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Lecture 1
Presentation based on the book
Chan S. Park, Contemporary Engineering Economics
Chapter 1, © Pearson Education International Edition
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Introduction and Motivation
Discussion Topics
Rational decision-making process
The role of engineers in business
Strategic decisions
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Opening Story: Google
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A Little Google History
1995
Developed in dorm room by Larry Page and Sergey Brin,
graduate students at Stanford University
Nicknamed BackRub (reflecting great taste… )
1998
Raised $25 million to set up Google, Inc.
Ran 100,000 queries a day out of a garage in Menlo Park
2005
Over 4,000 employees worldwide
Over 8 billion pages indexed
Estimated market value over $100 billion
As of today, the value of Google is likely to be in the
hundreds of billions range
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Rational Decision-Making Process
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A Simple Illustrative Example: Car to
Lease – Saturn or Honda?
Recognize the decision Need to lease a car
problem
Collect all needed Gather technical and
(relevant) information financial data
Identify the set of feasible Select cars to consider
decision alternatives
Wanted: small cash outlay,
Define the key objectives safety, good performance,
and constraints aesthetics,…
Select the best possible Choice between Saturn
and implementable and Honda (or others)
decision alternative Select a car (i.e., Honda,
Saturn or another brand)
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Engineering Economic Decisions
Needed e.g. in the following (connected) areas:
Profit! Then continue
at the next stage…
Manufacturing
Design
Financial Investment
planning and loan Marketing
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What Makes Engineering Economic
Decisions Difficult? Predicting the Future
Estimating the required
investments
Estimating product
manufacturing costs
Forecasting the demand
for a brand new product
Estimating a “good”
selling price
Estimating product life
and the profitability of
continuing production
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The Role of Engineers in Business
• Engineering Projects
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Accounting vs. Engineering Economy
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Key Factors in Selecting Good
Engineering Economic Decisions
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Large-Scale Engineering Projects
These typically
require a large sum of investment
All the above aspects (and some others not listed here)
point towards the importance of EEA
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Types of Strategic Engineering Economic
Decisions in the Manufacturing Sector
Service Improvement
Equipment and Process Selection
Equipment Replacement
New Product and Product Expansion
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Example 1:
Healthcare Service Improvement
1 Traditional Plan: Patients
visit the service providers
2 New Strategy: Service
providers visit the patients
Which one of the two plans 1
is more economical? The
answer typically depends on
the type of patients and the
services offered. Examples?
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Example 2:
Equipment and Process Selection
How do you choose between using alternative materials
for an auto body panel?
The choice of material will dictate the manufacturing
process and the associated manufacturing costs
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Example 3:
Equipment Replacement Problem
Key question:
When is the right time to
replace an old machine
or equipment?
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Example 4:
New Product and Product Expansion
Shall we build or acquire
a new facility to meet the
increased (increasing
forecasted) demand?
Is it worth spending
money to market a new
product?
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Example 5: MACH 3 Project
R&D investment: $750 million(!)
Product promotion through
advertising: $300 million(!)
Priced to sell at 35% higher than
the preceding Sensor Excel
model (i.e., about $1.50 extra
per razor)
Question 1: Would consumers
pay $1.50 extra for a shave with
greater smoothness and less
irritation?
Question 2: What happens if the
blade consumption drops more
than 10% – due to the longer
blade life of the new razor?...
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Example 6: Cost Reduction
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Further Areas of Strategic Engineering
Economic Decisions in the Service Sector
Commercial Transportation
Logistics and Distribution
Healthcare Industry
Electronic Markets and Auctions
Financial Engineering and Banking
Retail
Hospitality and Entertainment
Customer Service and Maintenance
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U.S. Gross Domestic Product (GDP)
Distribution by Sector
Manufacturing 14%
Healthcare 14%
Agriculture 2%
Total 30%
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The Four Fundamental Principles of
Engineering Economics
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Principle 1
An instant dollar is worth more than
a distant dollar…
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Principle 2
Only the cost (resource) difference
among alternatives counts
Option Monthly Monthly Cash paid Monthly Salvage
Fuel Cost Maintenance at signing payment Value at end
(cash of year 3
outlay )
The data shown in the green fields are irrelevant items for decision
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making, since their financial impact is identical in both cases
Principle 3
Marginal (unit) revenue has to
exceed marginal cost, in order to
increase production
Marginal
cost
Manufacturing cost 1 unit
Marginal
revenue
Sales revenue 1 unit
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Principle 4
Additional risk is not taken without a
suitable expected additional return
Investment Class Potential Expected
Risk Return
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