Technical Publication Trends
A recent article, published in Aerospace Week Intelligence Network, drew my attention as it focussed on the subject of my professional career … the production of technical publications.
Firstly, I shall reproduce excerpts that address specific content related to my personal experiences, i.e., Technical Author (FISTC), Publications Manager, and Teacher of English as a Foreign Language, before I follow with my own comments.
“Technical publications supporting the operations and maintenance of complex assets in the aerospace and defense industries play an instrumental role in operational enablement and mission achievement. These tech pubs represent the organization's institutional knowledge. As senior staff retire and take a wealth of knowledge with them, these organizations realize technical publications are critical to sustaining newer team members' productivity. Luckily, modern technologies are enabling new ways to utilize tech pubs in productive and innovative ways.”
“Historically, tech pubs have been used passively in the maintenance process. An issue or task arises, a work order is generated with the parts and tools required and the tech is assigned to complete the effort. The technician accesses the tech pub as a reference, either on paper or in the IETM. In other words, the information is passively pulled into the process, not proactively pushed.”
“As we move further into the fourth industrial revolution, assets are becoming more intelligent with innovations like IoT, AI, big data analytics, remote diagnostics and other emerging technologies. Proactive delivery of technical knowledge is possible as the assets themselves can now communicate intelligently with digitalized content. For example, our customers have embedded our technology into asset platforms so the diagnostics data in the tech pub can work with the onboard monitoring systems to identify emerging issues. There is a lot more to this topic than I can cover here, so I suggest checking out my white paper that explains how technical content can assist in predictive and Condition Based Maintenance Plus (CBM+).”
“On top of the labor shortage, 80% of operational, maintenance and support personnel in the global aerospace and defense industry are non-native English speakers, but all aviation industry technical documentation is in English. Did you know it takes up to two years to train non-native English speakers to build competence in Simplified Technical English or STE?”
“As a result, I had several of my defense manufacturing clients look at advances in Machine Translation to deliver dual language technical publications within their Foreign Military Sales or FMS programs. FMS product support is another example because email, live chat and document translation are now vital when exchanging information between FMS customers and their Factory Support Representatives.”
By Bob Hogg, Director A&D Market Strategy - SDL
As a non-academic student of linguistics, I wince at the intent of the language usage prescribed above. I assume that we have all used our iPhone to translate “Hello” to “Ni hao” or asked “Siri” for “Tomorrow’s weather”, but please, not to replace and adjust microscopic tolerances of a gas-turbine engine, etc. !
Why ? Because the terms A.I., S.T.E. and Machine Translation imply the eventual removal of human technical language academics. Professionals who remember hundreds of instances when near-fatal (and fatal) accidents occurred that resulted from poorly-written user guides or maintenance manuals. For example, the Airbus that had insufficient fuel, or the Challenger that activated reverse-thrust instead of flaps. Imagine yourself as the captain in a cockpit when emergency lamps are flashing and a robot is screaming “PULL UP. PULL UP” at you. There are hundreds (thousands) of these examples … and they continue. Personally, I remember working with Chinese technicians (in China) on G.E. gas-turbines, who worked diligently … as best that they were able … but ….
Are you surprised by my wincing at the thought ?
Your points are well taken Bernie. If you look at history the only documents that pass successfully through the ages are carved in stone or on papyrus paper in huge libraries like in the middle ages.
ReplyDeleteToday, all our knowledge is in digital form on huge computers powered by electricity. Suppose the power fails, it will all disappear or somebody writes a new language that cannot interpret the old language. Can you still read the info on floppy discs from 1995, No! I believe the wizbangs at Oracle, Microsoft, Google, or Apple are leading us down a path to destruction. We need more stone chisellers to to transcribe all our brilliance on stone walls and in tombs like the Ancient Egyptians. A hundred years from now we might have lost EVERYTHING.
The historical loss of data (information) that you refer to is well put and brings us to the present use of the implied safety of digital technology using A.I. and M.T. My main point is not the loss of historic data but the accuracy of such data.
DeleteImagine a thousand years from now when our planet suffers a catastrophic destruction from a huge meteor collision, Will the remaining colony of humans living on Mars value our unreliable historic data any more than we, today, value the ancient pyramid building data.
Of course, there may be some very useful biological or chemical formulae lost in destroyed ancient stones or written on papyrus, but my point is to emphasize the accuracy of any data.
I posit that today’s data is not as accurate as it should be and, in future, will not be anymore or less accurate by using A.I. It is an inability to see the wood for the trees situation. Specifically, in the past, technologists without a language qualification become technical authors causing ambiguity and, today, inexperienced language graduates becoming technical authors — more ambiguity. Introducing Simplified English was a commendable thought but without a full understanding of engineering terminology, introducing ambiguous data to machine translation will not push the stick forward when commanded by the robot to “Pull Up”. Oh dear, now we have introduced software programers (B-737 MAX refers).
Bernie, my friend, you mock my serious comments.
ReplyDeleteAu contraire, M. Pussycat. J'ai répondu au sujet principal. Je suis désolé pour votre malentendu.
DeleteGoogle translate is becoming better and better, Bernie.
DeleteHere is a sentence from you original reply "My main point is not the loss of historic data but the accuracy of such data."
My question is simple. When explorers translate Egyptian or Sumerian glyphs they cannot know how accurate is the data. The point is that the story was preserved for centuries. Digital 'glyphs" will not be preserved after the next power failure. Our story will be lost to explorers in a thousand years.
John, the Subject is the "Evolution" of Technical Publications and I made the point of an accuracy relationship. Your introduction of Egyptian archaeology is a red herring as there is sufficient information known to be inaccurate there -- Perhaps we may discuss the possibility that there were many wise philosophers named Jesus whose combined lives contributed to our inaccurate Holy Bible ... how is that ? Certainly, the subject of another Post.
DeleteNo, my point was to highlight the inaccuracies in technical publications resulting from subjective thought by the whole project team (Including your ISO friends).
One should not be so pessimistic about the loss of historic data either. Such an event would be the result of energy loss ... existing until someone switches off the sunshine.
What is the historical context of a maintenance manual. Even learned technical publication are subject to political, religious, social revision as opinions change or new knowledge is determined. What is the truth? One truth is that our present experience will not be what humans experience in 500 years even if they are still on the earth. I'll wager electricity will have been turned off as a tool of the devil.
ReplyDeleteVos sui mandati excedere
DeleteI'll leave you with the last word on the subject.
ReplyDeleteI said, by your final sentence, that you simply exceeded the mandate of the Post. Even the "Devil" would be aware that his body comprises molecules that comprise of electrons. The universe, itself, is comprised of electrons ... as you well know, of course.
Delete