Driver Trett Digest Issue 26 - Flipbook - Page 14
AN EXPERT IN CIVIL
ENGINEERING?
Colin Smith, Technical Expert
Diales, London, UK
To many, this is a difficult concept; given the breadth of
civil engineering they see a conflict with the principle
of being an expert on such a broad topic. Of course, I
do not see it quite like that, but it is probable that most
would say I am biased! To support my case, I offer the
following:
It appears to me that the crux of the concern relates to
the definition of civil engineering.
The term civil engineer was first coined by John
Smeaton in 1750 to contrast between the engineer
working on civil projects and military engineers.
Interestingly, he is also considered to be the first expert
witness to appear in an English Court, when he testified
on the silting-up of a Norfolk harbour in 1782.
Over the years I have come across many definitions
of civil engineering. When I first started work, there
was the traditional description by Thomas Tredgold
which was essentially adopted by the Institution of Civil
Engineers (ICE) in their Royal Charter:
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“.....being the art of directing the great sources of
power in Nature for the use and convenience of man,
as the means of production and of traf昀椀c in states,
both for external and internal trade, as applied in the
construction of roads, bridges, aqueducts, canals,
river navigation, and docks, for internal intercourse
and exchange; and in the construction of ports
harbours, moles, breakwaters, and lighthouses,
and in the art of navigation by arti昀椀cial power, for
the purposes of commerce; and in the construction
and adaptation of machinery, and in the drainage of
cities and towns.”
Arguably, this definition may well have been influenced
by Leonardo da Vinci, when he said:
“Civil Engineering is a noble profession that should
be pursued for the public good.”