Moyer Attends Heat Treating Conference

In my last blog I commented on the fact that students emerging into the industrial world were weak in basic training in math and science because they relied on their computer and their calculator to think for them. Last week I attended the ASM International Heat Treating Conference, and once again my suspicion was justified. A good portion of the conference was devoted to the modeling of heat treating processes. This is all well and good if the engineer has a full understanding of the process that is being modeled. However, once again a hugh volume of data is attained, but which of the solutions is of importance. It is at this point that knowing the fundamentals or the basic formlas and theory are required. Even so, experimentation is now required to prove that the method selected is the right solution. The point continues to be "garbage-in-garbage-out". Someone requires a basic knowledge of the material or device, or else a bundle of money has been spent and no product becomes apparent. The point being made is that, like the calculator and the computer, modeling is a tool. Sure, it can do things faster than a human performing the experimentation. In the long run, however, it boils down to yes, you can replace a lot of people with computer solutions; but in the end, you had better have in place a human who understands the fundamentals and can do the experimentation, or elso the computer can spit out data forever with no improvement in productivity--just a bunch of numbers that might be totally misleading. Therefore, think long and hard before you terminate your experienced people. The replacement just may be a pile of paper lying on the floor, of no or little use.