About the speaker

Our speaker today is Dr Richard Sharp.

Richard is the Principal of Arup and leads the Management Consulting business of Arup Australasia. He brings a wide range of experiences across infrastructure design and construction, including roads, rail, water, energy, commercial building, industrial, educational and residential developments. He specialises in integrating diverse technical, commercial and strategic inputs to deliver the very best in project outcomes.

Richard has dealt extensively with State and Federal Governments and has led reviews of major capital works funding and delivery for the Federal Government as well as complex technical and commercial assessments of assets such as the Sydney Harbour Tunnel and Lane Cove Tunnel. He has also undertaken master planning work for universities, provided Project Diagnostic advice for rail operators, and developed Knowledge Management systems for State Road Authorities, as well as interfaced with defence and security agencies both within Australia and internationally.

Richard is an experienced Company Director and Chairman of both public and private companies. He is an accredited Gateway Reviewer, a member of Infrastructure Partnerships Australia’s Transport Taskforce, a member of the Advisory Council for the Engineering Faculty at UTS and UNSW, and a member of the Advisory Council for the SMART Infrastructure Research Facility at University of Wollongong. He holds a Doctor of Philosophy, bachelor degrees in engineering and science from the University of Sydney.

It gives me great pleasure to invite Dr Richard Sharp to deliver the occasional address.

Speech

What's the issue? What's changing? Why is it a challenge?

Our world doesn't stand still ...... A cursory look at newspaper headlines shows conflict and threat of conflict, political rise and fall, business challenge and opportunity, impact of climate change on agriculture and water supply, demographic growth esp in our region, ageing populations, and so on.

Why is this a challenge? .... All of these changes present challenges to our communities. It might be simply the challenge of staying alive, of staying safe. It might be the challenge of leading and governing a country in political turmoil. It might be the challenge of establishing and operating a business that serves the community well, and keeps people employed. Or it might be the challenge of providing widely available health services as demands and expectations grow. Every change presents challenges to our established way of doing things.

Where does engineering fit into this?

What is the purpose of engineering in the broadest sense?

  • Engineering serves the community - at the same time as military engineering was developing to conquer or defend territory, civil engineering was developing to enable communities to operate better. Think about Roman roads, built to better transport goods (as well as enabling armies to move around more effectively!). Or think about aqueducts, transporting clean water into cities and around agricultural areas.
  • Engineering puts science into community use - Science seeks to understand how our world operates; engineering seeks to put that understanding into use in practical ways. It is no coincidence that the scientific revolution of the "Enlightenment" was accompanied by equally dramatic agricultural and industrial revolutions. Think about Mendel's work in understanding genetic inheritance, and its impact on crop breeding and productivity. Or think about the work of Newton and others in understanding the physics of force and motion, and the way that was put to use by Stephenson and Watt in engines that powered weaving mills, or ventilated coal mines, or propelled ships and trains.
  • Engineering enables community health, safety, and connections - Engineering can of course be put to destructive use. But used well, it enables safer travel, or it keeps families connected by good communications even when they're far apart, or it helps to keep people safe through vaccination against disease, or by effective medical treatment of illness.

The BBC series on "Seven Wonders of the Industrial World" provides a wonderful illustration of Engineering putting Science to work for the benefit of the community:

  • the Great Ship - designed by Isambard Kingdom Brunel in 1851, to sail without stopping from England to Australia, and unite the two ends of the Empire;
  • Brooklyn Bridge - devised by John Roebling to span the East River in New York, and link Manhattan and Brooklyn. He faced huge geotechnical challenges, developed a caisson system for foundations, and transformed the engineering of cable-stayed bridges in the face of greed and corruption;
  • Bell Rock Lighthouse - designed and built by Robert Stevenson on one of Scotland's deadliest shipping hazards, 11 miles offshore in hazardous seas, amidst the challenge of ridicule, greed, and treacherous elements. 150 years later, the light still stands and has saved countless lives;
  • the “Sewer King” - in 1858, Joseph Bazalgette stepped up to address London's "great stink" and deal with a sanitation system that hadn't changed since medieval times. This was a huge challenge, met with 1300 miles of sewers, and ultimately the end of the city's cholera epidemics;
  • the Panama Canal - conceived by Ferdinand de Lesseps to link the Pacific and Atlantic, and save shipping time and many lives. But there were huge challenges in the form of jungle, disease, and financial ruin....;
  • the American transcontinental railroad - completed as a race across the country, amidst a war;
  • the Hoover Dam - a 60 storey high dam to harness the power of the Colorado River, built by Frank Crowe in the early 1900s, but at a huge price in lives and legal wranglings.

These are all great stories of triumph in the face of adversity. But why were they important? What changes did they bring?

• Brunel's Great Ship did not bring travel, but transatlantic telecommunications

• the Brooklyn Bridge connected two parts of the world's fastest growing city

• Bell Rock lighthouse transformed maritime safety off Scotland

• an effective sewer system greatly improved health for London's citizens

• the Panama Canal brought improved trade and vastly improved safety for sailors

• the Transcontinental Railroad opened up America for settlement and agriculture

• the Hoover Dam brought safe and sustainable water supply for communities

So how do WE handle change? Engineering is by nature a conservative profession in a world of change .... How can we address change constructively?

We face change (daily) because external circumstances change, and because people aren't perfect – we make mistakes, we misjudge needs or consequences, or things need fixing….

For example – we set about improving transport infrastructure to meet the needs of a growing population; we look for safer modes of travel, because people make mistakes and accidents occur; we develop new antibiotics because bacteria develop drug resistance; we help communities find reliable water supplies as climate changes;

How do you create change, rather than letting it happen around you? Change is a great money-spinner for business writers – just have a look at any airport bookstore for a sample! John Kotter is one such writer whose work is well-known, as he talks about “leading change”, and his language around change (the “burning platform”, the “guiding coalition”) has entered the business lexicon. You may have come across this language.

As we think about "wonders of the industrial world", what might today’s list be?

  • man on the moon? (1969)
  • high speed rail? (1980s)
  • the Fehmarnbelt? Or the Hong Kong - Macau bridge/tunnel? (now)
  • internet and www? (1990s)
  • Google?

We could compile a fascinating list…

Perhaps more importantly, what might tomorrow's "wonders of the industrial world" be??

Even more specifically, what story would YOU like to write? What possibilities excite or inspire you?

  • Is it exploring space? In which direction??
  • Is it the possibility of high speed rail between Sydney, Brisbane and Melbourne?
  • Is it the prospect of high efficiency renewable energy supplies?
  • Maybe it’s hassle-free nationwide broadband?
  • What about an effective tsunami warning system?
  • Or eliminating malaria?
  • Or providing safe drinking water to countries that desperately need it?
  • Or maybe it’s providing universal education for girls in a particular country or continent?

In “writing that story”, what are some important things to consider?

1. "Change" can be good, bad or ugly – for examples, new therapeutic drugs can transform life for a suffering patient, or equally they can be abused. In writing your “change story”, make it your aim to work for good;

2. The engineering (to change the status quo) needs to be technically sound. However, "technically sound" is necessary but not sufficient. To be really effective, typically we need a combination of technical + commercial + interpersonal competence. Seek to build this combination of competencies through career opportunities … three strands of competence;

3. To work out where to write your “story”, look for needs. Seek out community or society needs, not simply financial wants. Then work out how to meet those needs. Most of the great breakthroughs in science, or civil engineering, or medicine, have arisen from someone’s determination to solve a problem that affects lots of people – think for examples of the discovery of penicillin (by Alexander Fleming), but then the hard work by Howard Florey and others to make it widely available and safe;

4. Bring people along with you. Great engineering, and important change, doesn’t happen in a vacuum. Kotter talks about building a “guiding coalition” that brings together a shared enthusiasm but a rich diversity of skills and influence. That is what enables us to work together to develop a better solution with the benefit of wider perspectives;

5. Seek lasting benefit – Stephen Covey talks about a higher aim of creating a "legacy", something that benefits many people and endures. Another way of putting is it to say - the priority is in giving rather than receiving. As engineers, one of the best ways we can give is by putting science into service for mankind - that's what good engineering looks like.

In summary.....

  • “Engineering” is about service to our communities
  • Many of our engineering needs arise because circumstances change
  • The "Seven Wonders of the Industrial World" are examples of great engineering producing great change, for good
  • The best engineering does exactly that - works for good
  • So seek out real needs - what inspires and excites you? – what story would you like to see written? Which “wonder of the industrial world” could you be a part of?
  • In your career, seek ways of building broad competence - technical + commercial + interpersonal skills, ….
  • and put it to good use, to create a legacy that you and others will be proud of.