Appleton's Dictionary of Machines, Mechanics, Engine-Work, and Engineering, Volume 2

The dictionary is clear as to what "engineering" is: "The application of science and mathematics by which the properties of matter and the sources of energy in nature are made useful to man" (Webster's New Collegiate Dictionary, 1977). That definition does not explain what doing engineering is about. In my experience, "doing engineering" involves creating a trade-off solution in the face of conflicting demands. Another person, though, wrote to me and said, "A basic concept of engineering is to address problems in a repeatable and consistent manner." This is a common mistake, confusing the act of doing engineering work with the outcome of doing engineering work. The outcome of doing engineering work is the plant, which is run while specific people watch carefully for variations in quantity and quality of the items being manufactured. The act of doing engineering work is the ill-defined creative process the industrial engineer goes through to invent the manufacturing plant design. That process is not run with statistical controls, measuring quantity and quality of output ...»