THE CASE FOR A CHIEF ENGINEER

摘要

The appointment of such a person is long overdue; now is the ideal time whilst the Covid-19 situation is current as the general public, and government ministers/civil servant chiefs have witnessed the effect of Prof. Whitty's influence. A dynamic, engineering person with good all-round knowledge and strong links with all disciplines of engineering for secondment of specialised knowledge is essential. Perhaps controversial projects like HS2 would be better managed and implemented, without the London centric approach that seems so prevalent these days. This would be a political role, how would that really help engineering ? Has Chris Whitty really come out of the CV-19 chaos as a shining beacon or just as an echo chamber or patsy for government (lack of) policy? Many engineers don't support programmes like HS2, Heathrow Expansion or F35 purchases, how would that play out in the light of current Tory policies ? What sector would a chief engineer come from ? Mechanical, Electrical, Chemical, Biological, Software, Communications, etc. -the field is too wide for one person to have a real grasp of all areas. So it would appear that a group would be better placed to advise. I believe therefore that the already existing professional bodies should be the providers of any 'engineering' advice and these bodies should be guided, in a democratic way, by their members.