How Baking Is Valuable for Engineering Projects
By: Beate Muller
Project Engineer
7th November 2019
4 minute read
Being an engineer by trade and a baker by night (or rather weekend) the colleagues here at Plextek are happy to find some kind of bake in the office most Mondays. From layer cakes to chocolates and macarons, biscuits to croissants and choux buns, I really try to make the best of my baking skills each weekend. While this helped me climb the social ladder within the office pretty quickly, with everyone raving about the latest creation, I am sure the principles I use while baking can also translate to the engineering world.
I love to challenge myself so my baking normally consists of several different parts. As an easy example, think of a layer cake with several layers of baked sponge, with layers of filling and decorations on top.
Prepare
At first, it is important to define the specifications and clarify what the final outcome will be, ie: a delicious cake and what the work requirements are to get there (bake layers, make the filling, make decorations, assemble).
Next, it is important to define both the project plan and budget. For the project plan, it is necessary to analyse the work requirements and determine which ones can be done simultaneously and where they need to be completed successively. The filling can be made while the cake layers are baking in the oven, but on the other hand, the assembly of the cake can only start when all other parts are completed.
Making the budget involves checking the resources needed for each part of this project (the ingredients and tools) and checking how much of it is already available.
Meet
At the start of the project, a kick-off meeting brings all team members together and clarifies the vision for the job. While I don’t bake in a team, it is still necessary to have some kind of kick-off. This means getting all the ingredients ready and reading the recipe so that I am aware of what I am about to do.
Meetings are also important during the course of a project so that progress can be reported back to the project manager and to determine if both the budget and plan are still up to date. During the baking project, it will be necessary to read the recipe again to make sure all steps are executed correctly and to be clear about the tasks ahead.
Work Methodically
The execution of an engineering project depends on the methodical and precise work the engineers are doing. Baking is a science, therefore working precisely is very important in that case as well. It is crucial that the ingredients are at the right temperature and that they are added in the right order.
Adapt
During the project, complications can emerge that were not planned for. It is important to be flexible to be able to cope in these situations and find a workaround or change the schedule to continue working towards the desired outcome. If the filling for the cake doesn’t set well at room temperature it will be necessary to put the cake in the fridge for a while. The schedule will need to be adjusted in this case.
Enjoy the result
After a successful project, it is important to enjoy the results and celebrate the achievements. After all, who doesn’t love cake?
Even if the project doesn’t go as planned, it is important to learn lessons from it. One time I wanted to make a cake with a lot of colourful sprinkles in it but the sprinkles lost their colour and I ended up with a green cake! Now I know to purchase a different brand of sprinkles and not to handle the dough too much after adding the sprinkles.
Challenge yourself
After you have enjoyed the rewards of this project it is important to get excited for the next one coming up. There are always exciting things to bake and to engineer and I can’t wait for both of them!
Being an engineer by trade and a baker by night (or rather weekend) the colleagues here at Plextek are happy to find some kind of bake in the office most Mondays. From layer cakes to chocolates and macarons, biscuits to croissants and choux buns, I really try to make the best of my baking skills each weekend. While this helped me climb the social ladder within the office pretty quickly, with everyone raving about the latest creation, I am sure the principles I use while baking can also translate to the engineering world.
I love to challenge myself so my baking normally consists of several different parts. As an easy example, think of a layer cake with several layers of baked sponge, with layers of filling and decorations on top.
Prepare
At first, it is important to define the specifications and clarify what the final outcome will be, ie: a delicious cake and what the work requirements are to get there (bake layers, make the filling, make decorations, assemble).
Next, it is important to define both the project plan and budget. For the project plan, it is necessary to analyse the work requirements and determine which ones can be done simultaneously and where they need to be completed successively. The filling can be made while the cake layers are baking in the oven, but on the other hand, the assembly of the cake can only start when all other parts are completed.
Making the budget involves checking the resources needed for each part of this project (the ingredients and tools) and checking how much of it is already available.
Meet
At the start of the project, a kick-off meeting brings all team members together and clarifies the vision for the job. While I don’t bake in a team, it is still necessary to have some kind of kick-off. This means getting all the ingredients ready and reading the recipe so that I am aware of what I am about to do.
Meetings are also important during the course of a project so that progress can be reported back to the project manager and to determine if both the budget and plan are still up to date. During the baking project, it will be necessary to read the recipe again to make sure all steps are executed correctly and to be clear about the tasks ahead.
Work Methodically
The execution of an engineering project depends on the methodical and precise work the engineers are doing. Baking is a science, therefore working precisely is very important in that case as well. It is crucial that the ingredients are at the right temperature and that they are added in the right order.
Adapt
During the project, complications can emerge that were not planned for. It is important to be flexible to be able to cope in these situations and find a workaround or change the schedule to continue working towards the desired outcome. If the filling for the cake doesn’t set well at room temperature it will be necessary to put the cake in the fridge for a while. The schedule will need to be adjusted in this case.
Enjoy the result
After a successful project, it is important to enjoy the results and celebrate the achievements. After all, who doesn’t love cake?
Even if the project doesn’t go as planned, it is important to learn lessons from it. One time I wanted to make a cake with a lot of colourful sprinkles in it but the sprinkles lost their colour and I ended up with a green cake! Now I know to purchase a different brand of sprinkles and not to handle the dough too much after adding the sprinkles.
Challenge yourself
After you have enjoyed the rewards of this project it is important to get excited for the next one coming up. There are always exciting things to bake and to engineer and I can’t wait for both of them!
