Engineering

Engineering has been called the "invisible profession" or the "stealth profession" because most  people have no clue what engineers do. This is unfortunate, because everything in society is linked to engineering.

A 1998 poll indicated 61 percent of adults felt "not very well" or "not at all well" informed about engineering. Engineering is not  science. Engineers generally don't "do"  science. Science is about discovering the natural. Engineering is creating the artificial. Theodore Von Karman, an aerospace engineer, put it nicely when he said, "Scientists discover the world that exists; engineers create the world that never was."

Engineers are often incorrectly identified as scientists, because most people have studied some science in school and are at least familiar with science. Most people have not studied or even been introduced to engineering. For example, in a 1998 poll, only 18 percent of  respondents associated engineers most closely with working in space, while 68 percent  associated scientists most closely. In fact, the space program is largely engineering and 72 of 107 current U.S. astronauts in 1998 (67 percent) have an engineering degree.

The Most Creative

The word "create" has been used several times here in reference to engineering. Engineers as a group are probably the most creative people. They synthesize, solve problems, and innovate... all big words meaning that they make new things and make old things better. People in the arts are  creative too; but their  creativity deals with thoughts or  emotions. Engineering creativity is directed at things.

The Southwest Medical Center Plant Operations Department oversees some 10,000 pieces of clinical and non-clinical equipment. Each respective piece of equipment requires a preventative maintenance schedule that is performed annually, semi-annually, quarterly, monthly or weekly depending on the risk level of the equipment. There are also more than 500 service requests that are generated by other departments each month. Collectively 25,000 service requests and work orders pass through the department each year. Plant Operations is continually in the process of updating equipment throughout the hospital. Improved efficiency and ever changing codes are the drivers behind the updates. Remodeling patient rooms and public areas are ongoing projects. The hospital grounds will also be involved.  The Plant Operations department is staffed with 1 director, 1 administrative assistant, 2 supervisors, 2 bio-med technicians, 2 grounds keepers, 7 service technicians, 1 safety officer and 3 security guards.