ENT - The Xindi

[Nealithi]

That said the automated shuttle production line must be hidden somewhere withing Voyager.

It is hiding behind Janeway's coffee supply. And don't even try to tell me she actually lets Neelix give her replicated stuff.

[McAvoy]

It's not even realm of possibility right now for us to create construction vehicles. We really are not that far off. More far off when it comes to these industrial vehicles interacting with humans. Such as cranes to be laid at a specific point in a skyscraper 50 stories up dealing with wind from multiple directions.

It wouldn't surprise me that in Trek they use basically more advanced versions of Tesla tech to build their ships, which is humanoids over looking it all. Also wouldn't surprise me if Starfleet prefers actual humanoids to oversee the major stuff like installing a nacelle to a pylon.

If I am following your point properly. I think six of one half dozen of the other. We have seen huge arms working on ships. But we have also seen workers installing and wiring consoles and the like.

When Voyager built the Delta Flyer they seemed to basically assemble her by hand. Yes it was a shuttle bay and not a shipyard. But they also didn't seem put off that they could not just replicate an entire shuttle in one go.

Sorry extrapolating Trek construction techniques from the little they do show is an interesting exercise in frustration.

Personally I think the closest they (the Federation) came to purpose built workers previously was the exo-comps. Utilitarian device with the ability produce the tool needed for the job at hand. . And like most Trek tech they managed to make it sentient by accident.

The problem is that we have never seen a ship under active construction with the exception of an accelerated scene at the end of Star Trek Beyond and that doesn't really show us who is operating the machines. And it's not Primeverse either.

At best I think is the holodecks program Geordie brought up when he needed to talk to one of the designers of the Galaxy class. In that hologram we saw the presumably the Enterprise still under construction.

This may count, but we did see the NX-02 Columbia being constructed in Enterprise. Her nacelles for example being held by mechanical arms. We are not sure if this is being controlled by humans or a machine.

The other thing about Star Trek construction, they are built like naval ships of old. As in built like piece by piece, from the bottom up. Whereas modern naval ships are for the most part, specifically the big ones are built in modules elsewhere and then assembled in that dock.

If we assume the ST: Beyond is at least on par with fleet construction. Then a bit of both on modules and built from the ground up.

It just really seems like they do most construction personally.

And thought of an off the cuff example. Jadzia in one episode talked about using a runabout to catch another one. And how if the engineers at the shipyard were having a good day the runabout would hold. After when the plan worked she asked to be reminded to send them a nice note.
You don't have to consider engineers build by build for an assembly line vehicle.

Star Trek likes to use the term engineer interchangeable with other profession titles. Construction workers, mechanics, etc.

I think Jadzia most likely said that just a joke. Maybe if she was in a civilian ship built by some civilian company perhaps. In Aviation for example planes go through alot of quality inspections before leaving the assembly line. Especially military ones.

[Nealithi]

Star Trek likes to use the term engineer interchangeable with other profession titles. Construction workers, mechanics, etc.

I think Jadzia most likely said that just a joke. Maybe if she was in a civilian ship built by some civilian company perhaps. In Aviation for example planes go through alot of quality inspections before leaving the assembly line. Especially military ones.

Wait you mean the guy that fixes my mini-van is not also capable of building a nuclear aircraft carrier?

[Riedquat]

That said the automated shuttle production line must be hidden somewhere withing Voyager.

It is hiding behind Janeway's coffee supply. And don't even try to tell me she actually lets Neelix give her replicated stuff.

Pity, she might've thrown him out of the airlock for that one.

I think hydroponics must've been for growing the coffee, nowhere near capable of making a significant food contribution for the entire crew after all.

[clearspira]

It's not even realm of possibility right now for us to create construction vehicles. We really are not that far off. More far off when it comes to these industrial vehicles interacting with humans. Such as cranes to be laid at a specific point in a skyscraper 50 stories up dealing with wind from multiple directions.

It wouldn't surprise me that in Trek they use basically more advanced versions of Tesla tech to build their ships, which is humanoids over looking it all. Also wouldn't surprise me if Starfleet prefers actual humanoids to oversee the major stuff like installing a nacelle to a pylon.

If I am following your point properly. I think six of one half dozen of the other. We have seen huge arms working on ships. But we have also seen workers installing and wiring consoles and the like.

When Voyager built the Delta Flyer they seemed to basically assemble her by hand. Yes it was a shuttle bay and not a shipyard. But they also didn't seem put off that they could not just replicate an entire shuttle in one go.

Sorry extrapolating Trek construction techniques from the little they do show is an interesting exercise in frustration.

Personally I think the closest they (the Federation) came to purpose built workers previously was the exo-comps. Utilitarian device with the ability produce the tool needed for the job at hand. . And like most Trek tech they managed to make it sentient by accident.

The problem is that we have never seen a ship under active construction with the exception of an accelerated scene at the end of Star Trek Beyond and that doesn't really show us who is operating the machines. And it's not Primeverse either.

At best I think is the holodecks program Geordie brought up when he needed to talk to one of the designers of the Galaxy class. In that hologram we saw the presumably the Enterprise still under construction.

This may count, but we did see the NX-02 Columbia being constructed in Enterprise. Her nacelles for example being held by mechanical arms. We are not sure if this is being controlled by humans or a machine.

The other thing about Star Trek construction, they are built like naval ships of old. As in built like piece by piece, from the bottom up. Whereas modern naval ships are for the most part, specifically the big ones are built in modules elsewhere and then assembled in that dock.

If we assume the ST: Beyond is at least on par with fleet construction. Then a bit of both on modules and built from the ground up.

It just really seems like they do most construction personally.

And thought of an off the cuff example. Jadzia in one episode talked about using a runabout to catch another one. And how if the engineers at the shipyard were having a good day the runabout would hold. After when the plan worked she asked to be reminded to send them a nice note.
You don't have to consider engineers build by build for an assembly line vehicle.

Star Trek likes to use the term engineer interchangeable with other profession titles. Construction workers, mechanics, etc.

I think Jadzia most likely said that just a joke. Maybe if she was in a civilian ship built by some civilian company perhaps. In Aviation for example planes go through alot of quality inspections before leaving the assembly line. Especially military ones.

There is a trope for this: omnidisciplinary scientist. This refers to the fact that in TV and film, if you are a scientist, then you are EVERY scientist. If you are a doctor then you are EVERY doctor. And yes, if you are an engineer, then you are EVERY engineer. When in reality its actually the exact opposite. Nowadays you specialise in one thing pretty much for life as learning another skill often takes years due to how complex modern tech has become.
Star Trek is aware of this too given the famous ''rocks into replicators'' line from Rocks and Shoals. They know that Chief O'Brien realistically cannot be an expert in starship engines, transporters, weapon systems and communications devices simultaneously. Oh, and also pilot, commando, cello player and finds time for a wife and two kids.

Incidentally, that is one of the reasons why the Federation is so dangerous. It breeds savants and prodigies like we breed cattle.

[Frustration]

It's a mix. People specialized in the Middle Ages, too. A lot of people in the modern world have very wide skillsets, and while they may have a single profession, that job often entails many different skills.

It's not at all impossible that Star Trek engineers can have broad competencies with specialists still being necessary.

[Lazerlike42]

I agree that it's not impossible to envision Star Trek engineers having broad competencies. Heck, there are real people in the real world who have skillsets that boggle my mind when it comes to prowess with technical things - and I'm extremely competent myself, technically speaking.

Something else to consider is that in the real world, one of the reasons that specialization is so important when it comes to technology is that we have a lot of disparate forms of technology co-existing. Electronics and computer technology are radically different from the kind of machinery found in even a modern automobile which is in turn pretty different from some of the technology found in, say, certain home appliances or the HVAC stuff in a home.

It's entirely possible that in the 23rd/24th century of Star Trek, most technology tends to be more similar. We already see this to some degree in the real world in the way that more and more things are now more and more built using the same kind of IC and electronics technology. This is one of the reasons that you can find people out there who have a deep understanding of electronics who can do all sorts of wild things with all sorts of diverse pieces of technology, as much of it these days amounts to a single function computer.

[Nealithi]

Engineering specialty. From Voyager we know some people on the ship are very specialized and do basically one thing. The Good Shepherd is the episode I think. Guy down in the bowels of the ship that just types a few commands in for power allocation or something.
So what if the thing we see is most Star Fleet engineers are indeed specialists. But Chief engineers need to be very good generalists?

And part of that is clever problem solving. Didn't O'Brian once say he failed his engineering exam. But put in an emergency and ordered to fix something by his captain. Something clicked and he figured out what he needed to do?

[Fianna]

It could be that, in addition to having knowledge of physics, chemistry, biology, etc. that are far beyond our current understanding, they also have education techniques far more advanced than our own, letting people learn far greater amounts of information in far less time. That'd explain both the omnidisciplinary Starfleet scientists, and that one episode that had a little kid studying Calculus.

[McAvoy]

I agree that it's not impossible to envision Star Trek engineers having broad competencies. Heck, there are real people in the real world who have skillsets that boggle my mind when it comes to prowess with technical things - and I'm extremely competent myself, technically speaking.

Something else to consider is that in the real world, one of the reasons that specialization is so important when it comes to technology is that we have a lot of disparate forms of technology co-existing. Electronics and computer technology are radically different from the kind of machinery found in even a modern automobile which is in turn pretty different from some of the technology found in, say, certain home appliances or the HVAC stuff in a home.

It's entirely possible that in the 23rd/24th century of Star Trek, most technology tends to be more similar. We already see this to some degree in the real world in the way that more and more things are now more and more built using the same kind of IC and electronics technology. This is one of the reasons that you can find people out there who have a deep understanding of electronics who can do all sorts of wild things with all sorts of diverse pieces of technology, as much of it these days amounts to a single function computer.

If you can fix cars you can work on piston engine small planes. Technology is the same and the more aircraft related tech is pretty simple to understand. Working on the big planes on the other hand is different.

Your auto mechanic can't, working on any aircraft involves a FAA license which involves school.