Simplicity is a fundamental tenet of good engineering, but our anonymous blogger see precious little of this vital quality in our engineering education system
Education is the process of learning, and one would hope that part of that process is about building on what we have learnt from the past. “K-I-S-S” Keep It Simple, Stupid is a fairly recent concept. Attributed to Kelly Johnson, who was the Chief Engineer responsible for some interesting designs at Lockheed including the SR-71 Blackbird and the U2 spy plane, K-I-S-S was inspired by a desire to keep designs as simple as possible so that the US Air Force could carry out maintenance and repair more quickly and easily.
Interestingly, however, the principle of keeping things simple can be traced all the way back to the Middle Ages with William of Ockham and his ‘Razor’. Occam’s Razor refers to shaving away at all the assumptions and complexity associated with a hypothesis to make it as simple, and therefore as effective, as possible.
Now, K-I-S-S can be applied to all sorts of things and when an operator at work asked me if I could get some information on Apprenticeship schemes, I wished that it had been applied to the structure of those schemes. Despite being the product of an apprenticeship myself, I struggled to relate to the 3 levels, Intermediate (level 2), Advanced (level 3) and Higher (level 4), as well as the different types of technical qualification associated with each (underpinned by the Quality Credits Framework which seems to be entwined with the National Occupational Standards which in turn seem to be regulated by the Sector Skills Council and provide qualifications up to Foundation Degree level). In the end, I printed off some fairly confusing generic information and advised that he talk someone in the HR department of an organisation that runs a good scheme.
I wasn’t too surprised by the confusing state of affairs. In the past I have interviewed A level students that were going to study engineering at university and I had to enquire what multiple science award meant and what is studied when doing a GCSE in Resistant Materials. Not so long ago the government were busy adding Diplomas to the range oNational Vocational Qualifications (NVQs) that currently run in parallel to more academic qualifications and then, more recently the new government added a baccalaureate as an award for a certain pick and mix combination of GCSEs. Even before we had chance to see the results of these new schemes the curiously named English Baccalaureate (E-Bac) has been announced.
So how about keeping qualifications and career development routes as clear and simple as possible (but no simpler) as well as providing sufficient continuity for employers and individuals to understand the awards and qualifications on offer? My suggestion is that ministers should learn some lessons from the past and strive for greater simplicity in the education and award system. Still, maybe that’s why I’m not a politician.
You fail to understand the concept of government. Create a system that is complex enough to need a greater bureaucracy to run it. This has the added benefit that, because it is so complex, it will need constant revision by a further bureacracy that has been created by the need to simplify the original system.
I hate to be picky – I really do, but I’m not so sure that the SR-71 is a good example of the K-I-S-S principle as it’s one of the most complex aircraft ever built and presented its design engineers with headaches at just about every turn. When they decided to build it mainly from titanium, no-one had any clear idea of how or even if it would be possible to work the metal into the required shapes. Even its tyres had to specially designed to withstand the long duration missions at such unprecedented cruising speeds and altitudes.
I’m no fan of hyperbole, but to say that Kelly Johnson was responsible for “some interesting designs at Lockheed” is taking understatement to a new level ! Not only was he a genius in the true sense of that much over-used word, he was responsible for some of the most advanced and revolutionary aircraft the world has ever seen. Also, his concept of setting up a small group of highly talented engineers working as a tight knit, sometimes unconventional unit, outside of the usual corporate structure has resulted in the term ‘Skunk Works’ going into the vernacular as in ‘taking a Skunk Works’ approach to a problem, when a fast, innovative and cost-effective solution is delivered by a small, unconventional team.
True, they’d always use existing components if at all possible as with the F-117a stealth ‘fighter,’ but Kelly Johnson set up the Skunk Works to be about delivering the job to client’s specification, on-time and on-budget – if it had to be complex to meet the brief – then so be it. That tradition remains true to the present day.
I enjoyed the rest of the article though!