ENME418-15S2 (C) Semester Two 2015

Engineering Management and Professional Practice for Mechanical Engineers

15 points

Details:
Start Date: Monday, 13 July 2015
End Date: Sunday, 15 November 2015
Withdrawal Dates
Last Day to withdraw from this course:
  • Without financial penalty (full fee refund): Friday, 24 July 2015
  • Without academic penalty (including no fee refund): Friday, 9 October 2015

Description

The development of engineering management skills is essential to practice as a professional engineer. Engineers carry out technical analyses, but technology is always embedded in the context of society, and usually also business. Engineers therefore need to be able to integrate their solutions and planning within these broader contexts. This course covers the main topics in engineering management and professional practice: project management, professional engineering competence and careers, environmental and societal dimensions, cultural and societal expectations, personal harm, health and safety, ethics, risk management, product liability, torts, managing people, team and conflict, structure of organisations, organisational change, managing a financial budget, cashflow, marketing, vision and strategy, intellectual property protection, entrepreneurship. The focus throughout the course is on the mechanical engineering contexts, including new product development and production engineering. The course develops students' ability to solve problems in these various other areas, and produce integrative solutions for prospective engineering ventures.

The course is complementary to the final project ENME408, where project management and several other skills are applied. In ENME418 the material focuses on the underlying principles.

The course is complementary to those in Production Engineering, where the focus is on production methods and the management of a plant in particular. Here the focus is on the professional Engineer and engineering management in general, not specific plant management.

Professional expectations:
Dr Andrew Cleland (Chief Executive IPENZ) stated, ‘As the institution that represents all professional engineers in NZ, we really want to emphasise that students need to learn engineering management skills if they are to operate as professional Engineers.  Engineers carry out technical analyses, but they need to understand how these analyses are treated in the context of the world of business – we are part of business more than we are part of science.  Many engineering projects founder because the quality of the management by engineers is simply not good enough.  IPENZ wants to see engineering graduates with a strong appreciation of the need for, and a good starting skill set in, many aspects of engineering management.

Learning Outcomes

  • Learning Outcomes and National Qualifications Framework (NQF)

    Knowledge and Skills Outcomes:
    This course develops the following attributes in graduates:
  • Understand the dynamics of individual and team behaviour in preparation for professional practice of functioning effectively as an individual and as member or leader in diverse teams and in multi-disciplinary settings.
  • Communicate effectively regarding complex engineering projects, in an organisational setting, and with society at large.
  • Demonstrate understanding of the societal, health, safety, legal and cultural issues and the consequent responsibilities relevant to engineering practice. Likewise understand the impact of engineering solutions in a societal context and demonstrate knowledge of and need for sustainable development.
  • Understand professional ethics and responsibilities and norms of engineering practice.
  • Demonstrate a knowledge and understanding of general management and business practices for human resource management, financial management, marketing, strategic planning, and legal aspects. Apply these to complex engineering projects.
  • Understand the principles of project management, and apply them to the planning of complex engineering projects.
  • Awareness of the need for life-long learning, and the requirements for Professional Engineer membership of IPENZ
  • Integrate the above in application to a complex engineering venture.

    Personal attributes developed:
    Engineering management is essential for successful professional practice. This course is thus an introduction to the professional practice that awaits students after graduation. A wide range of topics are covered including professional practice, team behaviour, human resource management, communication, society, professional ethics, environment and sustainability, project management, engineering relevant finance, risk management, change management, marketing, engineering relevant law, quality, and strategy. The perspective taken throughout is that of professional engineering practice, rather than general management. So the topics, while common with other disciplines, are examined through the lens of engineering practice.

Prerequisites

60 points at 300-level in Mechanical Engineering

Restrictions

ENME450

Contact Person

Dirk Pons

Assessment

Assessment Due Date Percentage 
Final exam 50%
Assignment 1 - Feasibility Analysis 01 Oct 2015 50%

Indicative Fees

Domestic fee $874.00

International fee $4,725.00

* All fees are inclusive of NZ GST or any equivalent overseas tax, and do not include any programme level discount or additional course-related expenses.

For further information see Mechanical Engineering .

All ENME418 Occurrences

  • ENME418-15S2 (C) Semester Two 2015