ME 481Mechanical Engineering

Design Projects

Project Management

Many of our BSME graduates early in their careers find themselves

managing projects.

Following years of project management, a good number go on to

program management.

It’s What ME’s do …

Effectively and efficiently using the resources available to bring the

project to a successful conclusion.

Project Management

• Time• Money• Facilities and Equipment• People

Resources

• Once it’s gone, it’s gone

• Manage project time w/ Gantt chart

• Manage individual time w/ schedule/calendar

• 2nd most difficult resource to manage

Time

• A graphical representation of the duration of tasks against the progression of time

• Use for scheduling & planning (Begin with course calendar)

• List tasks and their time periods

• Living document

• Identify critical time paths

Gantt Chart

Typical Gantt Chart

From: http://www.jiscinfonet.ac.uk/InfoKits/infokit-related-files/gantt-chart-pic/view

• Progress• Problems• Plan

Weekly Meetings

• Financial Planning• Budget Tracking• Budget OveragesAny projects that will expend more than $1000 must provide a rationale to their faculty advisor, who must submit a budget overage request to Dr. R.

Money

Budget Report

http://www.egr.msu.edu/classes/me481/radcliff/Docs/Course/BudgetReport.xls

• Computers & Data Projectors• Digital Cameras• Computer Software• Shared Computer Drives• Machine Shop• Meeting Rooms - Teleconferencing• ME IPL (Industrial Projects Lab)• Video Conferencing

Facilities and Equipment

• Professional Advisor• Faculty Advisor• Other Faculty• Dr. R.• Jill Bielawski• Roy Bailiff• Craig Gunn• Software Consultants

People

• Act professionally• Communicate• Maintain high morale• Organize a fair workload

Identify major groups of tasks

PeopleYour Student Design Team

Major Task Groups

• Liaison– Communication

• Logistics– Order and Order Tracking

• Planning– Gantt Chart, Meeting Chair

• Reports & Records– Web, Network files, Report Follow-up

Your First Team Task:Define The Problem

• A good Problem Definition is– A set of REQUIREMENTS for good solution – A set of SPECIFICATIONS for good solutions

• A good Problem Definition allows– UNAMBIGUOUS SELECTION of the best

solution to THE problem from a set of possible solutions.

Definition Parameters(see Design Parameters.pdf on the web)

• 26 are listed… Don’t use them all

• Pick a smaller relevant set

Function/performance , Product cost , Delivery date , Quantity , Environmental issues , Safety , Quality , Energy consumption , Reliability , Maintenance , Mechanical loading , Size , Weight , Spatial constraints , Aesthetics , Transportation and packaging , Personnel , Service life , Noise radiation , Operating instructions , Human factors , Health issues , Government regulations , Shelf-life storage , Operating costs , Environmental conditions , …

Bad DefinitionThe design must be

LightInexpensiveSafeSmall Easily usedAsthetically pleasing… (The list is long)

These are unusable to evaluate & rank potential solutions because they do not allow unambiguous selection of the best design

Better Definition …The design must• be lightweight. Acceptable designs will weigh

less than 5 pounds. Design quality is inversely related weight measured in pounds. (W < 1 lb => 5, W>10 lb => 1 in decision matrix)

• Be inexpensive. Acceptable designs will cost less than $9.59 to produce. Design quality is inversely related to manufacturing cost in US dollars ($).(Cost < $1=> 5, Cost>$10 => 1 in decision matrix)

Definitions• Include both

– Constraints: Limits of measurable performance qualities

– Objectives: Statement of what measurably objectively changes as solution quality changes.

• May be Qualitative or Quantitative– BUT all elements must be unambiguous– DEFINE Qualitative Scale

Qualitative Scale

On a 1-5 point Scale … (You can do better)

5 Best in Class performance

4 Better than 90% of Competitors

5 Better than 75% of Competitors

2 Better than 50% of Competitors

5 Worst in Class performance

The key… Define how you will evaluate solutions BEFORE you develop them