Professional institutions require their members to have “engineering judgment”, assuming its meaning is obvious. It is not disputed that engineering judgment is indispensable to successful practice, but is it adequate on its own? Most importantly, who can make judgment? It is generally believed that experts, in their own discipline, are skilled in integrating the evidence through unconscious lessons learned from experience, and prior empirical or analytical work of their own or others, so as to derive the appropriate solutions. Since antiquity, engineering judgment has played a predominant role in design and construction, although most of the early judgment was rooted in experience and precedents.
A similar question was asked on Researchgate in a different context- See the following link.
https://www.researchgate.net/post/What_does_engineering_judgement_mean_to_you_in_the_context_of_design_for_example_how_do_you_actually_teach_it_to_your_students
I have made an attempt to define a framework for how to use engineering judgement in practice- See
https://www.researchgate.net/publication/276274071_Evidence-based_practice_in_subsea_engineering
Your thoughts on how to acquire engineering judgment is most welcome.
Hi dear Dr.Yassari
I think engineering judgment has this meaning: What does number sense mean? the number that has calculated from combine of math and physics of the problems.when you understand that what does number mean and how can affect the problem so you can judge and have the best choice.
Sincerely
Dear Behnam,
Thank you for for your contribution. It seems to me you are saying "Engineering judgment" is what we gain from our analytical work, numerical work and experience. I concur.
We also can learn from experience of others by talking to them, reading papers and books. As this old adage implies " I have not seen my own grave but I have seen the graves of others". Replace grave with mistake.
SY
Sirous,
Your Paper on Evidence based Practice is very thorough and detailed and more formal than "judgement?. In some risk assessments, where there is a lack of evidence, people have used polling approaches such as the Delphi technique to fill the gaps based on expert "opinion". I had thought that this was nearer to the vague "engineering judgement", "feeling in the water", or as you more correctly identify, heuristics and biases (Tversky and Kahneman), than your much more "reliable" approach?
David
Hi David,
Thank you for your contribution. Very useful for me.
You and I look at the problem differently- a little bit but not too much. I believe we need to learn the ability to judge correctly ( at least 50% of the time) it doesn't come naturally. How we learn, is through formal processes. By your own experience, or reading papers by others win which they describe their experience. This is the way I learn. You can't buy an ounce of engineering judgment anywhere, expect paying for and reading learned people's work.
Thanks again for voicing your opinion.
First of all my best wishes to all of you in 2019.
Thanks for your replay to my question, by the way it is judgement.
I found a good definition. hereby the translation in English:
Engineering Judgement: The estimation of one or more experts based on his own knowledge and experience, which leads to the evaluation of the available relevant information, and the application of the right principles, provisions and practices, seeks to get a decision on the applicability, design, operation , installations or other problem that we encounter in daily life.
English translation of the ducht definition found in the following source: http://www.encyclo.nl/begrip/expert%20judgement
Good answer - In Risk Analysis we often tap into this resource using the Delphi Technique.
H F. M. Freyre H.
Thank your for your dictionary definition of the engineering judgment. Now tell me where you get an ounce of engineering judgment.
PS: I can't make out which part of your name is your family name.
Hi Professor Slater,
What you said is true as it is the heart of modern risk analysis and expert judgment is the last resort. The question is how do we can tell who is the expert or his/her judgment has any value? Risk analysis is a quicksand landscape and one should thread very carefully.
Risk analysts are the modern incarnation of soothsayer. The plight of new age soothsayers is no different from their forefathers.
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