Stage/gate process

How do companies decide which projects to implement, without wasting large sums of money on dud projects?

When you’re working in the project delivery field, you’ll hear of terms such as project gating or phasing system. This is a common delivery approach that systematises what I covered in a previous blog on Making Decisions. I suggest you read that blog so you can understand the fundamentals. It may also help you make better decisions in your daily life.

I’ve drawn up a much more simplified schematic of the stage-gate system.

Construction Progress in minutes - Time Lapse Photography

Compress years into minutes!

Construction progress is typically recorded on photographs. With the right planning, a camera can be located in one place so a time-lapse record is created. This is a visual way to show people how the project is progressing.

Below are a few examples of time-lapse photography that you may find really interesting:

Making Decisions

Did he have a decision making process?

What should I do? There’s too many options to decide.

Is this one of your common problem? Would it help you to know a couple of simple techniques that many companies use to make decisions?

Decision-making is a problem for many people. I faced the same challenges when I was a young engineer. A mentor of mine taught me a technique that I later studied at university, and used on projects. I've taught this technique to my children so they can use it during their life journey. I hope it will help you too.

From the Earth to the Moon - Mini-series Review

Astronaut Buzz Aldrin on the moon

This brilliant mini-series allows you to experience one of the greatest engineering feats of mankind.

Produced by Ron Howard, Tom Hanks and Brian Grazer in 1998, this HBO mini-series was based largely on one of my favourite books, Andrew Chaikin’s A Man on the Moon.

Being a fan of the Apollo mission, I’ve watched many documentaries on the subject. If you’re not too enthused by watching documentaries, then this series will really let you experience the courage, emotion and ingenuity of the many people who made the mission a success.

Two of my favourite episodes are episodes 5 and 10, titled “the Spider” and “Galileo was Right”. The Spider follows NASA's engineer John Houbolt plight to convince management that the only way to succeed was to have a separate lunar module landing craft. The episode then follows the work of Grumman engineers as they design and test the lunar module. In Galileo was Right, we see how test fighter pilots are turned from tough guys into ardent geologists—men of science. And it’s through their understanding of the moon’s geology that David Scott and James Irwin discover the prized “Genesis Rock”.

I believe the vast and skillful planning and implementation of the Apollo mission needs to be written in a book; however, from a project management perspective. Who knows, maybe someday I'll have the chance to write it.

Seven Wonders of the Ancient World

No engineering blog would be complete without reference to the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World.

I asked my wife the other day what the oldest wonder was and she stumbled. A lot of people don’t realise that the oldest is the one that still stands today: the Great pyramid of Giza. Talk about a design life!

See the simple visual timeline for when each wonder existed.

Tacoma Narrows Bridge Failure

This is a classic video they show undergraduate engineers to ram home the message of what happens when a design goes wrong.

The Tacoma Narrows Bridge was a case of a suspension bridge that was designed too slim and too long. The bridge swayed so much during crosswinds that it got the nickname the “Galloping Gertie”.

Four months after completion, a strong wind created ripples/oscillations (aeroelastic flutter) that dramatically destroyed the bridge. This was caught on tape in 7 November 1940.

Watch the video of the collapse below.

Welcome

Welcome to my blog. This is the first of a series of post that will contribute to the promotion of the "Engineer" and how they have contributed to the development of our world.

It's my intent that this blog will not only give an insight into major developments over the history of mankind but will also present some of my experiences, as an engineer, on how projects get done.

I'll also reflect on a range of subjects such as great engineering feats as well as the routine things that have to happen on a project.

I hope you will enjoy this journey with me.