Engineering Design
Engineering design has to do as much with designing an engineering object as is has to do with designing the processes and materials required.
In a way, designing the mechanical part needed for a project is relatively simple for the trained engineer. The engineer knows the theory and designing something for a specific purpose is a process of elimination, decisions and putting in practice years of training. In the end, especially in conventional applications, most engineers arrive more or less at the same answer for a common problem and the resultant designs may often be very similar.
Of course, novel challenges call for novel approaches and here, the creative juices of the engineering brain can be stimulated to devise amazing contraptions. However, the designs are always constrained by some practical considerations, like time, cost, complexity and ease of maintenance.
The design of the process can often be an even bigger challenge than the design of the actual mechanical components. It is expected of engineers to be project managers too, since the process is an integral part of engineering design.
The process can be very daunting, especially when there are many engineers working on a project. Coordinating planning sessions, best practices and the sequence of the project stages take a lot of time and effort. Even before that, the team must decide the best way to solve the client’s problem and then start working toward the end goal. Different approaches must be considered and the preferred solution is not always the best per se, but often the best for the PRICE…
The engineering design of a large project that takes many years to complete with the help of often hundreds of people is far-reaching and it is often very difficult to stick to goals, budgets and timeframes. Scope creep is ever present and must be anticipated and addressed.