ENG 200H-11: Engineering Communication & the Global Workplace

Memo

To: Dr. J. Kelly Kissock

From: Ean Kuska
Date: 7 December 2017
Subject: Final Report - Writing, Communication, and Ethics in the Engineering Workplace
____________________________________________________________________________

Introduction
This memo will cover writing, communication, and ethics in the global engineering workplace. It
will display the information gathered from real engineers in the workplace today. The true
importance of communication and writing in Engineering will be presented, busting the myth that
engineers do not need to be able to communicate well. In order to gather the necessary
information, first, I performed secondary research, and then to conclude, I completed primary
research as well. This report will summarize and exhibit the information drawn from this
research. In addition, an analysis of the University of Daytons (UD) engineering curriculum will
be discussed.

Mechanical Engineering
Mechanical engineering is the designing and building of moving parts or objects in order to
make the world a better, more efficient place. Mechanical engineers identify problems in the
real world and then design and build practical solutions to these problems.

Research Method
Initially, I performed secondary research on five sources: A Guide to Writing as an Engineer by
David F. Beer and David A. McMurrey, How Engineers Can Improve Technical Writing by
Mark Crawford, Is Writing an Essential Skill for Engineers. by James R. Koelsch, "Teaching
Freshmen Engineering Communication" from the journal The European Workshop on
Microelectronics Education, and Engineering Writing/Writing Engineering by Dorothy A.
Winsor. This information showed great insight into the amount of communication and writing
that engineers perform, and it lead me to have more questions that I later used when performing
primary research. When performing this primary research, I first researched and found 3 job
ads in my field, which allowed me to view requirements for a future position, but also to analyze
how often these ads mentioned any type of communication. To dive deeper into the field, I then
interviewed three professionals in the workplace, also shadowing one of these professionals.
These professionals included M. Russ Milliron, Associate Director of Systems Integration in
UDs data center; Dr. Margaret Pinnell, Associate Professor in the Department of Mechanical
and Aerospace Engineering; and Elijah Kuska, who currently works as a mechanical engineer
for the Wright Patterson Air Force Base. When performing these interviews, I asked many
questions about communication in the workplace, including types of communication, amount of
communication, and how communication changes when the audience changes. In addition, I
inquired about the code of ethics each engineer follows in their respective workplace. Then, I
analyzed a sample writing from an engineer, following the plain language guidelines as I did so,
in order to see how audience plays a role in the tone and language used when writing. Finally, I
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examined UDs academic curriculum, specifically, I viewed the mechanical engineering

undergraduate catalog, to analyze how effectively it would prepare its students for the real
workplace.

Results
Secondary Research (Summary)
After reading, noting, and analyzing each of the secondary research sources, one
conclusion became very clear: writing plays and extremely important role in the engineering
workplace. All five of these sources agree that no matter the type of engineering, engineers will
always be required to write on the job. One source even stated that, on average, most
engineers spend 40% of their time writing, (Beer and McMurrey). This means that if an
engineer makes $100,000 per year, $40,000 of that would be for communication and writing
alone. Communication and writing plays a huge role in the job of an engineer, whether they
must writes lab reports, technical reports, technical analyses, design reports, or many more.
Job Prospect + Advertisement Analysis
I analyzed three different job ads, searching the requirements and descriptions for any
type of communication. All ads were fore mechanical engineering jobs. ARS Recycling
Systems LLC. put out the first ad. When examining this ad, I noticed that one requirement
stated, strong interpersonal skills with the ability to work effectively with all levels of employees
and customers, were necessary for the job. They also asked that their engineers have strong
leadership and interpersonal abilities. The second ad I analyzed came from Standard Motor
Products Inc. The job responsibilities included preparing product reports and documentation, a
type of communication. When looking at the job requirements, strong analytical skills, the ability
to communicate technical knowledge in a clear and understandable manner, and superior
technical writing skills were included. Finally, I analyzed a job ad from the Joyce/Dayton Corp.
Key role interactions for this job included, reporting to engineering manager, working in groups
as needed, and working with the quality manager as needed. Proficiency in technical writing as
well as past leadership were listed in the qualifications and skills necessary for the job. Finally, I
checked the Occupational Outlook Handbook to see how the mechanical engineer job outlook
seemed. The handbook expects the mechanical engineer occupation to grow by, 9%, in the
time period from 2016 to 2026 (Mechanical).
Job Shadow and Interview: M. Russ Milliron
M. Russ Milliron works as the Associate Director of Systems Integration for UDit in the
UD data center. He has a degree in computer engineering and has worked in the data center
for over 20 years. After he took the class on an hour long tour of the data center, explaining
how the whole place works, he then gave us 30 minutes to ask any questions about
communication and ethics in the workplace. When it came to communication, Milliron stated
that even as an engineer in IT, he communicates with many people in many ways every day.
Whether he must write emails or reports and diagnostics, everyday he communicates. In
addition, he explained some ethics that he follows in the workplace. He said more than once
that engineers must, be true and honest brokers of information, (Milliron). By this he meant
that engineers have to always have integrity and present accurate information, whether the
information matches their hypothesis or not. In addition, he stated that engineers should always
take safety into concern when completing any task. He explained that engineers have to make
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difficult decisions when it comes to attempting to solve problems at the expense of human
safety.
Interview: Dr. Margaret Pinnell
Dr. Margaret Pinnell works as the Associate Dean for Faculty and Staff Development
and an Associate Professor in the Department of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering. I
asked Dr. Pinnell about the role communication plays not only in her day-to-day work, but also
in the engineering workplace. As a professor, Dr. Pinnell described communication as,
incredibly important, due to the fact that she must speak to and work with students day in and
day out (Pinnell). She also described communication in the engineering as, critically
important, because the ability to communicate with different types of people, both in a
technical fashion and a non-technical fashion, makes the difference between a good engineer,
and a really really good engineer, (Pinnell). She described the different types of
communication that engineers must perform, including technical reports, emails, project
explanation and reports, formal presentations, and face-to-face interactions. She also
emphasized the importance on being able to communicate with many different types of people.
Whether it be to very technical people, like professional engineers, or non-technical people, like
K-12 teachers, engineers must be able to communicate to all types of people so that they can
understand. When it comes to ethics, Dr. Pinnell emphasized honesty and safety. She stated
that engineers, have a lot of power to do great harm, (Pinnell). She explained that engineers
have to follow ethical codes of safety to make sure no one gets harmed. In addition, she
believes that engineers should always display honesty.
Interview: Elijah Kuska
Elijah Kuska works as a mechanical engineer under Booz Allen Hamilton, collecting data
for the Wright-Patterson Air Force Base. When asked generally about the amount and types of
communication he does in the workplace, Elijah described communication as, a daily activity in
both the workplace and the lab, (Kuska). He added that he needs to be able to clearly
communicate findings, results, questions, or concerns to all different types of people, including
co-workers, superiors, and clients. Elijah then explained that as a researcher in the field of
biomechanics, he often times does not communicate with engineers, but rather those who
specialize in computational biomechanics. He explained that when communicated with these
people, he does not use the type of technical communication he may use with an engineer.
Finally, when questioned about codes of ethics that he follows, Elijah said, most importantly, he
follows the principles of honesty and integrity. The data I collect is the data I report, no matter
what it says, he added (Kuska). He believes that every engineer should be honest and true, no
matter the circumstance.
Sample Writing Analysis
I evaluated a proposal titled, Proposal to Create a Bachelor of Science in
Bioengineering for my sample engineering writing. I also used the Federal Plain Language
(FPLG) Guidelines to analyze this proposal. When doing so I first examined the audience and
how the writer of the proposal addresses this audience. The FPLG state that a writer should
know their audience, write for their audience, and their audience should be one single person.
When reading this proposal, the writer clearly showed that they knew their audience, the board
of a specific university; however, the writer did not address one single person. Next, the FPLG
state that a writing should provide a clear idea that the reader can understand after one read. I
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believe this proposal met that standard. Then, I examined the proposal for active voice, another
part of the FPLG. After searching for active verbs, I noticed this proposal did contain lots of
active voice, but it also included the phrase, will be many times which I do not consider active
voice. Finally, I made sure the proposal followed the guideline of using short, simple words, as
well as omitting unnecessary words. I found that the proposal did this extremely well. The
writer only used clear and concise words while also using the necessary amount of larger, more
descriptive words only when needed. Overall, I would say this proposal followed the FPLG well.
UD Curriculum Analysis
When analyzing the UD curriculum, I searched for classes and curriculum that would
prepare a student engineer for the communication necessary in a professional workplace.
When it comes to communication, the UD curriculum requires these three classes: Writing
Seminar I, Writing Seminar II, and Principles of Oral Communication. In addition to these
classes, UD also requires of its engineers two professional development courses that help
prepare the students for the workplace. UD has also recently implemented the Kern
Entrepreneurial Engineering Network (KEEN) into some of its engineering classes. These
classes have a curriculum driven to generate curiosity and creativity from the students which
they can then use in their future workplace to generate more value to themselves and their
ideas.

So What?
After examining and synthesizing all of the previous research, clearly communication plays a
huge role in the engineering workplace. Not only must engineers communicate on a daily basis,
but in order to perform as an exceptional engineer, they must be able to communicate clearly
and concisely to many different types of people in many different ways. In addition, two ethical
codes that engineers must follow stuck out from the research, honesty and safety. Engineers
must be honest and have integrity when it comes to their work. They may not change numbers
or submit false information just to satisfy a boss or client. Engineers also must first take into
account human safety when completing a task. Overall, communication and ethics have a huge
role in the global workplace of engineering.

UD Curriculum Assessment
After analyzing and reviewing the UD curriculum for mechanical engineering, I believe that it
clearly prepares its students for the workplace very well. Not only does the curriculum offer a
range of courses that will prepare students for any field of mechanical engineering they may
want to enter, it also acknowledges the importance of communication and requires classes that
aid students in developing this communication. In addition, the implementation of KEEN into
classes will ready engineers to be more successful in their workplace. This class, Engineering
Communication in the global workplace does just that. Not only does this class offer the
knowledge needed to be able to properly developed and write many types of engineering
documents, but it also had the KEEN program implemented into it. Also, the required
communication and professional development classes top off and impressive and effective
curriculum for preparing engineering students for the global workplace.
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Works Cited

Beer, David F., and David A. McMurrey. A guide to writing as an engineer. Wiley, 2014.

Crawford, Mark. How Engineers Can Improve Technical Writing. ASME.org, Sept. 2012,

www.asme.org/career-education/articles/business-writing/how-engineers-can-improve-

technical-writing.

Koelsch, James R. Is Writing an Essential Skill for Engineers. AutomationWorld,

AutomationWorld, 1 Dec. 2011, www.automationworld.com/article/automation-

strategies/industry-business/workforce/writing-essential-skill-engineers.

Kuska, Elijah. Personal interview. 28 November 2017.

Mechanical Engineers. U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics,

www.bls.gov/ooh/architecture-and-engineering/mechanical-engineers.htm.//

Milliron, M. Russ. Personal interview. 31 October 2017.

Pinnell, Dr. Margaret. Personal interview. 8 November 2017.

"Teaching Freshmen Engineering Communication." 2016 11Th European Workshop on

Microelectronics Education (EWME), Microelectronics Education (EWME), 2016 11Th

European Workshop on, 2016, p. 1. EBSCOhost, doi:10.1109/EWME.2016.7496464.

Undergraduate Catalog. Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering < University of Dayton,

catalog.udayton.edu/undergraduate/schoolofengineering/programsofstudy/mechanicaland

aerospaceengineering/#BACH.

Winsor, Dorothy A. Engineering Writing/Writing Engineering. College Composition and

Communication, vol. 41, no. 1, 1990, pp. 5870. JSTOR, JSTOR,

www.jstor.org/stable/357883.
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Appendix for Final Report

Job Ad: Mechanical Engineer, Standard Motor Products Inc. Lewisville, TX

https://www.careerbuilder.com/job/J3Q2RD5YYL6GH93L0RM?ipath=JRG1&keywords=mechan

ical+engineer&location=lewisville%2Ctx&searchid=6b3a9ab2-5280-4b27-b5f8-

4f63cd744ffd&siteid=cbnsv

Job Ad: Mechanical Engineer, Joyce/Dayton Corp. Dayton, Oh

https://www.indeed.com/cmp/Joyce-Dayton-Corp/jobs/Mechanical-Engineer-

9169a4f1c63cfd17?q=mechanical+engineer

Job Ad: Mechanical Engineer, ARS Recycling Systems LLC. Youngstown, OH

https://www.indeed.com/cmp/ARS-Recycling-Systems,-LLC/jobs/Mechanical-Engineer-

b53b7d3e1cceb6f7?sjdu=QwrRXKrqZ3CNX5W-

O9jEvZPk66t2uzDm5H86HXACiWCncfMYszSbvuNPuKZ9UTP8t3b_ZtJ7rp_XgnN2tzAJ8Q&tk=

1c0mhl63c0nke5fb

BioENG Program Proposal