloupe. Through encounters w/ pirates and the cursed british, the dude sent as emissary was imprisoned, where he died. The copper bar & weight measure eventually did make it to America however, and ultimately to Philadelphia, being received by non-scientist men, and without the emissary to explain, the two standards significance was failed to be appreciated, never being shown to Congress. They are in a display case in the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST), which still spearheads official efforts to bring the metric system to the US.

[plaigerized from Measuring America]

technically, we shouldn't even be having this discussion, if not for dumb pirate fate. . .

 

[Guest]

technically, we shouldn't even be having this discussion, if not for dumb pirate fate. . .

That's just crazy talk !!!!

JR

 

[C-Dog]

Most of our supplier errors are because of units (we unfortunatly design in english units). Our supply base is global, so they good with SI units. The last division I worked for, made the switch to SI units while I was there because of the global supply and customer base. That was pretty interesting. If you didn't know who was old, you knew once the switch was made.

 

[AlaME]

Inch by inch the US is going to the metric system.

 

[squishles10]

ask Caltrans how that went...

 

[mudpuppy]

Volts, Amps, Watts, Hertz. . .they are all SI or SI-derived units. What's the problem? :dunno:

 

[cement]

we have a nice pile of tapes, wheels, level rods, etc. getting dusty in the basement with this new fangled metric system of measurement...

 

[Katiebug]

Most of our supplier errors are because of units (we unfortunatly design in english units). Our supply base is global, so they good with SI units. The last division I worked for, made the switch to SI units while I was there because of the global supply and customer base. That was pretty interesting. If you didn't know who was old, you knew once the switch was made.

We're so global that we found we had to switch to SI. The only part of the world where our system drawings are in English units is the US and Canada. Fortunately we don't have any units that are too nutty; distance, weight, and force. We've switched over so that internal design work (test fixtures and the like) are done in SI units, and all global components are designed, tested, and rated in SI units.

I do believe a switch to metric is workable, and frankly I have no idea why it hasn't been done here. In terms of everyday things like kilometers instead of miles when driving in the car, we'd probably have to have double signage for a few years until folks get used to the new numbers. As an engineer I find metric/SI units to be much easier to work with than English units, but I also went to school not long ago and most of our coursework used SI units predominantly or exclusively (the prof's choice). I got very used to working in SI so it was a bit surprising to get into industry and discover that our company still uses English units in North America.