Why infrastructure policies need engineers' 'bigger picture' view

Donald Bell | July 6, 2021 | 78 views

One way or another, we all work on infrastructure; whether design, construction, operation or maintenance. We solve problems and make things work – often without the public realising the complexity of our task. We sit in the background and don’t make waves.

We are good at the technical challenges, but how often do we take a step back and think about how our work or project fits into the ambitions of wider society? Who is commissioning it? Why are they commissioning it? What are the political drivers? What do they want the outcome to be? What has changed since we started work on it?

This sort of questioning will help us deliver better projects, as we see the bigger picture, beyond our technical solutions. With so much of our infrastructure delivered through public bodies, it is important that civil engineers understand, and give professional advice to, the political process that drives infrastructure investment for our communities.

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Bishop-Wisecarver works with manufacturers to engineer, produce, and build custom complex assemblies, linear motion solutions and optimal embedded intelligence systems. Through the integration of our mechanical, electronic, software, control and systems design engineering expertise - mechatronics - 65+ years of experience, and 20,000+ unique clients later, we continue to provide a single point of service that results in custom designs, increased efficiencies, and accelerated time to market.

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