I
Professional Engineer - holistic thinker?
Presidential address to IESIS
Iain A MacLeod
September 2012
Holistic thinking is defined as taking account of all relevant issues and using a range
of best practice methods and principles to achieve the most appropriate outcomes. It
will be argued that this is an essential feature of top level professional engineering
practice which, in the UK, is of a very high standard. Professional engineering
practice needs to seek to reinforce the use of holistic thinking and engineering
education needs to address its development more positively. Holistic approaches are
widely used in activities other than engineering but there are areas where its
apparent global absence is seriously negative to society - for example in energy
planning and in banking.
1. The holistic approach
I define the holistic approach as taking account of all relevant issues and using a
range of best practice methods and principles to achieve the most appropriate
outcomes in any context. Most contexts in professional engineering are nondeterminate i.e. there are no unique solutions to the problems. In many cases the
contexts are dominated by complex uncertainty. It is in such situations that the
holistic approach is of greatest benefit.
The holistic approach is not defined by a list of methods. It is a philosophy, a mode
of thinking. It is not new. The builders of the pyramids must have used it. It seems
likely that it is used in almost every successful innovative engineering project.
1.1 A range of strategies and principles
Strategies and principles that are adopted by holistic thinkers in professional
engineering include:
 The systems approach - considering the behaviour of the whole systems as
well as that of its parts
 The philosophical approach
 Requirements specification - all relevant issues are taken into account
 Optioneering - identification of a range of options and careful assessment of
them
 Using the best forms of contract; ensuring that all stakeholders work towards
common objectives
 Collaboration - Interdisciplinarity/transdisciplinarity
 Integrity and trust, ethical approach
 Competence focus.
1







Being innovative
Process management
Predictive modelling
Performance monitoring, piloting, prototyping
Risk analysis
Backup-plans
etc.
The systems approach
The systems approach seeks to deal with the way that parts of a system interact - to
view the system as a whole as well as a sum of its parts. For example, governments
worldwide are promoting the use of renewable energy for electricity generation
without adequately taking account of the effect off intermittency on the grid
system. This is likely to result in serious operational problems as the amount of
renewables in the system increases. The IESIS Energy Strategy Group is calling for a
Total System Analysis to be carried to make the best possible estimates of the effect
on the electricity system of proposals about its parts1.
Philosophical approach
“Doing philosophy involves thinking about things in a certain (rigorous, questioning)
way, offering arguments for one's ideas, meeting arguments against them, and being
prepared to change one's mind. “ 1
Requirements
What are the chances of success in any enterprise if those involved do not
understand the requirements in terms of needs and constraints. My late colleague
at Strathclyde University Stuart Pugh viewed what he called the Product Design
Specification i.e. the statement of needs a constraints for a product, as a ‘cloak’ that
informed all design activity2. Requirements need to be established at the outset,
preferably not changed after that but alertness to the suitability of the requirements
is needed as the process develops. A fundamental requirement in the holistic
approach is that long term and short term perspectives are adopted.
Optioneering
In their paper about the new water treatment plant for
the Loch Katrine water supply for Glasgow published in
the IESIS transactions in 20053, Watt and Allan state that
for the new works:
“The optioneering exercise took place over an 18-month
period and is considered to be the largest of its type ever
undertaken in the Scottish water industry. Over 100 technical staff from 25 different
disciplines considered 6000 possible options and 17 potential development areas were
looked at in great detail. In total some 196 potential schemes were evaluated with respect
to environmental impact, cost and risk.
A variety of methods such as appraisal frameworks, ranking, rating, scoring, weighting,
2
sensitivity analysis and pairwise comparisons aided decisions. However, all decisions
were made by debate and consensus and importantly, were passed back to the team for
further validation at every stage.”
Some people say that the choice of site for the new works was wrong. This may be so
but (a) those who make such comments may not know have access to the range of
information used by the design team and (b) use of the holistic approach does not
guarantee complete success. It does reduce the risk of faults.
Using best forms of contract
The traditional approach In the construction industry was that contactors submitted
tenders based on documents prepared by consultants. In order to be awarded the
contract, they offered prices that might be only marginally viable for them and
expected to make a profit on changes in the contract. This creates an adversarial
climate that tends not to deliver best outcomes.
The modern approach is to devise contracts where it is in the interests of all involved
that the basic objectives - to finish on time, within budget and to specification - are
satisfied. After contracts have been awarded, client/consultant teams work with the
contractor to refine the design and develop the construction methodology. This is
the way that the construction of the Second Forth Crossing is presently being
managed. The contactor seeks to get the best outcome for the client and,
conversely, an objective of the client is to seek to ensure that the contractor is
suitably rewarded.
Competence and collaboration
For a project driven by the holistic approach. a team of people having the most
suitable range of abilities is assembled.
Interdisciplinarity may be defined as working with cognate disciplines e.g. engineers
and architects working together. In their book on The New Production of Knowledge
Gibbons et al.4 suggest that when a ‘diverse range of specialists’ work together they
form a transdiscipline that operates to solve a particular problem and that may be
disbanded at the end of the project. This collection of 25 different disciplines that
worked on the aforementioned design of the Loch Katrine water treatment plant
would be an example of a transdiscipline.
A high level of competence needs to be sought in the leaders of the project and they
must seek to ensure that all involved have the necessary competence and are
appropriately trained. In a holistic environment all persons involved seek to
maximise their competence.
Integrity and trust, ethical approach
With collaboration comes the need for integrity and trust. If some members of the
team are not working towards the system goals then holistic outcomes become
compromised. Upholding ethical principles such as telling the truth, sticking to an
agreement, not putting your own interests ahead of those of your client, and not
taking bribes is central to the holistic approach.
3
Competence focus
Holistic thinkers seek to ensure that they themselves and those for whom they are
responsible either have or acquire the necessary levels of competence for the
context. There is a constant drive towards improving levels of knowledge.
Being innovative
Innovation has two components: (a) the development of creative ideas and (b) the
development of these ideas to reach successful conclusions. (b) can prove to be the
more difficult part of the process. Holistic thinkers seek to innovate where
innovation is needed.
Process management
W E Deming proposed that to improve the efficiency of production it is more
effective to seek to improve the process than to urge people to work harder. He
was not the first person to recognise this principle - some people do it naturally - but
his writing has been important in promoting the use of this principle. His 14 key
principles for management5 are very much in line with the principles that underpin
the holistic approach.
When working with processes the following activities are important:



Validation - seeking to ensure that a process will satisfy the requirements
Optimisation - seeking to identify the most appropriate process
Verification - seeking to ensure that a process has been correctly implemented.
When using a holistic approach one is constantly involved in such activities. One is
always seeking to avoid faults and achieve improvements.
Predictive modelling
A predictive model seeks to estimate the future behaviour of a system. Doing this is
one of the great achievements of the human
intellect. We are able to see into the future.
But often such vision is not in sharp focus. In
holistic thinking, the use of predictive models is
approached with caution. Careful validation of
models and verification of results is very
important. In 1992 the Sleipner concrete oil
production platform - Figure 1 - sank in a
Norwegian fjiord resulting in total loss of the
order of $700m6. The failure was due to an
error in the definition of the model for the
prediction of the structural behaviour. A simple
hand calculation would have identified the
4
error.
Performance monitoring
Where potentially useful data is available or where it can be made
available it is used to achieve good outcomes. Fore example
electrical power systems engineering is a data rich activity but
since privatisation in the UK in 1990 little use has been made of
this for power systems planning. It has been assumed that market
forces will result in a suitable mix of electricity generation. A
holistic approach would monitor the effectiveness of this
assumption.
In the manufacturing industry it is common to make a prototype - say for a car - and
test it hard to find faults and correct them before the launch to market. This
strategy should be adopted if appropriate. In the construction industry where
facilities are mostly large and one-off the use of prototypes is restricted. Developing
a product/solution on an incremental basis based on performance data is a very
important strategy in the holistic approach.
Risk analysis
This involves identifying hazards, defining risks in relation to their likelihood and
consequence of occurrence. Action is taken to mitigate the risks and the effect of
the residual risks are taken into account in project planning. It is normally not
possible to eliminate risk but holistic thinkers seek to use best practice methods to
control it.
Back-up plans
A key feature of the holistic approach is flexibility. If you are operating in context of
complex uncertainty even the best methods may not deliver the best outcomes.
Having a Plan B available in case Plan A does not work may be a useful strategy.
2. Do professional engineers use a holistic approach
It seems to me that the performance of the top professional engineers in the UK is at
the highest level and that it is improving. For example UK manufacturers who
compete internationally have to use the holistic approach because of the low cost of
labour in some other countries. There will be an IESIS meeting in February 2013
where we will hear how three Scottish manufacturing firms are able to sell globally.
In the construction industry the way that large projects are managed often results in
very satisfactory outcomes. For example: the M74 Eastern Glasgow Bypass road
was completed in 2011 within time, within budget and to specification and the the
development of the 2012 Olympic Park was a major success for the UK construction
industry (more).
5
How deeply is the holistic approach embedded in the practice of professional
engineering? Many professional engineers operate mainly in standard contexts. If
you are only following rules, the need for a holistic approach is diminished. But
fundamental to holistic thinking is that everyone involved in an enterprise is seeking
to improve the process. There is a universal need for holistic thinking in professional
engineering and whatever is the present situation, improvements in its use would be
beneficial.
3. Basic modes of thinking
Based on research findings, Daniel Kahnemann7 suggests that our brains are
governed by two basic thinking modes: fast thinking and slow thinking. In the
former we use our intuition to come to conclusions very quickly. A main strategy in
this context is the use of heuristics i.e. simple rules, rules of thumb. For example….
In slow thinking we deliberate over the issues and eventually come to conclusions.
Kahnemann uses
the analogy that
holistic
Intuitive

our brains are
Figure 1 Basic modes of thinking
under the control
of two operating
systems: System 1 controls the fast thinking and System 2 controls the slow
thinking. It seems to me that these two types of thinking may not be as distinct as
the operating system model suggests. Another way of looking at it might be as a
complementarity where a pair of competing concepts are represented not as
separate entities but as opposite ends of a spectrum - Figure 1. In this diagram the
‘’ symbol is used to denote the complementary nature of the pairing.
This leads to a view of how we make decisions. Figure 2 shows two ways to make
decisions. Using the purely intuitive approach decisions are made on the basis of
what seems best at the time and later justification for them may be (or may not be)
sought - Figure 2(a). At the other end of the spectrum, when using a holistic
approach decisions are made based on information from a range of options using
best practice methods - Figure 2(b).
Use of intuition is not absent when using the holistic approach. It is delayed until the
‘facts’ have been assembled. By doing this, the risk of unfavourable outcomes is
likely to be reduced. Holistic thinkers challenge and seek to test intuitive responses.
6
Intuition
Decide
Justify
(a) Intuitive
Investigate
Judgement/
Intuition
Decide
Monitor
(b) Holistic
Figure 2 Decision making strategies
4. Holistic learning
When engineering degrees were established in the UK in the 19th century, the
university authorities decreed that they should be in engineering science and that
the practice of engineering should be learned in practice8. While the learning about
the practice of law, medicine or divinity was acceptable for university study, the
practice of engineering was considered to lack the necessary rigour and intellectual
standing. The university senators of that time got it badly wrong because:
1. The intellectual ability required of professional engineers to achieve high quality
outcomes in contexts of complex uncertainty is of the highest order.
2. Learning about the theory of a subject in the absence of its use is a very
unsatisfactory mode of learning. A main feature of understanding is associativity of
items of knowledge in the brain. The practice of engineering tends to provide
excellent opportunities for making such associations whereas the topic oriented
approach of traditional education does not.
3. In order to have a rigorous approach, engineering science is treated as being
determinate i.e. students are required to solve problems using processes for which
the answers are unique. But the use of predictive models is fundamentally nondeterminate. Once the model has been established its implementation will be
determinate but the underlying uncertainty in the definition of models tends not to
be addressed in engineering education.
This is not to suggest that competence in engineering science is less important. The
need for such competence is now more important but it has a different direction.
While students still need to learn how to do calculations, they also need to learn
how to control them - e.g. by answering the validation question ‘Is the model
capable of meeting the requirements?’ This requires a different type of
competence, a competence not possessed by computers but requiring high level of
intellectual activity.
The transition from traditional learning to holistic learning requires the fundamental
philosophy to be reversed. Rather than being absent, the practice of engineering
should be at the core of learning. Science should be learned not just as a set of
determinate processes but more as a complex exercise in modelling. Development
7
of holistic thinking should be a pervasive objective. Students must be required to
work with systems. Systems thinking can only be developed by working with
systems.
Some general progress has been made in this direction and for some courses the
complete transformation may have been achieved. We must seek to support
universities to progress towards such a transformation.
In the 18th/19th centuries people from Scotland punched well above their weight on
the world’s stage. Some say that this was due in part to the style of learning at
Scottish universities during the Scottish Enlightenment - during the second half of
the 18th century. Students received a broad education and were required to study
philosophy. Professors would give a lecture followed by a student debate on the
issues. A philosophical approach - a cornerstone of holistic thinking - was
promoted9. The move away from the philosophical approach by the Scottish
Universities in the 19th century was a mistake.
5. Holistic thinking in society
As the complexity and uncertainty of contexts increases the risk in using the intuitive
approach increases. Two examples of the need for a holistic approach are energy
planning and banking.
5.1 Energy planning and the holistic approach
There is a great deal of uncertainty about when the supply of
fossil fuel will start to cease to meet demand and about the long
term effect of its combustion. Governments are taking action on
these issues but tend not to adopt a holistic approach in
planning. Reliance is placed on market forces to provide a
suitable mix of electricity generation. Features of the holistic
approach that are being neglected in relation to planning for
electricity generation include:
1. The systems approach. Electricity generation is complex and highly interactive
but decisions are being made without consideration of the interactions.
2. Lack of consideration of requirements. For example no body is responsible for
ensuring that the risk of supply being unable to meet peak demand is acceptable.
3. There is no evidence that a range of options has been considered in the planning
process.
4. There is no information in the public domain to suggest that modelling of the UK
electricity generation system has significantly informed Government planning
decisions.
5. Monitoring. It is apparent that adequate use is not being made of the data that
it is possible to collect about the performance of the generation system
IESIS is calling for a Total System Analysis10 to be carried out to assess the efficacy of
different generation strategies. The need for a holistic study of this nature is
manifest.
8
Figure 3 shows a complementarity for control of enterprises. Few enterprises are
not subject to some form of government control
Private

Government
Figure3 Control of enterprises
Deciding where the balance should be struck for a given enterprise is a fundamental
problem in human affairs. History tells us that without government control in an
industrialised society, wealth goes to a few and the majority tend to live on or close
to the poverty line. But where it appears that government control is needed we feel
that we are between a rock and a hard place. Having no control is bad but
government control may not be better. The answer must be to seek to ensure that
government planning uses the holistic approach.
5.2 The world banking system
Features of the world banking system that merit holistic thinking
include:
1. Requirements It appears that lack of a long term view was a
significant contribution to the banking crisis of 2007/08.
2. Ethical approach. Many people who operate in the financial
marketplace are motivated by greed focusing only what is
good for themselves. They play a game that they know is not
sustainable but from which they can exit with wealth before the crash. This is
the zero sum game - winner takes all. Holistic thinkers play the infinite game
where a main objective is that all players do well.10.
3. Use of predictive models In ‘17 Equations that changed the world’ author Ian
Stewart12 writes that the Black-Scholes equation was ‘arguably’ a contributor to
the financial crash of 2007. Not everyone agrees with him but there is no doubt
that people were using the equation without understanding its limitations. It
gave them the answers they wanted. Holistic thinkers are suspicious of good
correlations and always seek to identify the limitations of models i.e. to validate
them.
6. Cases
In the construction industry, projects are
now being managed very effectively
towards the fundamental goals of: on
time, within budget and to specification.
For example the M74 Eastern Glasgow
bypass completed well ahead of schedule
in 2011 was a very complex project. 4
major contractors were involved. The
client, Transport Scotland, has developed a reputation for good project delivery.
The existence of a highly competent client team working with all stakeholders can
9
lead to top class outcomes. Competence, collaboration and concentration on the
project goals are key features for success. The Second Forth Crossing is being
similarly managed. The holistic approach in action.
The construction of the 2012 Olympic Park is
another project that has been acclaimed as a
model of good project management. The
Olympic Delivery Authority (ODA) was a nondepartmental Government Body. The very best
construction managers were appointed to lead
it. The main venues were delivered well ahead
of time, the work was within budget and the specification of the works was high.
The cost of the project management was probably relatively high but it is likely that
this level of quality resulted in the overall cost being less that would have been the
case with less competent management.
6. Conclusion
Professional engineers are not the only people who use the holistic approach . Nor
do all professional engineers use it. However, we can assert that engineers are top
level exponents of the art. We cannot suggest that if your context is complex with a
high level of uncertainty that bringing in the professional engineers will sort out your
problem. But we can say that using the holistic approach is essential for reducing
the risk of unsatisfactory outcomes in contexts of this type. The principle needs to
be better recognised within and outside the engineering profession.
The outcomes from the activities of professional engineers are of a high standard.
The outcomes from top level professional engineering are superb. That this is so Is
not well appreciated by the public. It needs to be trumpeted from the rooftops.
References
1. King P J http://users.ox.ac.uk/~worc0337/philosophy.html
2. Pugh S Total Design
3. Watt G, Allan M. ‘Katrine Water Project Victorian Legacy enhanced by 21st
Century Engineering’ Transactions IESIS Vol 149 2005 95-104
4. Gibbons M, Limoges C, Nowotny H, Schwarzmann S, Scott P and Trow M The
new production of knowledge 1994, ISBN 0-8039-7794-8, Sage.
5. Wikipedia article on W E Deming
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/W._Edwards_Deming August 2012
6. Foeroyvik F The Sleipner Accident - tricell calculation and reinforcement error.
finite Element News 1991, NO 6, 27-29
7. Kahneman D, Thinnking, fast and slow 2011, ISBN 978-0-385-67651-9
Doubleday
8. MacLeod I A 150 years of engineering education in Scotland - a critique
Transactons IESIS, Vol 151, 200,7 73-80
9. Davie G The Democratic Intellect 1961 Edinburgh University Publications
10
10. IESIS Energy Strategy Group website http://www.iesisenergy.org/ August 2012
11. Hampden-Turner C and Trompenaars F, Mastering the infinite game 1997, ISBN
1 9009961 083, Capstone
12. Stewart I 17 Equations that changed the world 2012 Profile Books ISBN 9781846685316
13. Heffernan M Wilful Blindness: why we ignore the obvious at our peril Simon and
Schuster ISBN 978-1-84737-770-8 2011
11