Environmental Engineering Reference
In-Depth Information
As a result of successfully leading the first computer process automation and
coordination project in Poland, Leading Designer 2 obtained very wide experience
in the areas of ICT and automation. However, his promotion and subsequent emi-
gration meant that this experience and expertise was lost to Elwro and the country
as a whole. As a result of the loss of his expertise, his younger colleagues experi-
enced problems while developing computer automation systems for the next com-
puter in the Odra family, Odra 1325, using the then novel silicon-integrated circuit
technology. These computer automation projects failed, with a resulting significant
disadvantage to prospective users, Elwro and Poland. Leading Designer 2 tried to
transfer his experience and expertise to these younger colleagues but was not able to.
Leading Designers 1 and 2 were removed through promotion to management,
which was relatively mild treatment. The experiences of most pioneers were much
worse, as described in Case Study 3.
3.3
Case Study 3: Process Control Computer KON-10
Leading Hardware Designer 3 obtained his professional experience on the Odra
1204 computer described in Case Study 1 (Fudala 2013, private communication). In
the 1980s, reliable computers were required for process control applications in
Poland. Leading Designer 3 was appointed to the position of the hardware leading
designer for the KON-10 computer, the first computer in Poland intended to be used
for process control applications. Unfortunately, the local PoP was greedy and
wanted his undeserved benefits early. Although Leading Designer 3 performed his
work well, this local PoP started severely harassing him, including false accusations
of poor and unpunctual work, at the end of the design and testing period, and forced
him to resign. Since the leading designer was forced to resign well before the
KON-10 was launched into production, production of this series of computers never
took place. The leading designer eventually obtained employment in a private com-
pany and became a hardware designer of small-scale computer peripherals (Fig. 8.3 ).
Microprogram
memory
Control
unit
Arithmetic and
logic unit
Fig. 8.3 Hardware
architecture of KON-10
process control computer
ROM
RAM
Ports
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