Small Wins

Whenever there is a discussion on betterment. We usually focus or  actually stuck in eyeing the big wins. Everyone wants to be the prime minister to initiate some change. But they don't realize that every big change is the collection of some very very small wins. Few days earlier I was in a discussion where everyone was arguing about how backward we are in the field of engineering. We don't have any manuals, codes or standards of our own. We are following the standards and all the guidelines made by other countries, which is very very true.

So hating to interrupt, but when it is necessary, one has to. A question was pitched that who will make these codes. The bureaucrats? The politicians? The army? Or the engineers?

"Engineers", everyone said.

"So who are you guys?", That was the next questions.

After a pause one "engineer" asked that 'okay! so how to do it?'

So he was told to study the manuals made by the world and select the most appropriate best suited for your environment, and then modify it.

This solution did not receive a charming response. Everyone said that we are not willing to copy. Now we are motivated, we will do it from the scratch. Like re-inventing the wheel before making an SUV.

This thought has two common problems.

Firstly, that we don't know the history. Because most of the western inventions were launched after they stole, copied or changed the name of the author, of the books they vanished from libraries of ottoman empires. That's why you see a hint of Al-Farnas's flying machine in Wright Brothers' invention and things like "to every action there is an equal and opposite reaction" in Newton's theory. Hence it is more salient that smart people do not reinvent the wheel, they take the wheel and invent the next part. (They stole it, that is not smartness of'course)

Secondly, there is no harm in copying the good stuff. Its not a religious battle. Its true science, which will remain true even if a Non Muslim states it.

So the same argument was made and now there was calm among the enthusiastic individuals. 'What will now be the way forward?', was the next question.

"In chapter A, there is one factor showing the value of X which is suited for America, lets find the best value for our country" was the reply.

And suddenly, all the enthusiasm was gone. Everyone was thinking, 'are we here to do this small thing?' And that's the biggest problem, bigger than the two discussed earlier. We want a quick, sudden big win. We want a magic stick to make a manual or guideline or a code book for us.

They never realize that line is actually a collection of millions and billions dots. A big win is a collection of millions and billions small wins.

Now what is the actual start point of betterment? Stop blaming the past, blame the inner self. Because when you will realize the root of the problem, things will change. Which means, 'you' will change, 'we' will change. And just like line, a big win, millions of "we" is called a country.

A City of Cars

The argument commenced off with, "we need mobility" as stated by the authoritative.

Need is although a strong word, usually applied to something which is a life line for an entity. Unluckily, this word is always confused with want. Sometimes with the luxury of power, limited interaction with humans, above average living, no accountability and mile long VIP protocol, people are henceforth unable to understand the difference between need and want.

Well the governors or the men in power decided to choose access instead of mobility. For a city of 20 million in actual and 15 million after all the cutoff due racism, divisions and political strategies. But still they did not choose 'increase in access' instead of mobility. And the work began. All the relevant footpaths providing access for the most economical mode of transportation i.e. "feet" were removed. All the green belts comprising of old trees vanished. All the service roads providing increased safety and access were transformed into the highways. A city which once performed 50 percent of its trips by walk or cycle was forced to use motorised vehicles from one destination to another.

There are design standards for every area; Urban areas need urban access roads, Highways need mobility. But someone thought about Karachi as "Not" a city and even with a population of 20 million people, they designed every other road as a rural highway.

So the argument became reality. Power when held irrespective of accountability usually creates the biggest mess. Once a lively city, which was well connected is now converted into a lot of segments between connected rural highways. Parks were destroyed, because the priority was highways, beautiful roundabouts were replaced by underpasses because aesthetics do not matter it is not what a city need. Focus of the city governors shifted from community gatherings to repairing pavements. Beaches became dustbin, but the roads near them are well paved. Huge skyscrapers were built all along the roads with no consideration of their frontage.

This created a huge influx of more and more cars. So a meeting was called again to access the need. And again it was called by the people enjoying the luxury of power, involved in very less interaction with people of the city, confident about no accountability and accompanied by a mile long protocol. So they decided that wider roads, more mobility and lesser access create more cars. So it’s time to widen them more to accommodate the new addition. Just like a person, trapped in debts, takes more to manage the situation.

Meanwhile when this decision was being made. A man was on the road with his child. They visited every park and beach, once very beautiful; and at present not in a shape to spend the quality time. Then the child asked, "no parks, no good beaches, no nice community festivals, just big wide roads, is this a city for humans?" The father was quiet, but there the SUV mumbled, 'This is a city of cars.... Get out....

A Bridge OF Hands

What we learn from teachers has to be recited and memorized. But what we learn from events is embossed forever. Definition of event is pretty vague, it’s all about how you define it. Well, the event I want to discuss is the internship season in our office. When I told some of my friends that our team shortlisted 03 second year and 03 third year students, some of them said, “in bachon ko kia sekhao gey bhai tum loag?"

And it is actually the general perception. But in reality, people with more experience are more difficult to be taught. Do you know about the coconut tree? If you want to plant a coconut tree in a new soil, select the smallest. With more old trees there are lesser chances of growth. For students, industry is a new soil. Since our engineering industry is divided into two extremes i.e. a) the necessary theory and b) the practicality. The older you are, while jumping from the soil of necessary theory to the practicality the lesser chances you have for growth.So the internship began and my team mates tried their best to teach and the interns tried hard to learn. But other than that I learned two things, a) their hidden talents and b) a bridge of hands.

There was a person, who, from the very next hour looked like the part our team, took no time to adjust and from the next day this intern was comfortably roaming around and communicating. Let me tell you a secret, it’s not just students or juniors sometimes the seniors wants to feel comfortable with the juniors. This person never knew but it was the best skill. The next intern was a shy personality. I never saw full face of that intern in first two weeks. Then I realized that this one was speaking more boldly and soundly with the words and written statements. Writer I gave the name to that one.

Next was someone struggling to find a relationship with the beautiful illustrations and illusions and the ugly practical drawings. This struggle is actually a positive skill. When you accept the practicality with all its ugliness you can’t change anything. Only when you don’t accept its entirety a beautiful change is developed. This change itself has an amazing balance between the illusions and reality. Another intern was a bit aggressive, a bit more enthusiastic to learn and a bit angrier. None of them are negatives. These people are good leaders. People say, “Raise your argument not your voice”.  But actually, to manage a team, sometimes, raising the voice is as important as raising the argument.

Whenever I roamed around the hall during internship days, I saw one person quietly looking at the software and trying to do the level best to solve whatever was the task. The good thing about this person was that whenever I asked the issue, I find a new one. If I had to select two people for design with equal GPA, I’ll go with this one. Another was more difficult to judge. But within some last lectures I realized that a very good listener was among us. A “silent mode” most of the time but always listening and nodding the way people who understands node. These people learn quickly than the others.

This was the first thing I learnt. The second thing was the myth that was solved during this interaction. The myth was how to connect industry with the university. Practicality with the necessary theory. We, with our biasness towards industry and university with a sound argument of standards can’t solve this. Only a mind fertile enough to grow both seeds together can do that. So with in these six individuals, I found a bridge of hands, quite able to connect these two entities together.

All they need to do is, learn thoroughly within the learning years and in stay connected with its implementation. 

One step before your self esteem

Mostly, if not all of them, there are two type of engineers in Pakistan.

First are those who are highly casual. They take everything for granted. The projects they are responsible for, the routine they should follow, the behaviour they must adapt, everything almost every necessary thing required to excel in their professional life is harnessed informally. All this will not help them much in their professional life, but the most important thing which they take casually is the project specifications and quality. When they are made responsible for the projects, all they want is take this devil out of there head as soon as possible. No matter what they prepare, no matter how they do it. It should be done well before the time line.

This attitude can never make you a very good engineer. Yes, most of them gradually gain good positions. Because there is one thing they are good at "Buttering". This vary skill can raise you up but never raise your respect. I have seen many departmental heads whose colleagues abuse them when they are not around. Ultimately they realise that they are rich in wealth but poor in respect. The final output is a grand loss.

Second type is my preference, they can improve if they rectify some of the practices. They are the perfectionists. When they are being made responsible for the projects or any part of the project, they try to learn about it, develop methodologies to execute the tasks and prepare teams as good as they can. Usually they are very interested in maintaining the quality. But then they miss the most important thing once said by bill gates, "The world wants something from you, well before you can satisfy your self-esteem". They unintentionally delay the projects so that it can become perfect.

Actually here is the thing which everyone needs to learn. A project is considered as a perfectly completed project when all the points mentioned in the scope of work are achieved and the objective is fulfilled. But for them, a perfect project is something which satisfies their self-esteem. They should realise that a project worth millions can't have a budget of billions. A project that has to be completed in 04 months is considered perfectly complete, if it is completed in 4 months.

Everyone has an artist hidden inside them. Studying engineering has never accomplished the destruction of this person. These studies actually gives the art a perfection. Art gives you, ideas and engineering? Engineering never underestimates those ideas, it shows you how to make them look real. An initial sketch on the pad, is made practical using Auto-Cad. An identification of problem by personal observations are reinforced by numbers given to you by engineering methods. If you don't maintain the balance between the concept and practicality, you just waste more and more time. For all the people who stand in the second zone, they should know that a decision has to be made before the time is over, before self-esteem is achieved, before you are very, and very happy.

They need to learn that first and most important quality of a good decision maker is not that they take good decision, but, they take them on time.

Want to be a good engineer? Be an artist

After successfully conducting 3 interview sessions for recruitment since the last three consecutive years (Alhamd'Allah) I've met some incredible writers, beautiful poets, good readers, amazing team players and people with notable talents. Sadly their strength, for them, is their greater weakness.

Whenever I ask them, "Aur is sab (engineering) kay ilawa kia kartay ho?" They usually state; studies, studies, studies. As if, being a painter is not a notable thing to mention. When I ask a poet to share some of his verses, he assumes that I am joking, and then he expects that the next question will be; "define traffic engineering".

Yesterday, I asked a fresh graduate during her interview, what type of books do you read? She said, "sir you won't be interested, because they all are novels and mostly fiction". She never realized that every constructed structure was once an assumed model, once a part of someone's imagination, was once a 'fiction'. The strongest plus point of a book reader is: That he or she can "read". The person who can read lengthy novel, it's quite easier for him or her to read reports.

Same day, I asked another person what do you sketch? And believe me he was half disappointed and half shocked that what type of questions I am asking in a professional engineering environment. He never realized every good detailed design was once just a sketch. If a person can sketch the most complex machinery of the world i.e. humans. He can sketch any of the most complicated ideas of the engineering world.

Third most interesting person I met yesterday was a programmer. An urban engineer and also expert in programming. I asked, why you leant this language. He said, (totally embarrassed) I seriously don't know. I saw some videos of Python and I just learnt this. For me it was like hiring two persons at the same time. Two majors in one person. Or even better than a team of traffic engineer and software engineer. But he was only embarrassed.

The last different person I met in this interview session was a person who had no desire to travel, move, or even snore for fun. He explained that, a) he does not like traveling, b) he hates to get up from his desk, c) he is not a team player. So he was totally confused what to do. He never knew his strength i.e. not getting frustrated by sitting at one place and to perform highly technical work.

Please note my dear fresh engineers:

1. A poet can write a better report
2. A reader can grab quickly
3. A painter can explain well
4. A programmer can learn the software easily
5. A very social person can propose most socially acceptable design

It's just about transforming the art, to make a real world object

BUILD A DOOR OR DON’T WAIT FOR A KNOCK – FOR ALL THE INTERNS

From roaming around the corridors hooting, shouting and planning for nothing else but picnics and parties, also with a plathora number of bunks to a full fledge professional life, I have learnt one thing: Every effort is interconnected, all you have to do is move forward with some planning.

I was, in my university, one of the most non-serious person as far as it was about attending the classes. In the first year I went on touring Pakistan twice, organised a number of picnics and parties. Which made me realise, “A person who can arrange a successful picnic can also arrange a professional event”. All the events are the same. There has to be some financial management, some marketing, some lectures and also a very lazy team to manage. That was the first very useful lesson my university taught me. Actually sometimes we underestimate our abilities because of the taunts of the people who can’t do that.

In third year, during the internship season, we heard that internship is the most useless thing in the world. It never helps you in your professional life. But luckily we went to a very good organization under the management of some very professional and experienced people. And believe me those lessons still help me in the professional life. Surprised to see a hooting and shouting lover taking internship seriously? So that was the second useful lesson I learnt. “There is a time for fun mostly, but in a very rare few moments, life wants you to be serious”.

And this is the problem with the most of the students, a non-serious fun loving person always stays the same way no matter what and where he is. And a nerd always stay nerd. There are many things which non-seriousness teaches you. A) Handling work load, B) Management, C) Submitting the work before the complete satisfaction of self-esteem etc. Also there are many things which nerdiness teaches you. A) Completeness in work, B) Following the routine, C) Being organized. All of this is necessary at random intervals of life.

In the final year, we heard that choose a teacher who can give you maximum marks in the FYP. It never helps you in your professional life. GPA is more important. And believe me just after my FYP, I had 03 job offers just because of my FYP. Because why will a person hire a fresh engineer he didn't know, rather than a person he is teaching since the last year. So I learnt, “plan everything, at least two years prior to the professional life”.

So my advice is:

·  From third year, this is the time to think, what is the most suitable discipline for you? (Transportation, structure, construction, water, soil etc.)

·  Decide and do the internship there, and for only a month or two, be serious.

·  When you finish your internship, make sure that every senior in that firm is your friend.

·  From 3.2 GPA to 3.8 GPA there is no difference, if you have learnt more than 04 GPA groups.

·  Irrespective of how many bunks are in your belt, your concepts should be very clear.

·  Office is not a venue for bunks, that time is now over.

The Illusion of Scope

The Illusion of Scope

We live in a society where too many rumours become facts, too many sounds become voices and too many likes become happiness. All you have to do is pitch anything wrong or right as many times as possible until it becomes a universal truth.

So I heard people saying that there is no scope of traffic engineering in Pakistan. Most of these people are my personal contacts, my juniors, my mates etc. When I ask them, “what is traffic engineering?” they often reply:

•         The counting of vehicles
•         Vehicular traffic study
•         Traffic impact studies
•         Vehicle congestion study etc.

Then after hearing all this with immense patience from these social media philosophers, I ask:

• Who will decide how many visitors a theme park should receive after its construction?
• Who will decide how many lifts a building should have for smooth operations?
• Who will decide the paths of pedestrians?
• Who will decide the cargo movement patterns?
• Who will finalize the operations of railways and airports? (number of trains, bogies, frequency)
• Who will decide the demand and supply of dry ports?
• Who will synchronize the city?
• Don’t you think that there is a requirement of capacity analysis of sea channels and corridors?

This gives their weak stomach a food for thought. Then with a pause, I say, every object that may move from one recognised origin to another recognised destination comes under the traffic engineer’s scope. Weather it is the traffic of containers in the container yard, traffic of visitors in the shopping mall lift, queue analysis of a roller coaster ticket holders, busyness of runways or the vehicular traffic engineering.

Then the argument expands with its extreme irrationality, they say no one wants to accept that, they design town cities without consulting a traffic engineer, there is nothing we can do. Then I conclude the argument with two points. One is, even you never knew all this, how can they know? And as a second point I tell them a story I like, once told by my teacher (Mr. Tahseen).

One day a shoe maker was transferred to a village, he resigned the next day with an argument that, company wants to sink my career because in this village “no one wear shoes”.

They accepted the resignation and send another shoe maker to that village, next day he ordered 100,000 shoe pairs with an argument that this is an amazing venue give me 100,000 shoe pairs immediately because here in this village “no one is wearing shoes”

Illusion of Scope or Massive Scope, assume again!