Editing Engineer (section)

==Roles and expertise==

===Design===
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| caption1 = A design for a flying machine ({{circa|1488}}), first presented in the ''[[Codex on the Flight of Birds]]''
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| caption2 = An ''aerial screw'' ({{circa|1489}}), suggestive of a helicopter, from the ''[[Codex Atlanticus]]''
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Engineers develop new technological solutions. During the [[engineering design process]], the responsibilities of the engineer may include defining problems, conducting and narrowing research, analyzing criteria, finding and analyzing solutions, and making decisions. Much of an engineer's time is spent on researching, locating, applying, and transferring information.<ref>Eide, A.; R. Jenison; L. Mashaw; L. Northup (2002). ''Engineering: Fundamentals and Problem Solving''. New York City: McGraw-Hill Companies Inc.</ref> Indeed, research suggests engineers spend 56% of their time engaged in various information behaviours, including 14% actively searching for information.<ref name="Robinson (2010) JASIST"/>

Engineers must weigh different design choices on their merits and choose the solution that best matches the requirements and needs. Their crucial and unique task is to identify, understand, and interpret the constraints on a design in order to produce a successful result. Good problem solving skills are an important asset for engineers.

===Analysis===
[[File:Bundesarchiv Bild 183-23805-1665, Ingenieure mit Konstruktionsplan.jpg|thumb|left|Engineers conferring on prototype design, 1954]]

Engineers apply techniques of [[engineering analysis]] in testing, production, or maintenance. Analytical engineers may supervise production in factories and elsewhere, determine the causes of a process failure, and test output to maintain quality. They also estimate the [[time and motion study|time and cost required to complete projects]]. Supervisory engineers are responsible for major components or entire projects. Engineering analysis involves the application of scientific analytic principles and processes to reveal the properties and state of the system, device or mechanism under study. Engineering analysis proceeds by separating the engineering design into the mechanisms of operation or failure, analyzing or estimating each component of the operation or failure mechanism in isolation, and recombining the components. They may [[Risk analysis (engineering)|analyze risk]].<ref>{{cite journal | last1 = Baecher | first1 = G.B. | last2 = Pate | first2 = E.M. | last3 = de Neufville | first3 = R. | year = 1979 | title = Risk of dam failure in benefit/cost analysis | journal = Water Resources Research | volume = 16 | issue = 3| pages = 449–456 | doi=10.1029/wr016i003p00449 | bibcode=1980WRR....16..449B}}</ref><ref>Hartford, D.N.D. and Baecher, G.B. (2004) Risk and Uncertainty in Dam Safety. Thomas Telford</ref><ref>International Commission on Large Dams (ICOLD) (2003) Risk Assessment in Dam Safety Management. ICOLD, Paris</ref><ref>British Standards Institution (BSIA) (1991) BC 5760 Part 5: Reliability of systems equipment and components – Guide to failure modes effects and criticality analysis (FMEA and FMECA).</ref>

Many engineers use computers to produce and analyze designs, to simulate and test how a machine, structure, or system operates, to generate specifications for parts, to monitor the quality of products, and to control the efficiency of processes.
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===Specialization and management===
[[Image:Firing Room -2 During Apollo 12 CDDT - GPN-2000-000632.jpg|right|thumb|NASA Launch Control Center Firing Room 2 as it appeared in the Apollo era]]
Most engineers specialize in one or more [[List of engineering branches|engineering disciplines]].<ref name="bls" /> Numerous specialties are recognized by professional societies, and each of the major branches of engineering has numerous subdivisions. Civil engineering, for example, includes structural engineering, along with transportation engineering, geotechnical engineering, and materials engineering, including ceramic, metallurgical, and [[polymer engineering]]. Mechanical engineering cuts across most disciplines since its core essence is [[applied physics]]. Engineers also may specialize in one industry, such as motor vehicles, or in one type of technology, such as turbines or semiconductor materials.<ref name="bls" />

Several recent studies have investigated how engineers spend their time; that is, the work tasks they perform and how their time is distributed among these. Research<ref name="Robinson (2010) JASIST">{{cite journal | last1 = Robinson | first1 = M. A. | year = 2010 | title = An empirical analysis of engineers' information behaviors | journal = Journal of the American Society for Information Science and Technology | volume = 61 | issue = 4| pages = 640–658 | doi = 10.1002/asi.21290 | s2cid = 15130260 }}</ref><ref name="Robinson (2012) DS">{{cite journal | last1 = Robinson | first1 = M. A. | year = 2012 | title = How design engineers spend their time: Job content and task satisfaction | journal = Design Studies | volume = 33 | issue = 4| pages = 391–425 | doi = 10.1016/j.destud.2012.03.002 }}</ref> suggests that there are several key themes present in engineers' work: technical work (i.e., the application of science to product development), social work (i.e., interactive communication between people), computer-based work and information behaviors. Among other more detailed findings, a 2012 [[work sampling]] study<ref name="Robinson (2012) DS"/> found that engineers spend 62.92% of their time engaged in technical work, 40.37% in social work, and 49.66% in computer-based work. Furthermore, there was considerable overlap between these different types of work, with engineers spending 24.96% of their time engaged in technical and social work, 37.97% in technical and non-social, 15.42% in non-technical and social, and 21.66% in non-technical and non-social.

Engineering is also an information-intensive field, with research finding that engineers spend 55.8% of their time engaged in various different information behaviors, including 14.2% actively seeking information from other people (7.8%) and information repositories such as documents and databases (6.4%).<ref name="Robinson (2010) JASIST"/>

The time engineers spend engaged in such activities is also reflected in the competencies required in engineering roles. In addition to engineers' core technical competence, research has also demonstrated the critical nature of their personal attributes, project management skills, and cognitive abilities to success in the role.<ref>{{cite journal | last1 = Robinson | first1 = M. A. | last2 = Sparrow | first2 = P. R. | last3 = Clegg | first3 = C. | last4 = Birdi | first4 = K. | year = 2005 | title = Design engineering competencies: Future requirements and predicted changes in the forthcoming decade | journal = Design Studies | volume = 26 | issue = 2| pages = 123–153 | doi = 10.1016/j.destud.2004.09.004 }}</ref>