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0 ASSIGNMENT QUESTIONS
Please answer all questions.

QUESTION 1
Each product will have a life cycle. Using examples, illustrate each
stage in the Product Life Cycle outlining the possible challenges and
strategies which may be employed to sustain the sales and
profitability of the product.
(10 Marks)
QUESTION 2
Six Sigma is a methodological approach by which errors in a
company’s current process and plans are identified and strategies to
fix the same are formulated. It is fact-based technique, involving a lot
of data handling, which provides scientific results for cutting and
reduction in waste resources. Using example in your current industry,
how the engineers applied this tools to optimize the process in order
to achieve zero defect in the production.
(10 Marks)
QUESTION 3
Risk management is an organized method for identifying and
measuring risk and for selecting, developing and implementing
options for the handling of risk. By using example in your current
industry, explain risk management process step in your organization.
(10 Marks)

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2.0 INTRODUCTION SYSTEM ENGINEERING AND
MANAGEMENT

This provides an introduction to some of the key terms and definitions, principles and
concepts, and critical issues in the implementation of system engineering and associated
requirements in the design and development, production/construction, operation and support,
and retirement of systems. Such terms as a system, system of systems (SOS), system
architecture, system science, system analysis, logistics, integrated system maintenance and
support, configuration management, total quality management, and system value and life‐
cycle cost are introduced. Most system engineering activities in industry are closely tied to
product life‐cycle management (PLM) tools and processes. The successful realization of
system engineering principles and concepts is dependent not only on the technology issues
and the process for implementing such, but on the management issues as well. Top
management must first believe in and then provide the necessary support to enable the
application of system engineering methods to all applicable projects both in‐house and
external.

Issues such as requirements engineering, reliability, logistics, coordination of different

teams, testing and evaluation, maintainability and many other disciplines necessary for
successful system design, development, implementation, and ultimate decommission become
more difficult when dealing with large or complex projects. Systems engineering deals with
work-processes, optimization methods, and risk management tools in such projects. Systems
engineering ensures that all likely aspects of a project or system are considered and integrated
into a whole.

The systems engineering process is a discovery process that is quite unlike a

manufacturing process. A manufacturing process is focused on repetitive activities that
achieve high quality outputs with minimum cost and time. The systems engineering process
must begin by discovering the real problems that need to be resolved, and identifying the
most probable or highest impact failures that can occur systems engineering involves finding
solutions to these problems.

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QUESTION 1
Each product will have a life cycle. Using examples, illustrate each
stage in the Product Life Cycle outlining the possible challenges and
strategies which may be employed to sustain the sales and
profitability of the product.
(10 Marks)
The Product Life Cycle contains five distinct stages. For the four stages introduction,
growth, maturity and decline, identify specific product life cycle strategies. These are based
on the characteristics of each PLC stage. While some products may stay in a prolonged
maturity state, all products eventually phase out of the market due to several factors including
saturation, increased competition, and decreased demand and dropping sales. Additionally,
companies use PLC analysis to create strategies to sustain their product's longevity or change
it to meet with market demand or developing technologies. 

Once a product has been developed, the first stage is its introduction stage. In this stage,
the product is being released into the market. When a new product is released, it is often a
high-stakes time in the product's life cycle although it does not necessarily make or break the
product's eventual success.  During the introduction stage, marketing and promotion are at a
high and the company often invests the most in promoting the product and getting it into the
hands of consumers. This is perhaps best showcased in Apple's (AAPL), famous launch
presentations, which highlight the new features of their newly products. It is in this stage that
the company is first able to get a sense of consumers respond to the product, if like it and

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successful product may be. However, product is also often a heavy spending period for the
company with no guarantee that the product will pay for itself through sales. Costs are
generally very high and there is typically little competition. For example,  AI (artificial
intelligence) has been in development for years, it is continually pushing boundaries and
developing new products that are in the introduction stage of the PLC. Amid dozens of new
products even AI-infused robots or autonomous vehicles are very much in a developmental
stage in the market, as their products are still being tested and adopted in the market by
consumers. The principle goals of the introduction stage are to build demand for the product
and get product into the hands of consumers, hoping to later cash in on product growing
popularity. 

By the growth stage, consumers are already taking to the product and increasingly
buying it. The product concept is proven and is becoming more popular and sales are
increasing. Other companies become aware of the product and its space in the market which
is beginning to draw attention and increasingly pull in revenue. If competition for the product
is especially high, the company may still heavily invest in advertising and promotion of the
product to beat out competitors. As a result of the product growing, the market itself tends to
expand. The product in the growth stage is typically tweaked to improve functions and
features. As the market expands, more competition often drives prices down to make the
specific products competitive. However, sales are usually increasing in volume and
generating revenue. Marketing in this stage is aimed at increasing the product's market
share. The rise of electric vehicles shows more of a growth stage of the product life cycle.
Companies like Tesla (TSLA) have been capitalizing on the growing product for years,
although company. Still, while the electric car isn't necessarily new, the innovations that
companies like Tesla have made in recent years are consistently adapting to new changes in
the electric car market signalling its growth phase.

When a product reaches maturity, product sales tend to slow or even stop signalling a
largely saturated market. At this point, sales can even start to drop. Pricing at this stage can
tend to get competitive, signalling margin shrinking as prices begin falling due to the weight
of outside pressures like competition or lower demand. Marketing at this point is targeted
at fending off competition and companies will often develop new or altered products to reach
different market segments. Given the highly saturated market, it is typically in the maturity
stage of a product that less successful competitors are pushed out of competition often called
the "shake-out point." In this stage, saturation is reached and sales volume is maxed out.

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Companies often begin innovating to maintain or increase their market share, changing or
developing their product to meet with new demographics or developing technologies. The
maturity stage may last a long time or a short time depending on the product. For some
brands, the maturity stage is very drawn out like Coca-Cola.

Although companies will generally attempt to keep the product alive in the maturity
stage as long as possible, decline for every product is inevitable. In the decline stage, product
sales drop significantly and consumer behaviour changes as there is less demand for the
product. The company's product loses more and more market share and competition tends to
cause sales to deteriorate. Marketing in the decline stage is often minimal or targeted at
already loyal customers, and prices are reduced. Eventually, the product will be retired out of
the market unless it is able to redesign itself to remain relevant or in demand. For example,
products like typewriters, telegrams and muskets are deep in their decline stages.

A classic example of the scope of the product life cycle is the typewriter. When first
introduced in the late 19th century, typewriters grew in popularity as a technology that
improved the ease and efficiency of writing. However, new electronic technology like
computers, laptops and even smart phones have quickly replaced typewriters causing their
revenues and demand to drop off.  Overtaken by the likes of companies like
Microsoft (MSFT), typewriters could be considered at the very tail end of their decline
phase with minimal sales and drastically decreased demand. Now, the modern world almost
exclusively uses desktop computers, laptops or smart phones to type which in turn are
experiencing a growth or maturity phase of the product life cycle. 

Reasons for the decline in sales can be of various natures. For instance, technological
advances, shifts in consumer tastes and increased competition can play a key role. As sales
and profits decline, some competitors will withdraw from the market. Also for the decline
stage, careful selection of product life cycle strategies is required. The reason is that carrying
a weak product can be very costly to the firm, not just in profit terms. There are also many
hidden costs. For instance, a weak product may take up too much of management’s time. It
requires advertising and sale-force efforts that could better be used for other, more profitable
products in other stages. Most important may be the fact that carrying a weak product delays
the search for replacements and creates a lopsided product mix. It also hurts current profits
and weakens the company’s foothold on the future.

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QUESTION 2

Six Sigma is a methodological approach by which errors in a company’s current

process and plans are identified and strategies to fix the same are formulated. It
is fact-based technique, involving a lot of data handling, which provides
scientific results for cutting and reduction in waste resources. Using example in
your current industry, how the engineers applied this tools to optimize the
process in order to achieve zero defect in the production.

(10 Marks)
Although Total Quality Management provided significant quality improvement for
users, there were still opportunities to improve the concept. The Six Sigma management
concept was originally developed by Motorola USA in 1986. In 1995, Six Sigma became
more visible when Jack Welch made it a focus of business strategy at General Electric.
Today, the Six Sigma concept has become the standard process for quality improvement in
many industries. The objective of Six Sigma is to improve the quality of processes by
identifying and removing the causes of defects. In safety, these process defects can be unsafe
behaviours, incorrect procedures or equipment failures, all of which can result in injury. Six
Sigma is the evolution of statistical quality improvement processes that have been used
extensively to improve manufacturing and other process-related industries. Although not
often used in the safety arena to full potential, Six Sigma tools can help produce significant
and sustainable improvements in safety performance, injury reduction and associated pain.

My industry is safety and health, the engineers applied this Six Sigma tools to optimize
the process in order to achieve zero defect in the production. The original TQM used a
number of statistical tools but there was no formal process for integrating all of these tools
and developing a complete process improvement solution. Six Sigma uses DMAIC, a clearly
defined five-step improvement process that consists of the Define, Measure, Analyze,
Improve and Control.

In the Define Stage, clearly identify the scope of the project or it is that needs work. Also
determine the target performance should be. It will be necessary to understand process is
failing and resulting in kinds of injuries. One of the Six Sigma tools that is typically used in
the Define Stage of the DMAIC method is the SIPOC. This tool is typically used in the

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manufacturing process it is important to identify the suppliers, inputs, processes, outputs and
customers. The diagram below shows the use of this tool in a very simplified version of the
line construction work process.

By applying this tool to safety, one can see some of the suppliers and inputs normally
not considered to have an impact on safety can indeed have impact. For example, the SIPOC
tool helps demonstrate that the people design the project, design the standards or the
specifications of the materials should consider safety implications doing design work.

In measure stage, the data being used is extensively assessed and interpreted. First,
ensure that the data is valid and accurately measuring the desired subject. This can often be
an issue when analyzing behaviour observations. Behaviours such as use of safety glasses are
easy to document and address. More controversial items such as adequate cover-up are not
always documented and addressed. As a result, when combining all of the observation data,
since some of it is not valid the overall observation results may not reflect actual
performance. Often in this phase, charts and graphs will provide directional information
stating that performance has improved or degraded but this may be misleading. Many charts
and graphs reflect average and important information can be lost in averages. There are a
number of tools used in this stage to identify whether it is truly statistically improving or if it
just looks better on a chart. Tools that are used in the Measure Stage include histograms,
Pateros and process capability.

In the Analyze Stage, use the data collected and validated in the Measure Stage to
determine the root causes of the process defects or injuries. A few of the tools that are used in
the Analyze Stage include Cause & Effect Fishbone Diagram, Five Correlation Testing. The
fishbone diagram is familiar to most people because of its extensive use in identifying the

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root cause of accidents. The importance of this stage cannot be understated because if the root
cause is not validated, the corrective measures tied to that root cause will not provide the
desired results.

After completing the Analyze Stage, potential corrective measures often become evident.
During the Improve Stage, it is most important to test the potential corrective measures to see
if they will address the root cause. In the safety arena, that does not mean to wait and see if
another injury occurs. The root cause needs to be prevented not the injury. In the case of eye
injuries, the identified root cause may be the employees not wearing safety glasses or
employees wearing improperly fitting safety glasses. In this case, the Improve Stage would
include a process for fitting glasses and providing them to employees. In this stage, pilot
trials or other forms of testing effectiveness can be used.

The primary objective of the Control Stage is to monitor results and ensure that the
expected improvements are being achieved and sustained. One of the biggest challenges,
especially when implementing safety improvements is ensuring that those improvements will
be sustained. Far too often, events or injuries occur and upon analysis, corrective measures
were recommended and implemented several years ago for a previous event, but are not
working or are not in place for various reasons. One reason for this could be that a good
process was not in place to sustain corrective measures. Actual examples include a safety
improvement memo was sent out, but there was no follow-up to ensure that people
implemented it. Then, a new safer tool was specified and purchased but the older unsafe tool
is still found throughout the system. In the case of safety glasses, the employees are no longer
using the ones they were fitted with. Another reason may be that the original corrective
measure did not correct the original root cause. This should have been identified when testing
the effectiveness of the corrective measure in the Improve Stage. Of all of the stages in the
DMAIC process, I feel the Control Stage is the most important and most overlooked.

This represents only a small example of the tools and methods that are typically used in
the DMAIC process. There is no question that use of Six Sigma and the DMAIC process
requires trained facilitators to assist in providing desired results. The results, though, can be
substantial if the process is properly followed. If an organization has access to someone with
these skills, they can be very helpful in identifying the root causes of injuries and developing

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sustainable corrective measures. Appropriately utilized, Six Sigma can be an important
component in creating an injury free workplace.

QUESTION 3
Risk management is an organized method for identifying and
measuring risk and for selecting, developing and implementing
options for the handling of risk. By using example in your current
industry, explain risk management process step in your organization.
(10 Marks)
Risk management is an organized method for identifying and measuring risk and for
selecting, developing and implementing options for the handling of risk. By using my safe
and health industry, have risk management process step in my organization.

First step is identification. This is the process of examining each work area and work
task for the purpose of identifying all the hazards which are “inherent in the job”. Work areas
include to machine workshops, laboratories, office areas, agricultural and horticultural
environments, stores and transport, maintenance and grounds. Tasks can include using screen
based equipment, audio and visual equipment, industrial equipment, hazardous substances
and/or dangerous goods, teaching or dealing with people, driving a vehicle, dealing with
emergency situations and construction. First need to work out people could be harmed. When
work in a place every day it is easy to overlook some hazards so here are some tips to help
identify the ones that matter is walk around workplace and look at what could reasonably be
expected to cause harm and visit the NT Work Safe website or other work health and safety
websites as often publish practical guidance on hazards occur and to control them. For
example, an unlabelled container of caustic soda which has the potential to cause severe skin
burns if handled incorrectly providing services to the public which involve the granting or
withholding of some benefit or service.

Second step is risk identification. Once a hazard to health and safety has been identified,
the risk associated with that hazard must be examined. As a prelude to Risk Assessment, it is
useful to identify factors that may be contributing to the risk. A review of existing health and
safety information, such as local workplace accident records and information about the
hazard or risk that is available from national or other jurisdiction authoritative sources will
assist in understanding the risk associated with the hazard in question.

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 Third step is risk assessment. It is then necessary to evaluate the likelihood of an injury
occurring along with its probable consequences. Risk assessments are therefore based on 2
key factors, the likely severity or impact of any injury or illness resulting from the hazard,
and the probability or likelihood that the injury or illness will actually occur. A simple risk
matrix, which cross references likelihood and impact, enables risks to be assessed against
these two factors and identified as one of the a critical risk, a high risk , a moderate risk, a
low risk and a very low risk.

Fourth step is risk control. Urgent action is required for risks assessed as Critical or
High risks. The actions required may include instructions for the immediate cessation of the
work, process and activity. The isolation of the hazard until more permanent measures can be
implemented. Documented control plans with responsibilities and completion dates may need
to be developed for Moderate risks. Having established the relative importance of dealing
with the identified risk, the risk control hierarchy ranks possible risk control measures in
decreasing order of effectiveness. Risk control measures should always aim as high in the list
as practicable. Control of any given risk generally involves a number of measures drawn
from the various options. Elimination of hazard. Examples include the proper disposal of
redundant items of equipment that contain substances such as asbestos or PCBs, the removal
of excess quantities of chemical accumulated over time in a laboratory. The elimination of
hazards is 100% effective. Next is Substitution of hazard. Examples include the replacement
of solvent-based printing inks with water-based ones, of asbestos insulation or fire-proofing
with synthetic fibres or rock wool, the use of titanium dioxide white pigment instead of lead
white. The effectiveness of substitution is wholly dependent on the choice of replacement.
Administrative controls is include training and education, job rotation to share the load
created by demanding tasks, planning, scheduling certain jobs outside normal working hours
to reduce general exposure early reporting of signs and symptoms, instructions and warnings.
The effectiveness of administrative controls ranges from 10 to 50%. They typically require
significant resources to be maintained over long periods of time for continuing levels of
effectiveness.
Fifth step is documenting the process. Documenting the process will help ensure that
identified control measures are implemented in the way that they were intended. It will also
assist in managing other hazards and risks that may be in some way similar to ones already
identified and dealt with. Adequate record keeping of the risk management process will also
help demonstrate to the Regulator or in litigation that has been actively working to ensure

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safety at workplace. Records should show that the process has been conducted properly
including information about the hazards, associated risks and control measures that have been
implemented. Information should include hazards identified, assessment of the risks
associated with those hazards, decisions on control measures to manage exposure to the risks,
the control measures are implemented, evidence of monitoring and review of the
effectiveness of the controls and any checklist used in the process.

Sixth step is monitoring and reviewing. Whichever method of controlling the hazard is
determined, it is essential that an evaluation of its impact on the use of the equipment,
substance, system or environment is carried out to ensure that the control does not contribute
to the existing hazard or introduce a new hazard to the area. It is also essential that all people
concerned be informed about the changes and necessary provided with the appropriate
information, instruction, training and supervision as are reasonably necessary to ensure that
each employee is safe from injury and risks to health. It is also recommended that after a
period of time the area supervisor carry out a review of the system or control to determine its
suitability. Hazard identification and risk assessment and control are ongoing processes.
Make sure that undertake a hazard identification and risk assessment and control process
when there is a change to the workplace including when work systems, tools, machinery or
equipment changes occur or simply when the existing process was done some time ago and is
potentially out of date or no longer valid.

CONCLUSION

Defining systems engineering in terms of an invariant set of best practices has not
worked. Each new standard changes the practices, resulting in significant argument among
practitioners as to the merit. Only the basic concepts of systems engineering appear to remain
relatively constant, the core activities. It appears that a more appropriate approach is to define
systems engineering in terms of the engineering of complexity. Where systems are
straightforward and do not evidence the characteristics of agents, reflexivity, local
information, emergence, and adaptation, their development does not require the same rigor of
systems engineering. Only when the system evidence these characteristics are the activities of
systems engineering indicated.

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REFERENCE

BSI - British Standard Institutions, Occupational health and safety management systems – Requirements,
BS OHSAS 1800, 2007.

https://www.thestreet.com/markets/commodities/product-life-cycle-14882534

https://www.business2community.com/strategy/stages-business-lifecycle-challenges-0798879

https://marketing-insider.eu/product-life-cycle-strategies/

https://hbr.org/1965/11/exploit-the-product-life-cycle

https://aiche.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/abs/10.1002/prs.10402

https://aiche.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/abs/10.1002/prs.10402

https://incident-prevention.com/ip-articles/how-six-sigma-can-improve-your-safety-performance

https://oshwiki.eu/wiki/Occupational_safety_and_health_risk_assessment_methodologies

https://worksmart.org.uk/health-advice/health-and-safety/hazards-and-risks/what-are-five-steps-
risk-assessment

https://www.worksafe.qld.gov.au/news/2016/four-steps-to-manage-hazardous-manual-task-risks-
in-the-workplace

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