8 DECEMBER 2023
A Charles Sturt University senior engineering academic argues that to avoid calamitous public engineering project outcomes such as Sydney’s Rozelle Interchange schmozzle, planners’ and engineers’ assumptions and modelling must match reality.
By Associate Professor Peter Thew (pictured, inset), Principal Engineer-in-Residence and Head of Charles Sturt Engineering Consulting in the Charles Sturt School of Computing, Mathematics and Engineering.
While I am not aware of the cause of the specific problems, the recent commuter traffic jam situation at Sydney’s newly opened Rozelle Interchange shows two important things: firstly, that our modelling (of any type, but in this case traffic) needs to be founded in reality.
Engineers use all sorts of models and systems to simulate situations, and this problem at Rozelle reinforces how we need to understand what is going on in the models, and that our assumptions match reality.
Good engineering isn’t about using complex models, it is about deeply understanding what they represent and how real they are.
The second important thing is shown by the confusion over the road signs. At Charles Sturt University Engineering our first major subject focusses on Human-Centred Design – that is, that the purpose and essence of design is for the benefit of people.
When we design something, we need to know about who we are designing for, and that requires real consultation with users, so we don’t just assume that we know what people need, or in this case assume how people will interpret a sign, but actually consult them to find out.
If the confusing signs had been shown to the public or user groups prior to being installed, we could have avoided this problem.
Our teaching emphasis at Charles Sturt University Engineering is not so much on how to create complex mathematical engineering models, but on a deep and practical understanding of what they are good for and how they are used in real life. We have a highly practical engineering program.
This is why learning on the job in engineering is so important. The Charles Sturt Engineering course produces engineers who have a head start in their career with a strong sense of engineering in reality, not just in theory.
To arrange interviews with Associate Professor Peter Thew, who is based in Bathurst, contact Bruce Andrews at Charles Sturt Media on mobile 0418 669 362 or news@csu.edu.au
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