Our craft needs elegance
by Bernard McGrath, Inspection Validation Centre

Admittedly the coxswain didn't have the best position. In order to see clearly where he was going he needed to stick his head through the hatch. But with his head through the hatch he had to operate the controls by touch and feel. On the plus side, the twin engines gave the boat easy manoeuvrability. As we approached the dock there was a lot of tweeking of the engines. Ahead on the port, reverse on the starboard. A burst forward on the starboard. Correction with the port. Both astern to arrest the forward motion. Too much! A bit more ahead on the port. Eventually, after much to-ing and fro-ing with the engines, the coxswain nudged the boat gently against the mooring.

There was a different coxswain on the return journey. As we approached the landing stage he assessed the wind and the current, made some slight adjustments to the speed and direction and then swung the boat in an arc to smoothly position it alongside. Two different approaches giving the same end-result. So why should I even notice the difference?

The first coxswain was able to achieve the end-result because of the manoeuvrability of the boat, delivered by technology, combined with sheer effort and persistence. The second, well, he achieved the objective through the elegant application of his boat handling skills.

What picture does the word 'elegant' bring to your mind? I expect it is nothing to do with work! That's because elegance has been flattened by the mantra that has been around for many years now: 'FIT FOR PURPOSE'. Fit for purpose allows the end to justify the means. It doesn't matter how we get there, as long as we get there but no further! Expensive skill can be replaced by cheaper effort and a bit of technology. But therein lies the fallacy, which can be easily exposed by looking at the dictionary definition. The Oxford English dictionary defines elegant as 'graceful and stylish'. That certainly describes the second coxswain, but the second definition sums up good engineering which we should all be aspiring to: 'pleasingly clever but simple'.

Elegant, graceful and stylish all have expensive connotations, so it is easy to see why elegance sends shudders through cost-conscious businesses. Yet when graceful is applied to people, it implies an efficiency of movement. The second coxswain used the natural resources of wind and tide to elegantly bring the boat alongside with the minimum amount of effort. So, the easy win obtained by saving on skill training can quickly become a hidden loss in fit for purpose.

A further benefit of an elegant approach is revealed by the Latin origin: elegans, meaning discriminating. A fit for purpose philosophy does not cater for the unexpected. An approach reliant on the skill of the people involved is adaptable and can respond to unforeseen circumstances, which we all know have a habit of regularly occurring.

Finally, there is nothing more satisfying than completing a job in a 'pleasingly clever' way, than the elegant application of a skill. We can experience the former ourselves at home and we can all see and enjoy the latter every week on pitches around the country, whether they are in the middle of an all-seater stadium or on a wind- and rain-swept school playing field.

So let us emphasise the elegance in NDT. Let us place more value on the application and development of the skills in NDT and restore what otherwise is seen as a chore back to the status of a craft. Operators can then aspire to be recognised as the craftsmen or women they really are.

A reminder: the PANI 3 report has now been published and can be found at: http://www.hse.gov.uk/research/rrhtm/rr617.htm

Please note that the views expressed in this column are the author's own personal ramblings for the purpose of encouraging discussion within the NDT Newspaper. They do not represent the views of the IVC, Serco Assurance or the HSE who funded the PANI projects.

Letters can be mailed to The Editor, NDT News, Newton Building, St George's Avenue, Northampton NN2 6JB. Fax: 01604 89 3861; E-mail: ndtnews@bindt.org or e-mail Bernard McGrath direct at Bernard.McGrath@sercoassurance.com