The Iron Ring

An Engineer’s Calling

February 5, 2016
(2.5k reads!)

Tomorrow is quite possibly the most exciting day of our class’ undergraduate career, outside of graduating, and perhaps getting hired at some amazing companies in Canada & California. Tomorrow is the day we receive our Iron Rings, at the Ritual of the Calling of an Engineer.

It is an alternating, semi-circle cut ring, worn on the pinky finger of the dominant hand. They are exclusively given to engineering students who have graduated already, or are in their final semester, by a secret camp, in a ceremony at a secret location, in which only engineers or future engineers are invited. Usually the day before the ceremony, (which is today), the engineers will pull elaborate pranks, go on pub crawls, and otherwise celebrate the occasion, along with the near completion of their degree (here are some of the pictures from the pranks that were pulled at our school). I promise you it is not a cult.

What it is, What it Means

The ring itself isn’t the valuable part; it’s the symbolism and representation that comes along with it. It’s a sense of pride and responsibility. For me right now, and I’m sure many of my classmates, it represents all the late nights, sacrifices, mental throughput, and experiences it took to get here. The true nature of it though is to serve as a mental reminder for due diligence of our work in the real world. When drafting, and especially signing something, the ring will gently push into your hand against the surface it is on as a physical reminder of this.

Unlike doctors, lawyers, scientists, and other top fields, engineering graduates have this symbol for the profession which is small, and distinguishable, making us easily identifiable by anyone that knows about it, where-ever we go in public. Simply knowing about it to notice its consistent meaning when people are wearing it, I’ve been able to easily meet, and network with others. One time I met a father-son trio named Rick, Patrick, & Derrick (they called themselves the “ickies”) while I was edge-walking on the CN Tower. Another time met a guy on a train to Ottawa whom previously worked as an Engineer at Nortel, then changed career paths to work in HR at Huawei. His friend beside him worked at Smart Technologies, to which I was able to get a job interview through. I don’t know of any other professional symbol worn in public that grants these opportunities.

Being both visible and hidden like this, it reminds me of the common saying that (secretly), Engineers Rule the World (ERTW). Almost everything important that you use, was, at least in part, designed by an engineer somewhere. The device which you are reading this on, the battery or power supply bringing it to life, the power generated and transported to your which ever building or vehicle you may be in now. Engineers design, build, test, and refine most of the things or processes that make your daily routine possible. Most people go about their lives without giving a second thought about whether or not that building will collapse on them, or if electricity will jump from the lines to you as you walk under, if your battery will explode, etc… We are responsible for both innovating new things for the public to use, and for ensuring the safety of the people who end up interacting with them. But it wasn’t always so great.

History of the Iron Ring: The Quebec Bridge

The Iron Ring, is strictly a Canadian tradition, but some other schools outside have a similar “Engineer’s Ring”. The origin of the Iron Ring in Canada spawned from a civil engineering disaster on August 29, 1907, when the Quebec Bridge collapsed during construction to upgrade it, killing 75 people, and injuring more. It collapsed a second time on September 11, 1916. The Royal Commission of Inquiry was brought in to investigate the incident the following year where they found many mistakes in the planning, calculations, judgement, supervision, and execution of the bridge. Violation of ethical issues also included negligence, misjudgement, irresponsible behaviour, lack of experience, and selfishness.

Obviously this all needed to be fixed for good. Rules were put in place to help guide and bind engineers together to work in the interest of the public, especially for environment, health and safety. People shouldn’t have to question the safety of every bridge they cross, engine they start, device they use... Professor Herbert E. T. Haultain from the University of Toronto contacted British author Rudyard Kipling to put together a ritual for which all Canadian engineers about to graduate would take. Ever since 1925 in Canada, the camps who administrate the Ritual of the Calling of an Engineer have been issuing rings to graduates. Popular legend says the Iron Ring’s stainless steel metal is made from parts of the leftover scraps of the bridge.

University of Waterloo’s Engineering Mascot: The Ridgid Tool

The Iron Ring is not the only part of Engineering culture though; The (Ridgid) Tool is a 60" long, triple chrome-plated pipe-wrench, and has been the University of Waterloo Engineering Department’s official mascot since 1967, after the then Engineering Society President wrote to the Ridgid tool company requesting a donation of such a wrench. The company agreed to do so, under the condition that the Tool keep Ridgid as part of it’s name, and that they keep the original black and orange colours. It was promptly chrome plated shortly after receiving it, with the ‘Ridgid’ part of the name often not used. The Tool is kept under tight security, with four anonymous tool-bearers guarding it at all times while in public for special events. Outside of that, it’s secret location is only known to a few. You can only touch it if you have been “wedded to cold iron” (you have received your Iron Ring).

Engineering coveralls (or cubbies) are also a big part of engineering culture, especially along with the badge collecting that normally accompanies them. Each school will make their own badges, and engineers will trade with each other during common events such as conferences, or the Triple-D Cup.

What is an Engineer?

Despite finishing our Honours Bachelors of Applied Science this year, we still cannot call ourselves engineers. Similar to how an electrician needs to complete 5 years of apprenticeships before they can claim that title, so too do engineers in training (EIT), who must first complete 4 years of engineering work experience, and pass an ethics exam administered by the Professional Engineers of Ontario (PEO).

The word engineer is legally protected to ensure that anyone to claim the title, is actually a certified engineer, otherwise they may face thousands of dollars in charges for misrepresentation. This includes any prefix or suffix to the word engineer, (with the exception of professions that used the term engineer before it was regulated, such as locomotive or audio engineers). An example is college graduates from engineering technician & technologist diplomas, who are all not legally able to claim in writing or orally that they are an engineer. The PEO has however certified a limited amount of colleges offering engineering diplomas, such as Conestoga College, to which they are able to follow the same certification rules as the degree holders.

Even though graduates come from different schools, and work in different industries each set of rules & values are governed independently by province & state, they are fairly universal across the world. Unlike, for example, the taxi industry, engineers are a self-regulating body, meaning that we write our own rules that we must all abide by, similar to judges, to ensure we keep public confidence on our profession, work ethically, and within the law. In the meantime, we will continue to work diligently behind the scenes to make your life cooler, more efficient, and safe.