DYNA JOURNAL ENGINEERING

Key words:

percepción social, imagen pública, ingeniería y construcción, crisis económica, social perception, public image, engineering and construction, economic crisis

Article type:

COLABORACION/COLLABORATION DAMR

Section:

COLLABORATIONS

The following article examines the current social perception of building contractors in Spain and how the economic crisis has undermined their standing in society. The substantial drop in this collective’s salaries as well as building permits since 2009 are causes for concern, and call for a redressing of the present perception in order to favour this sector’s recovery.
In this article, firstly an analysis on how the current economic situation has affected the social perception of professions in the building industry is done, pointing out factors that may affect this perception negatively. Perception that professionals from the building industry have on the social environment at this moment of economic crisis it is also included. This analysis enables to conclude that, despite the improvements in the standard of living that engineering provides to society, the anonymity of building projects causes these professionals to go unnoticed. Finally, alternatives are raised in order to improve the current situation. Engineering in the building industry must diversify into fields that are closer to public awareness such as sustainable living, environment and energy. It will need to provide rigour and method to these fields, making greater use of mathematical and thermodynamical instruments and simulations.
Lastly, it shall be necessary to establish methods and indicators to be able to analyse public perception of the sector with greater rigour. In this way the sector will find the necessary means to provide a greater awareness of the work it does, hence favouring the opinion and valuation in the public’s eyes and improving work prospects for professionals in the industry and the number of students choosing to go into it.

Key Words: social perception, public image, engineering and construction, economic crisis.