SEPTEMBER 2021CONSTRUCTIONBUSINESSREVIEW.COM8IN MYOPINIONacross disciplines and companies. Furthermore, any mechanical engineer who has asked an architect to lower a ceiling understands that our solutions need to address both technical and human requirements. I love this industry because it offers endless opportunities for intelligent and creative people. Great leaders embrace change which brings me to this confession. The prospect of technological change in our industry has made me uncomfortable. Will these changes eliminate the things I love about my work? These changes are well documented and include: industrialized/offsite construction, robotics and automation, internet of things, generative design and artificial intelligence, and additive manufacturing. To alleviate my fears, I started down a journey of creating a vision for the Designer of the Future where computers can virtuallyin an instant produce thousands of design iterations. These iterations may be based on a set of rules supplied by a software manufacturer, a designer, or in the case of artificial intelligence, algorithms created by the computer itself. What role will humans play in the design process? This brings me to three areas that I would like to explore: owner value, the optimal solution and team collaboration.One of the most elusive parts of the design process is clearly and fully understanding what the owner values and equally important, what the owner does not value. A designer must probe, question, and challenge what he or she is told. An owner that requests a room to accommodate 200 people needs to be equipped with the ramifications of making such a decision. If that occupancy requirement is infrequent and for a short duration, perhaps the cost and operational complications I love this industry. I love being a mechanical engineer. Designing air conditioning and plumbing systems is not glamourous work. Perhaps it should be. Our designs create the healthcare environments for our loved ones to heal, the educational environments for our children to learn, the spaces where we live most of our lives. Buildings are complex. Like many modern technological systems, buildings are more complex than a single individual can fully understand. Each component has a specialist: architect, civil engineer, electrical engineer, mechanical engineer, AV/Data consultant, fire protection engineer, and food service consultant just to name a few. Together we focus our efforts to create an optimized product that meets the owner's requirements.It is not particularly hard to be an average mechanical engineer. However, being an excellent engineer is a formidable challenge. Our designs are littered with opportunities to increase performance and safety while decreasing cost and schedule. These opportunities routinely go unnoticed because they may fail to capitalize on the unique possibilities of the particular project or require making hard-to-see connections THE DESIGNER OF THE FUTUREBy Justin Bowker, Vice President of Engineering, TDIndustries, Inc. (TD)
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