BEYOND ENGINEERING … “all I ever wanted to be was

a Techo”

Kerrie Christian – B Met UOWMaterials Investigation Manager Technology & Environment - BlueScope Steel LtdWollongong University Council Member(Former Wollongong City Councillor /Director Illawarra Electricity)(Former NSW Scientists President – APESMA)

Beyond Engineering

Photos – courtesy of D Ruffels

“ Beyond Engineering ….”

• Risk – Trust Me… I’m an Engineer

• What is Engineering - Design & Construct or More?

• Engineering & Reliability – Why Do Engineers Get Bad Press

• Engineering : Silo’s vs Teams – Forensic Engineering Case Studies

• Knowledge Management – including Networks & Communities of Practice

• Financial Drivers : Human Impacts – 1988 Coledale Disaster

• Assumptions in Design : Human Impacts - August 1998 Storm Event

• Skills Mix, Gender Issues• Summary

RISK : “Trust Me … I’m an Engineer”

“I like the ancient Roman tradition that made it clear to engineers they must accept responsibility for their work. When the scaffolding was removed from a completed Roman arch, the law read that the engineer who built the arch had to stand beneath it. If the arch came crashing down, he’d be the first to know. As a result, the Roman engineer knew that the quality of his work would have a direct, personal impact on his life. That’s why it’s not surprising to find so many Roman arches have survived through the ages.”

John W. Estey, President & CEO, S&C Electric Company,

http://www.sandc.com/webzine/081103_1.asp

Risk : Twenty First Century Bridge Building - Seacliff Bridge Coalcliff

Diversity in Engineering – Counting the Cost

• Connell Wagner looks for the right personalities at an early stage.

• “Graduates who have an interest, such as music, art, language or history – we see that as a very strong positive because it makes them a more rounded person.

• The old nerd engineer would sit before a computer screen – with the attitude of “Leave me alone while I get on with my calculations”…….. This is not a role model we encourage …. BRW 3/03/05

Diversity in Engineering: ”Hard” Technical Skills …Touchy/Feely ???

Engineering Solutions …. “Design/Construct Things” … or much more …..– getting all the information on the problem - communication, skills, experience

– define / design / develop the “fix” - creativity, logic, skills, experience, finance, safety

– selling the “fix” to client & community / regulatory stakeholders – communication, negotiation

– implementing the “fix” - tenacity, logic, skills, experience, finance, safety, leadership, management, teamwork, conflict resolution, industrial relations

– tweaking the “fix” - communication, creativity, logic, skills, experience

– maintaining the asset - communication, skills, experience, finance, negotiation

– problem solving – technical, equipment, organisational & people issues

– recording the learnings - communication - to avoid repeating the problem

– sharing the learnings - communication - to avoid similar problems

“Engineering needs all personality types … good communicators, outgoing, creative & naturally attuned to the human aspects of any situation”

Reliability : Navigating the “Why’s” : Investigation Tools & Techniques

Apollo RCA Cold Case

MORT

CSI

Troubleshooting

5 Why’s

ICAM

KT Seconds from Disaster

Reliability Centred

Maintenance

A Cynic’s View of Reliability …. Especially in IT !

Reliability : “How did those plant operators actually manage to run this turbo rotor so fast?” …. Bob the Engineer

Breaking Down Silos : Gaining & Sharing Knowledge

There are considerable gains in operating as multidisciplinary – cross functional TEAMS

…… rather than operating in Silos,whether as independent operators, engineers and scientists, or departments, reluctantto utilise the resources of another department, division or discipline.

Suspect fatigue cracking - Blast Furnace Top Recovery Turbine alternator rotor

Eddy Current Non Destructive Testing

Visual & Magnetic Particle – reveal Scratching - not Cracking

HSM COG MAIN CRACKING HSM COG MAIN CRACKING –– was it due to fatigue, was it due to fatigue, ieie long spans under high wind loadings ?long spans under high wind loadings ?

HSM COG MAIN CRACKING – Circumferential cracking at weld toe – presumed to initiate externally due to high winds

MagParticle

Visual Crack prepared for weld repair

Hot Tap Sample- note internal deposits

Hot Tap Cracked HSM COG Main -- crack faces crack faces –– showing corrosion/cracking had initiated internallyshowing corrosion/cracking had initiated internally

Weld side- cleaned

Internal surface – blue corrosion product

ParentMetal side-deposits remaining

External surface- ductile

Internal surface

External Surface

HSM COG MAIN CRACKING 2002 – macro / micros through cracked area of weldmacro / micros through cracked area of weld

Internal Surface

External Surface

FractureFace

External weld pitting

Whyalla Pellet Plant Fatality 7 Tonnes of Refractory buried 2 workers ….

The danger of “not knowing what we don’t know …”

Retaining Engineering Design Knowledge Matters ….

VW 150 Anc hor

L45 Anchor

Clip

ShellPlate

Whyalla Pellet Plant Fatality 7 Tonnes of Refractory buried 2 workers ….

Basic Demolition Error or Multiple Causes ?

The danger of “not knowing what we don’t know …”

Whyalla Pellet Plant : MORT / KT / Why’s

• The movement of the bricking ring (1990’s?) from 600 mm to 1200 mm from the discharge end of the kiln, and in line with the sealing flange plate, substantially increased stresses within the bricking ring, shell, nose casting, cooling plenum and sealing flange plate to in excess of the material yield strength.

• As stresses were in excess of material yield strength the cooling plenum, flange plate and bricking ring cracked through fatigue.

• The resulting structural discontinuity created a kiln cross section that flexed from cylindrical to lemon shaped on each kiln half revolution causing a substantial increase in localised kiln deflection.

• Refractory panels and bricks were forced against each other causing brick spalling and lifting and excessive cyclical clip loading in the vicinity of the structural discontinuity.

• Brick failure led to the formation of a hot spot in the kiln shell. This hot spot deformed the steel shell outwards imposing higher loads on the adjacent clips and exposing them to furnace temperature as the kiln shell bulged outwards.

• The increased cyclical anchor clip loading local to the hot spot and crack location caused the anchor clips to fail by bending fatigue. This process was accelerated by the presence of tight edged out of specification anchor clips. The resulting area of unsupported lining increased the load on adjacent lining segment clips during kiln rotation. These overloaded clips also then failed increasing the load on their neighbours and so on around the circumference of the kiln discharge lip.

Modifications to design made without understanding the full ramifications

Breaking Down the Silos : Knowledge Sharing

BHP Engineering Information Management Workshop 1997 :

“The future competitiveness of global companies will depend on their ability to master two things : logistics and knowledge management.”

…..Bill Gates 1997

Beating the 20 Year Effect : From Archives to Sharing

Materials Investigation Archives• Hard Copy Files - 100’s failure reports p.a. since 1960’s• PC / Mainframe Databases• Main Frame Document Management Systems• Knowledge Management & Sharing Systems

Knowledge Management

Data

Information + individual context = Knowledge

Information

Each individual interprets a particular piece of information based on their ownunique collection of skills and experiences.

It is this interpretation that allows information to become knowledge.

Knowledge resides within the individual.

Attempting to make knowledge explicitturns it back into information.

Knowledge

Use

abili

ty

A hierarchy of knowledge

Breaking Down the Silos : EIM Workshops 1990’s

Engineering Information Management Workshops – Cross Divisional

BHP participants : Australia-wide/Ok Tedi

• Engineers

• Supply officers

• Maintenance planners

• IT knowledge management specialists

• Corporate librarians

Beating the Twenty Year Effect : EIM Workshops 1990’s

1990’S BHP EIM Strategies :• Intranet - Engineers@BHP

• Email / GAL (Global Address List)

• Engineering Contacts Yellow Pages

• Intranet /Email based Specialist Maintenance Networks

• GLOBAL MAINTENANCE NETWORK

• DOCUMENTUM Document Management System

• EVENT Database System

Beating the 20 Year Effect : Knowledge Sharing - COP’s

COMMUNITIES OF PRACTICE 2001 +• COP – A group of people who share information,

ideas & insights about a common topic of interest• Intranet based – evolved in BHP – 80 in BlueScope

Steel - Corporate, HR, Safety, Technical, Ops• Established with moderate level of PC skills• Can achieve a wider target audience than emails• Link geographically close & globally dispersed sites• Bridging traditional “Silos”• Active COP’s - Crane Safety & Process Engineers• Failure Analysis practitioners participate in these

& Failure Analysis COP

Beating the 20 Year Effect : Knowledge Sharing - COP’s

Beating the 20 Year Effect : COP’s & Networks

However - Are COP’s operating only as Information Storage repositories vs a truly effective Knowledge Sharing tool ?

• What do our networks look like?• Can we do it better ?• Tech & Environment Online Help line

commenced • Would Wiki’s work?

No info

Systems

Processing

Metallurgist

Mechanical

Environment

Electrical

Chemical

No info

Systems

Processing

Metallurgist

Mechanical

Environment

Electrical

Chemical

SNA – Social Network Analysis

Beating the 20 Year Effect : Knowledge Sharing Beyond COP’s

• The Good Old Boys – Knowledge Networks

• Knowledge Sharing Barrier Busting Teams

• Young Guns - Accelerated Learning Failures Sessions

Knowledge Yum Cha

The KM Focus Question

Knowledge Yum Cha : Knowledge Focus Question

Question: How can you use what you have learned on KM to accelerate your DBA research?

•

Consider issues of knowledge acquisition•

Consider issues around sharing vs individual performance

•

Consider issues around reciprocation – balancing your own contribution vs that of advisors

•

Individual vs group work…what is the right balance?•

Innovation…how will KM help you make a unique contribution

The Hong Kong Doctor of Business Administration (DBA) Knowledge Management Class of 2005 from the University of Newcastle, NSW Australia. Lecturer: Laurence Lock Lee

Beating the 20 Year Effect : Knowledge Sharing / Succession Planning

Developing the Organisation’s Future :• Opportunities for Young Graduates

– Programs / Learning from current Gurus

• Beyond Google - Teaching & Learning: – what data / information / knowledge resources are

available– “older resources” books, journals, people

• Translating “old” knowledge to “E-format”• Attracting sufficient students

Beating the 20 Year Effect : Knowledge Sharing / Succession Planning

In order for the lessons of the past to avoid “becoming unlearnt “….

It is imperative that succeeding generations of plant engineers & failure analysis practitioners can, & do

continue, to access these past failure analysis lessons.

Diversity in Engineering – Counting the Cost

• As a young engineer, do you have a broad vision of where you would like your career to head?

• If so, is it worth planning now for the future by actively attaining the skills you will require?

• Opinions in the profession differ widely on how concerned we should be with our futures.

• Some suggest taking a wider view of our work than just technical streams.

• Perhaps we should consider the socioeconomic impacts of what we are doing more

…. Cohan Drew, GradIEAust Chair YEAT

CHALLENGES FOR ENGINEERING …

“It’s the Economy, Stupid”

….. Bill Clinton 1992

Human Factors in Engineering 1980’s – Financial Drivers & Engineering Decisionmaking …. Counting the Cost

“In the fierce storms of that month (April 1988) a young mother, Jenny Hagan, and her infant son, James, died in a mudslide at

Coledale a mudslide caused by the collapse of an embankment along the

Illawarra rail line in a heavy rain storm. - The Coledale-Wombarra area has high rainfall, steep slopes and

unstable ground, and experiences severe drainage problems during intense storms.”

….. Brian Langton (MP Kogarah - Minister for Transport, and Minister for Tourism) http://www.parliament.nsw.gov.au/prod/parlment/hansart.nsf/V3Key/LA19951206031

Following the Coronial Inquiry ….. a Geotechnical Engineer was prosecuted even though he was not a manager for the area

… IE Aust & APESMA gave him legal support.

Terry Hagan

Terry Hagan had repeatedly complained about geotechnical risks to his Coledale property in the 1980’s …. but his concerns went unheeded….

Diversity in Engineering – Counting the Cost

The I_TJ’s Prayer

“Lord,grant me the wisdom to listen to others

even though I know I am right.”

1990’s : Engineering Drainage Design Flood Blockage Assumptions … ie do culverts experience 50% or full blockage in flooding .. & does it matter anyway?

1992 : 1% flood event boundary

Post 1998 : 1% flood event boundaryPre 1998 : 1% flood event boundary

Diversity in Engineering – Counting the Cost

“If you put fences around people you get sheep.”

William McKnight, Former 3M CEO

Engineering – A Mono Culture ?

• “Trust me, I’m an Engineer” … why do Engineers get bad press out in the community ?

• Are all successful engineering students necessarily ISTJ/ INTJ Myers Briggs Personality Types? …USA study showed that less successful students were ENFP/ESFP PersonalityTypes

• Research indicates low participation of women due to an engineering culture… that does not fully recognise and value the differences that women can bring to engineering and that predominantly reflects and rewards the educational and career interests,aspirations and needs of men (IE Aust)

CHALLENGES FOR ENGINEERING …

• John Vines, chief executive of APESMA, says there is widespread feeling among engineers that their work is not as highly valued as it should be. He says the consequences are not just at the personal remuneration level. 'Our research shows that 10 years after completing their university degree, fewer than 50% of graduates are employed as engineers. We would argue this is a real issue for the profession, that the level of disillusionment among engineers is something the profession has to address.‘

• Attracting students to Engineering is a challenge around the world - why only recruit from only half the population?

• Cost of losing staff– Departure of any experienced staff, male or female, leaves a “hole”

• 5-10 years to grow a seasoned engineering professional– $ costs of hiring new staff

• One question we need to consider is whether we “live to work or work to live”.

Challenges for Engineering : A Perceived Mono Culture

• Engineers are not alone …. "The continuing insularity and conformity of Australian business must also be considered a competitive issue for this country".

• "There is a growing body of case study evidence here and elsewhere that diversity fosters more openness and accountability, and a greater willingness to innovate", Ms Krautil, Director EOWA, said.

• They could see the economic benefits to be wrought from the implementation of policies that retained the "best and brightest" at work.

• Companies that help employees ease the pressures of balancing work and family responsibilities are clear leaders in the third annual Corporate Reputation Index, published in the Sydney Morning Herald and The Age newspapers.

Lack of Diversity in Engineering – Counting the Cost

More from John Vines APESMA…. What a time for Australia to have a skills crisis!

• The Australian engineering workforce is ageing, with up to a third of the existing work force reaching retirement age in the next 10 years. As well as that we have huge skills and experience gaps in large engineering organisations due to reduced graduate employment intakes in the 1980's and 1990's.

• If Australia does not take this challenge seriously, the enormous opportunities for Australian-based companies to be involved in the infrastructure boom will be seriously diminished.

• The industry also needs to do its bit to turn around the looming crisis. – Firms should be offering cadetships and opportunities to retrain or to take time out

for overseas placements. – Employers need to provide more flexibility and family-friendly environments to

retain skilled employees, in particular women engineers. – And most of all, we need to look at wages and remuneration for engineers.

Diversity in Engineering – Counting the Cost

• One question we need to consider is whether we “live to work or work to live”.

• Companies that help employees ease the pressures of balancing work and family responsibilities are clear leaders in the third annual Corporate Reputation Index, published in the Sydney Morning Herald and The Age newspapers.

Who has childcare

responsibilities here?

Diversity in Engineering – Counting the Cost

Top six issues for professional women

• Flexible working arrangements - 60%

• Career development, training - 57.6%

• Equal Pay - 36.8%

• Quality child care - 32.3%

• Excessive hours of work - 26.5%

• Job security - 23.7%

Lack of Diversity in Engineering – Counting the Cost

• John Vines, chief executive of APESMA, says there is widespread feeling among engineers that their work is not as highly valued as it should be. He says the consequences are not just at the personal remuneration level. 'Our research shows that 10 years after completing their university degree, fewer than 50% of graduates are employed as engineers. We would argue this is a real issue for the profession, that the level of disillusionment among engineers is something the profession has to address.‘

• “Skills crisis sends recruiters abroad” ….• “Engineering jobs are at risk of going offshore ..” Sarah Duke GM WA TAD• The severe shortage of engineers in Australia has prompted Connell Wagner ,

one of Australia’s largest consulting engineering companies, to undertake an overseas recruiting drive.

BlueScope Steel – Work, Family & Parental Leave - Australia

• BlueScope Steel is committed to supporting employees who are new parents balance career opportunities with the challenges of early parenting.

• The parental leave initiatives for Australian-based employees are designed to deliver on the commitment in Our Bond to "maintain a healthy balance between work and family life". They will help BlueScope Steel attract and retain high quality men and women as employees, and help them to enjoy exciting and challenging careers, while also achieving their aspirations as parents and as active members of their local communities

• The BlueScope Steel corporate intranet provides information about parental leave the initiatives, application processes, the support provided to parents, an on-line childcare booking and information site Care For Kids, as well as answers to some questions you may have about taking parental leave and its effect on your benefits.

.

Diversity in Engineering – Counting the Cost

• “The manufacturing industry in general, certainly heavy industry, has an aura of being a very blokey, dirty, dusty, physical-type environment,” says Daryl Kilby, of BlueScope’s corporate human resources department.

• “What we try to show is that in our company the reality is they’re fairly high-tech jobs – research driven, solutions-driven.”

• In recent years, the number of women employees at BlueScope has risen significantly to about 10 per cent of the workforce.

• With evidence that a more equal gender balance positively affects the way work teams operate and boosts productivity, the company is trying to do much better, Kilby says.

Lack of Diversity in Engineering – Counting the Cost

Attracting students to Engineering is a challenge around the world - why recruit from

only half the population?

Diversity in Engineering: ”Hard” Technical Skills …Touchy/Feely ???

Engineering Solutions …. “Design/Construct Things” … or much more …..– getting all the information on the problem - communication, skills, experience

– define / design / develop the “fix” - creativity, logic, skills, experience, finance, safety

– selling the “fix” to client & community / regulatory stakeholders – communication, negotiation

– implementing the “fix” - tenacity, logic, skills, experience, finance, safety, leadership, management, teamwork, conflict resolution, industrial relations

– tweaking the “fix” - communication, creativity, logic, skills, experience

– maintaining the asset - communication, skills, experience, finance, negotiation

– problem solving – technical, equipment, organisational & people issues

– recording the learnings - communication - to avoid repeating the problem

– sharing the learnings - communication - to avoid similar problems

“Engineering needs all personality types … good communicators, outgoing, creative & naturally attuned to the human aspects of any situation”

“ Beyond Engineering ….”

• Risk – Trust Me… I’m an Engineer

• What is Engineering - Design & Construct or More?

• Engineering & Reliability – Why Do Engineers Get Bad Press

• Engineering : Silo’s vs Teams – Forensic Engineering Case Studies

• Knowledge Management – including Networks & Communities of Practice

• Financial Drivers : Human Impacts – 1988 Coledale Disaster

• Assumptions in Design : Human Impacts - August 1998 Storm Event

• Skills Mix, Gender Issues• Summary

CHALLENGES FOR ENGINEERING …

"The significant problems we face cannot be solved at the

same level of thinking we had when we created them.”

………. Albert Einstein

Who says Engineers can’t be Creative ?