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 If you were to rank the essential qualities of an effective
engineer in order of importance, what would the list look like? My guess is
that technical expertise would be first, followed closely by strong
communication skills.
I'll admit that the stereotypical introverted engineering
personality initially made me think that engineers were just intelligent and
introverted strategists who sit behind a computer all day and solve design
problems. Not much dialogue going on there. But I can only imagine the
catastrophes that would take place in industry if this were truly the case.
<-- Credit: UMN.edu
The reality is that engineers communicate often. Most
designs, especially complex ones, require the input and expertise of people
from many different disciplines, departments, and companies - all with varying
personalities and opinions. Mistakes made by engineers and design professionals
can usually be traced back to failures in communication between these various
parties, and often the mistakes can be very costly.
One example of communication failure was in the initial
production of Airbus's A380 "superjumbo" plane. Inconsistencies in the design
of the plane's complex electrical wiring resulted in costly delays in final
delivery and resulted in a "restructuring" of the company's leadership. The problems
were largely attributed to a failure to
notice and adapt to incompatibilities between customers from different
countries (with different standards and requirements).
Credit: Axwel - Flickr user -->
Another memorable example includes the billions lost by Ford
and Bridgestone Firestone over a failure to collaborate and communicate
effectively in the design of Ford vehicles and their tires. The Firestone tires
suffered from tread separation, resulting in blowouts which attributed to an
estimated 250 deaths and over 3,000 injuries.
While only a percentage of these figures resulted from Ford vehicles,
Firestone blamed Ford for providing an inadequate recommended tire pressure and
for the faulty design of the Explorer. This mishap ended business relations
between the two companies.
 
Credit (left | right): CNBC | CNN Money
Preventing communication failure takes both individual and
corporate responsibility. Tackling any problem requires individuals to clearly
define tasks, sufficiently explain ideas and solutions, ask questions when they
don't understand, and admit when they don't know or may be wrong. It also requires managers and project leaders to make sure the right people are meeting and talking regularly and that everything is being effectively documented.
Do you recall any time when communication prevented problems
in your workplace, or when a lack of it had some unintended consequences?
References:
Harvard Business Review - Are Your Engineers Talking to Each Other When They Should
Poole Professional Ltd. - A Failure To Communicate (pdf)
Time Business - Inside the Ford/Firestone Fight
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Re: More Talk, Less Trouble
