Paul spends his day learning how to protect lives

Paul Simpson, Engineering Group Manager

Paul Simpson is an Engineering Group Manager at GM's Vehicle Safety Crashworthiness Laboratory, Milford Proving Ground, Milford, Michigan, where safety engineers test and retest cars and trucks to learn how to better protect people in a crash.

Here is what Paul had to say about his job:

How did you decide you wanted to be a safety engineer?

Where else could I wake up every morning, be given hundreds of thousand of dollars worth of material and allowed to break it each day and then try to figure out what just happened in a blink of eye. Destructive testing can be very fun. Seriously, the ability to have an impact on people and to able work on something that occurs in a fraction of second and then to analyze and understand all the different pieces of a puzzle which interacted can be very challenging and rewarding.

What does a safety engineer do?

Safety engineers, who work in my group, are test engineers who are responsible to perform barrier testing at the laboratory. They are knowledgeable of the test requirements and standards and ensure that the vehicles and test equipment are properly setup in order to successfully conduct the test (in our line of work, we normally only get one chance to conduct an evaluation - if it is not done correctly, we may have just created some very expensive non-usable material).

After the impact, they are responsible for reviewing the instrumentation data and imaging that captured the event to ensure that it meets the labs quality standards. The test engineers will then work with other safety engineers to understand what happened in the tenth of second that it took for vehicle to be impacted and determine how the vehicle systems performed.

What do you do on a typical day at your job?

As a manager, my day typically starts at 6am. Early each morning our group reviews the current status of the vehicle builds and testing to be conducted over the next couple of days. Afterwards, I may have various meetings to attend which usually involves reviewing test processes; budgeting needs of my groups within the laboratory; distributing resources to meet the current testing; future testing requirements or conversations with other GM safety labs located in other regions of the world.

Due to my previous experience as a safety performance engineer, I may be involved in reviewing test results of other tests and providing an opinion as to how the test samples performed.

During the day, I always take some time to be able to observe some type of testing that is being conducted within our lab. (It is still exciting to watch something get crushed!) The day usually ends sometimes between 5 and 6pm (or later if something is happening which needs attention).

What do you like best about your job?

I know that the work that I am associated with can have a direct impact on the people who use our cars. Over the years, I have witnessed and have been involved in the analysis of a large number of safety tests.

When I am outside of work and come up on to accident scene, I can look at the crashed vehicles and compare them to the testing that we do. As I pass the individual drivers who are outside of their vehicles shouting and pointing at one another, I smile because we have done our job at the laboratory and they are okay. They have insurance and can replace their cars, but due to our work they are not seriously injured.

What did you study in high school and college?

In high school, I enjoyed math and science and was in the accelerated math program which included study from algebra through calculus. I also took 4 years of science including physics. I had the equivalent of 5 years of drafting (now replaced by CAD - Computer Aided Design) and the equivalent of 4 and a half years of English (composition, reading, communications and public speaking).

In college, I was accepted in the Engineering School at Wayne State University and majored in mechanical engineering. A took a lot more calculus and physics courses. Engineering courses are really an extension of math and science and provides the theoretical basis for being able to understand motion and forces. With this knowledge, you can design mechanisms which can withstand those same forces.

What kinds of skills are necessary for your job?

An inquisitive mind (wanting to why and how something works or can be made better); a stubborn attitude (never quitting on problem until it is unraveled and a solution is developed); patience (most things that are done right are not resolved in 5 minutes); a positive nature (the problems may be difficult be they will be addressed); the ability to work and communicate with others in a team (no idea thought of by one person in isolation will be as good as the idea based on the input from 10 skilled people). These in addition to a solid education with a background in engineering and management are the skills necessary to be an Engineering Group Manager.

What would you tell students who might be interested in becoming a safety engineer?

If you enjoy math and science and have an interest in how things work and being able to improve or invent new products, then engineering is an outstanding field of work. If on top of that you want to have a direct impact on people , safety engineering will provide that arena for you to work in. It is an area which is constantly changing and one that will provide a lifetime of challenges.

No matter what area of work you choose, make sure that it is one that you have a passion for and one that you want to make a commitment to.