It seems like the most complex problems in construction often have the simplest solutions. Unfortunately, overthinking things leads many professionals to engineer complex solutions that end up making the process more difficult than it needs to be. This isn’t anyone’s fault. After all, the engineering mind is one that tries to objectively evaluate a situation and look for efficient ways to handle things. Being too close to the problem, however, is usually the problem. For many engineers, working too long on a particular issue can cloud judgment and cause ingenuity to fail.
An example of this can be found with the problem of trying to join two male threaded rods together. They both have male threaded ends, so they can’t connect to one another by design. You could try welding them together, but this may lead to structural stability and integrity issues. You could try bending the ends into hooks, but this won’t provide a tight enough bond. To solve this, you could source coupling nuts from BACO Enterprises and use these nuts to join the ends without sacrificing integrity and while still forming a tight bond on the ends.
Things like hex coupling nuts, 316 coupling nuts, rod coupler nuts and stainless steel coupling nuts are just small examples of how simple solutions can be found for complex problems in construction. Using a tiny piece of metal with interior threading, you can join together two threaded rods that normally would have no way to become a single piece. Taking this simple approach is fast, easy and affordable, and it doesn’t take weeks or months of drawing up designs and working through meetings to solve.
Put Occam’s Razor Into Practice
In problem solving, Occam’s razor is often applied because it bears out to be true more often than not. In Occam’s razor, the simplest solutions with the least amount of steps or pieces is considered best. In other words, the simplest answer is usually the right answer. This principle can be applied more often than not in construction, even when working with complex components or complicated projects.
The key is to change your way of thinking. If you’re designing an office building, there’s no doubt that the project is going to be complex and require a lot of complicated pieces coming together in just the right manner. The level of precision required for such a project is certainly going to require careful planning and a deep level of thinking. Even with this being the case, you can break each step down into simple parts by applying Occam’s razor.
Just because the project overall is complex doesn’t mean that each step needs to be. In fact, you may find that you’re able to simplify the entire project in the process while saving time, money and productive energy that may otherwise be lost. Streamlining processes and seeking out ways to utilize existing components and tools are ways to achieve a simpler solution without the need to hire outside consultants or spend time and money on over-engineered solutions.
Speaking of over-engineering, another potential issue with taking the complicated route is that you may end up creating more problems to solve in the future. If a complicated solution is derived from over-engineering, you’re going to have to undo all of that hard work if a problem pops up down the road. This can lead to additional time wasted along with an increased risk of frustration and poor customer service.
