Engineering Conundrum - Prelude

Engineering Conundrum

Prelude

On 31 Aug 2011, I retired from the Indian Air Force with the satisfaction of having done my little bit in service of a high ideal and a sense of gratitude for having spent 38 years in the company of men of excellence. I remain ever indebted to the Air Force for turning me into a capable professional and an empathetic human being, in more than any measure that I could have asked for. I have re-iterated this to former colleagues, both officers and airmen, on formal and informal forums and I am delighted to find that in my pride and gratitude for the Indian Air Force, I am not alone.

Retirement gave me the opportunity to stop running the marathon, to stop dealing with the immediate requirements of the Air Force, to stand at length at the finish line and meditate at leisure about how things worked and how they could work better still.

Unwieldy engineering structures and little say by engineers in policy matters intrigued me when I was serving and continue to do so after I have hung up my uniform.

In my opinion, legacy structures have worked successfully only for the first 40 or 50 years. These structures have been going out of date for some time now. As in the parable of the boiling frog, the gradual consequences of inaction have not alarmed us, just as gradual change of the temperature of water didn't alarm the frog. But the fact that the water will eventually come to boiling point is inevitable. We need to change, to unleash modern engineering, communication & IT energy trapped within our own structural confines - because, like for the frog in boiling water, our time is running out.

“It is not because things are difficult that we do not dare, it is because we do not dare that they are difficult.”

                                                            – Lucius Annaeus Seneca

EM Goldratt, in his theory of constraints, says that a problem is intuitively believed to exist when something prevents us from reaching a desired objective. Our objective is clear - ‘To have a potent Air Force that will assist the nation in asserting its will’. An organisation continues to strive for attaining more of its objective to remain at the top of the competition. Who other than a combat force would appreciate it better? This is an ongoing process. Goldratt says that all people have good intentions - only the assumptions in different domains are sometimes inappropriate, leading to a lack of focus on systemic goal and its attainment.

At CAPS, Air Cmde Jasjit Singh once recounted these words of advice from the Marshal of the IAF, “We have made our mistakes and learnt. The current generation is entitled to theirs”.

With utmost sincerity therefore, I intend to only spell out the conundrum and offer a few suggestions. I trust the men and women in uniform to consider, debate, disregard or follow through in the best interests of our Air Force.

“Be thankful for your problems. If they were less difficult, someone with less ability might have your job.”

                                                         -  Anonymous

                                                                                               ..….To be continued