Road and bridge construction design Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 3000 words

Road and bridge construction design - Assignment Example Inventions are not magical, but took time to develop once they originated from human beings minds. This governs the quest to defining what engineering is, it is the process through which abstract ideas are turned into systems or products (physical representations). Engineers apply their creativity in the production of systems and products to satisfy human wants and this distinguishes them from sculptors, painters, or poets. This kind of creative act is referred to as a design. Engineering design Majority of engineering designs are listed as systems or invention-devices created by human hard work, or improvements made in already existing systems or devices. Designs or inventions do not just emerge from nowhere, but are a product of bringing technologies together to provide for human necessities. A design can also arise from someone trying to efficiently and quickly accomplish a task. Designing needs a step-by-step procedure and takes place over a period of time (Vanderwarker, 2001). E ngineers are primarily known as problem solvers. A design has a remarkably different nature of both the problem and solution because they are open- ended unlike other problem solving methods. This means that a design has more than one solution of correcting a problem which contains specified properties. In contrast to analysis problems, design problems are vaguely defined. Take an example of where one is asked to calculate the height of wall given the initial velocity of a snowball to be zero. The problem has one answer thus an analysis. Once the problem is changed to designing a device to launch 2-pound snowball to a height of 180 feet, it automatically becomes a design problem. In that it is open-ended and has many possible instruments that can be launched to determine the height of the snowball. An iterative procedure is outlined in solving design problems. This is because the solution to a design problem changes from time to time and continuous refining of the design becomes a n orm. During the implementation of a design problem, too expensive or unsafe solutions are developed. When such is the case the designer goes back to the drawing board until the proper solution is met. An outstanding example is that of the Wright brothers who experimented lots of design before attempting the powered flight. From his illustration, it is evident that design activity is a cyclic process while the analysis problem is sequential. To come up with a good solution to a design problem, it requires a well outlined procedure. This package, therefore, presents a diverse approach of a methodology referred to as the five-step problem-solving method. The mentioned methodology relates with the design process and can be adapted to solving a particular problem (Vanderwarker, 2001). The design process It consists of five crucial steps that must be achieved in designing the process. The process requires iteration and backtracking because design problems are usually vague. The design pro cess is contingent: it requires changes as it develops and the solutions are based on unforeseen complications. The five steps are illustrated below 1. Defining the problem 2. Gathering pertinent information 3. Generating multiple answers/ solutions 4. Analyzing and selecting a solution 5. Testing and implementing the solution Problem definition normally has a listing of the customer requirements and those of the