As an Mechanical and Electrical Engineer by profession and Computer Programmer by passion I’ve been building my own software tools for over 29 years. My career has taken me across multiple engineering areas including Design, Manufacturing, Field Operations, Maintenance, Refurbishment, Product Development, Asset Management, Customer Service, Process Improvement, Consulting andRead More →
OpenAMX is a text-based format and toolset for computable documents. It combines Markdown narrative with executable amx code blocks and inline {{ expressions }} so a document can explain an analysis and calculate its results in one readable, versionable file. The core is domain-neutral: authors define calculations and data structuresRead More →
Good engineering depends on good documentation. We use documents to explain requirements, record decisions, show calculations and communicate what needs to happen next. Yet the knowledge behind an engineering decision is often spread across several files: a report explains the design, a spreadsheet calculates its performance, and other documents recordRead More →
solidtime: Open-Source Time Tracking for Engineers and Engineering Consultants For consulting engineers, time tracking is more than an administrative task. It underpins invoicing, project control, utilisation and, ultimately, profitability. The problem is that many time-tracking tools are either bundled into much larger project-management platforms or require you to store businessRead More →
We’ve all inherited a legacy system at some point in our careers, the kind that worked brilliantly for decades until one day it didn’t. A few months ago, I stood in front of a room of engineers and energy professionals and made this case: “We’re no longer commanding megawatts. We’reRead More →
The “Spreadsheet of Doom” If you have been working in any engineering field for more than a week, you will recognise this situation. We have all been there at some point. Sometimes, it starts with you. You did this to yourself. You created it to begin with. It was bornRead More →
The clock just hit 4 PM. It’s Friday and some colleagues have started packing up and heading to the pub. You will be doing the same soon to catch up with them. Out of the corner of your eye, you notice your boss walking towards your desk. Oh no, youRead More →
There are a myriad of software tools made specifically to serve the needs of engineers. Tools for calculating, drawing, designing, modelling and many more. If you are inclined to just selecting the most suitable one and getting on with your work, you have a perfectly reasonable approach. Feel free toRead More →
The first version of ChatGPT was released in November of 2022. Saying that it was an instant success would be an understatement. Who wouldn’t have been amazed by its apparent magic? You ask it things and it knows things. It even has a sense of humour. How can this be?Read More →
zod-to-d2 is a TypeScript library that extends the Zod schema validation library, enabling you to annotate your schemas and automatically generate D2 diagrams. This helps visualize data models, relationships, and schema structures directly from your Zod definitions. Features Installation Usage Sample schemas here This outputs the following D2 text: YouRead More →
Programming is an essential skill for engineers of any discipline. Whether you work in electrical, mechanical, civil, chemical or any other engineering speciality, you will be a better engineer if you master the skill of computer programming. Not only there is intrinsic value in instructing computers how to perform usefulRead More →