01. Engineering Design
Task 1 Activity – Project Specification and Planning:
The starting point for a design project is the initial interpretation of the client brief and the
development of a working specification that would meet this brief. Once the specification has been
established it will be necessary to plan and schedule the activities and resources to deliver the final
design.
Firstly, you will assume the role of the client and develop the design brief, then in your role as a
design engineer you will develop a detailed design specification, after which you will need to
compare your specification with a typical published guide on preparing an industrial design
specification.
Finally, you will need to research project management techniques and develop a Gantt chart
(indicating the critical path) for the design activities to be undertaken in task 2.
To achieve the above you need to produce a report which addresses the activities detailed in
sections 1 to 5 below:
1. Design Brief – Assuming the role of the client you are required to formulate a design brief
for the product/system. The design brief will be the main starting point for the design
process and will describe in enough detail the essential elements of the design and its main
function that the design is intended to address.
2. Design Specification – Develop a detailed design specification, this should typically include
the functional & performance requirements, environmental operational conditions and
applicable published standards.
3. Comparison with ACCESS-FM – Comment on the similarities or differences between your
specification (2.0) and an industry standard method of preparing a specification such as
ACCESS-FM. Ask yourself does the specification developed in section 2.0 address (or
otherwise) the topics suggested by ACCESS-FM?
4. Planning Techniques – Give a brief overview two different project planning techniques that
may be used in the design phase of the project (task 2) and discuss their advantages and
disadvantages. Explain which of these two techniques you have chosen for the design phase
of your project and justify your reasons for doing so. (Do not use a Gantt chart as one of
your techniques, as it is already required below)
5. Gantt chart and Critical Path – Create a detailed Gantt chart using ‘Gantt project’ (link
below) for the design phase of the project (task 2), your Gantt chart should clearly
demonstrate the critical path. Discuss the importance of the critical path when managing a
project of this kind.
Task 2 Activity – Formal Design Report:
DURING YOUR COMPLETION OF TASK TWO, IF YOU HAVE ANY QUESTIONS, OR REQUIRE ASSISTANCE
PLEASE USE THE ‘NEED HELP?’ REQUEST FORM ON TOTARA. THIS WILL BE FORWARDED TO THE
UNIT TUTOR, WHO WILL CONTACT YOU TO ARRANGE SUITABLE SUPPORT.
With the design specification and project plan in place from task 1, it is now time for the practical
aspects of the design project to begin. You should now develop the design to completion and
produce a detailed design report and presentation.
To achieve the above you need to produce a ‘Design Report’ it is suggested that you base your report
on the following structure addressing the topics as detailed below:
Title page, this should feature the project title, your name and assignment title – optionally,
a graphic can be included (no page number on this sheet).
Abstract, this is a self-contained summary of the complete report, this should be less than
half a page (page number i).
Acknowledgements, this is where you acknowledge support from colleagues, friends, other
organisations etc (page number ii).
Contents table, this lists each section in the document and the page number where that
section begins (page number iii).
1.0 Introduction – The introduction states the purpose and goals of your report. A few short
paragraphs will suffice here (this is always section 1, and numbered page 1).
2.0 Specification – This could be an overview of the specification from task 1, you can also
refer to the design specification in task 1.
Task 3 Activity – Presentation and Debrief:
Your manager requires you to present your design report to your colleagues, they are likely to have
many questions and suggestions for your design, it is important to be prepared for a Q&A session at
the end of your presentation.
a) Produce a professional engineering presentation for your colleagues (typically 10 slides).
b) Formally present your work to your colleagues, you are also required to produce a video or
videos of yourself presenting, the duration of the presentation should be about 10 minutes
plus additional time for Q&A.
NOTE: This Presentation should be treated as the final ‘pitch’ of your design report, it should include
sufficient detail to explain your approach and reasoning for your design choices.
c) Now that the project has concluded your manager wants a short debrief report of the project.
Your debrief report must answer the following:
i. Is there anything that you would have changed if you had not been restricted by the
specification or standards? Why do you think design specifications and industry standards
are important when producing a finished product?
ii. Read and evaluate your own report, how effective do you think your design report is for
producing a finished product?
iii. Explore different methods you could have used to communicate your ideas to the
audience and stakeholders. Do you think your presentation was the most effective way
to communicate, or would there be a better way to communicate your design to others?
iv. In future projects would you do anything differently? Based on the feedback given by your
colleagues, and your own personal reflection, what recommendations would you make if
the project was to carry on further?
Learning Outcomes
LO1 Plan a design solution and prepare an engineering design specification in response to a stakeholder’s design brief and requirements
LO2 Formulate possible technical solutions to address the student – prepared design specification.
L03 Prepare an industry-standard engineering technical design report.
L04 Present to an audience a design solution based on the design report and evaluate the solution/presentation
