Engineering a efficient work place: the tranistion to a digital technology.

Jared Thomas
DTC_375
Dr. Jason Farman
March 12, 2009
Word Count:1413

Engineering a efficient work place: the tranistion to a digital technology.

Name: Mari R. Wilson
Age: 55 and counting

I interviewed a coworker named Mari who is 55 and started her career as a drafter in 1973. She wasfirst hired by Catalytic, Inc. in Charlotte, NC as a drafting trainee. She had been a Fine Arts major in college, did not finish, and was looking for work in the classified ads of the local newspaper when she ran across an advertisement for a drafting trainee and said to herself: “I can do that!”. That was November of 1973 and she have never looked back. Mari was assigned to the Electrical Engineering group, given a design supervisor to mentor me into the system and began learning all about parallel bars (not the kind that gymnasts use!), lettering triangles, mylar, templates for drawing symbols, SkumEx bags, electric erasers and E1 Lead. She felt as though she was stealing every time she got a paycheck, because she was being paid more money than ever to draw all day long. Mari also broke the gender barrier, at least in that office, as the only female doing technical work. None of the other women in the office worked in the design floor, so she was Avant Garde!
Mari loved everything about it. Her mentor began teaching her about electrical engineering concepts right away and she was given assignments to draw building layouts, Motor Control Centers, Wiring Diagrams and Panel Schedules. Eventually she learned to do lighting calculations, size transformers and balance load panels with simple calculations.
Initially every calculation was done using slide rules and within the first five years the Hewlett Packard programmable hand held calculator came about. Then the Texas Instruments products hit the market and prices began to drop. Technology was racing back then and Mari along with everyone was truly excited about it.

Jared - What was you primary mode of communication and how did you use it in the work place?

Mari - Back in 1973 we had to keep accurate and complete documentation for discussions and decisions, so we relied on Inter Office Memorandums that were either hand-written or typed with an old IBM Selectronic typewriter and then copies were made using a duplicating copier that created a template that would be placed onto a duplicator drum. This system was time consuming and messy, because the templates would sometimes leak. The color of the ink was a lovely indigo blue, though, and had a smell that reminded you of rubbing alcohol. Not too much later the Xerox copier came about and we could run copies immediately. It really improved the transfer of information and the techniques used for playing pranks on co-workers.

Jared - What year did you transition into computer based communication?

Mari - 1986 - DuPont Corporation used a crude form of email at that time. We also were beginning to use CAD programs to generate the engineering documents. It was an entirely new world.

Jared - Was it difficult to adjust to the new technology?

Mari - No. Engineering recognizes that we thrive on innovation and new technologies offered all of us a way to celebrate the advances of our profession. There are always engineers in the workplace who want to have the latest and demonstrate skill with new technology, it is a form of displaying geek superiority!

Jared - How long did it take for the change?

Mari - When clients decided it was needed, the contracts enabled the business expense of upgrading to new systems. Drawing boards and desks were replaced pretty quickly with computers and drafting systems. I would say within a one year period the changes took place. CAD entered the workplace slowly - the cost was extraordinary and special facilities were needed to provide adequate cooling, power and proper lighting. Oddly enough, the first people who were asked to learn CAD were the ones who were not very good as draftsmen; their drawing quality was awful, and for those who took lots of pride the aesthetic of their drawings it felt like a back- handed slap that the lower quality producers were given the first shot at learning the new technology! That was back in 1980, right when I was starting my career as a mom, and I took a sabbatical from the office for a while. My company kept me busy at home, where I ran a home-based design service for six years. I returned to work full-time in 1986 and by then the CAD systems had overtaken things.

Jared - When you were introduced to the computer were you excited or intimidated at first?

Mari - I admit I had a certain amount of disdain for CAD, since I was one of the recognized ‘artists’ in the design room for my drawings. I took a lot of pride in being able to do hand lettering that looked like it was done by a template; I had a great mentor back in 1973 who showed me how to do beautiful lettering, and I thought that the CAD system would take away all vestiges of creativity and drawing excellence and make everything look ‘vanilla’. I was wrong, I soon learned!

Jared - How do you feel writing has changed between the transition from analog to a computer?

Mari - I think we are regressing. When you look at the level of vocabulary that people use today, the way SMS has taken the place of real conversation and the expected speed of responses it shows that we have lost some of the warmth in the workplace and society in general. We used to laugh about Big Brother back in the 70’s and now he is in charge. The future came to meet us while it had us mesmerized. The need to be able to communicate effectively has always been primary in advancing someone’s career. That goes all the way back to Plato, Socrates and Aristotle. We have tools at our disposal to make great improvements, and some people take advantage and use the tools for improvement. But overall, I would say we are suffering. Email allows us to hide at our desks. Before this method of communication we had to get face to face or at least make phone calls to connect into someone’s personal space. When we would estimate jobs back in the 70’s we figured it would take 100 Man Hours to complete a P&ID. today we have computers that allow us to make repetitive changes so it can speed things up and we are taking 500 hours to do the same thing. This ability to make quick changes means we can also be indecisive.

Jared - Has the change in technology affected your overall career choice?

Mari - The technology changes have modified my workplace dramatically from being tactile and conversant to provoking repetitive motion injury and perpetual email. The workplace has gone from being professional and fun to professional and cautious about every word you speak. But, I love my career. Engineering and the technology that it brings have been better to me than I ever dreamed. When I began in this industry I expected that if I made half of my current income I would be successful beyond my wildest dreams. I have met people from more than 20 different nations, worked on important projects that have impacted lives in a positive way and made enduring friendships along the way.

Jared - Which do you prefer? Old or New.

Mari - I would be lying to say that I don’t miss the old, and dishonest to say that I don’t enjoy the new. But it is hard for me to fathom how much the current ‘young generation’ has missed by not experiencing the frustration of having to start all over again on a project that may have taken 80 hours to complete and realizing that it impacts your decision making skills and forces you to look ahead at potential problems before the great memories of the days when we smoked at our desks, made silly pranks with mylar, burned E1 lead and wore pocket protectors. And actually drank hard liquor on Christmas Eve morning before we were sent out at noon to finish our Christmas shopping. But I’m willing to bet that if you were to come see me in 20 years when I am retired and begin sharing the milestones of your own career, you will have similar memories to share. And we can laugh about it as we wag our heads for the generation coming along next.