BES-16b Engineering Management (Discussion date: August 22, 2022)

Introduction :
Engineers are expected to perform a variety of tasks depending on the field of specialization and
skills. According to Henry Gantt, it is necessary for an engineer to manage the
Five (5) human resources namely:
1. Manpower
2. Money
3. Machines
4. materials and time as well as the proper, efficient and effective utilization of these
resources with minimal cost and for a short period of time. Engineers are often faced with
responsibilities requiring outputs that depend on the individual's accomplishments of
subordinates. Managing is one of the most challenging tasks of an engineer to be
prepared for it will utilize the techniques and skills of people doing work activities.

The Field of Engineering Management

• Engineering discipline deals with the design, construction, maintenance of the physical
and naturally built environment which includes work activities that needs to be manage.
• Engineering Management as one of the important tool of an engineer to undergo or
execute some project or develop materials which are productive to humanity in our
society. Engineer must guide their subordinate and be a good leader in the
implementation of project to motivate the worker to obtain goals to a certain objectives.
Five (5) Basic Elements of Engineering Management
1. To forecast and plan
2. To organize
3. To command
4. To coordinate
5. To control
Five (5) Fundamentals of Project Management Cycle
1. Project redevelopment and screening
2. Project development and design
 3. Project Appraisal, Negotiation and Approval Project Implementation

Personalities in Engineering Management

1. Frederick Taylor
is Popularly known as the father of Scientific Management. which also came to be known as
“Taylorism.” Taylor believed that it was the role and responsibility of manufacturing plant
managers to determine the best way for the worker to do a job, and to provide the proper tools
and training.
2. Henri Fayol,
a French Engineer, whose ideas in doing work activities are consonance with the present trends
and modern time. He is called the Father of Modern Management.
3. Henry Gantt,
who emphasized the importance of time and cost in planning and controlling work activities. His
ideas are in full accordance with the concepts of Engineering Management for the efficient and
effective use of manpower, money, materials, machine and time. He developed the Gantt Chart
which is a management technique for management information. The Gantt Chart before was very
popular and utilized by Engineers in scheduling project work activities, however, with
the development of PERT/PM System the Gantt Chart became obsolete in scheduling work
activities.
4. Mark Parker Follet, whose direction and emphasis is on the importance and value of human
relations to the basic principles of organization.

The Functions of the Engineer

Since prehistoric times, mankind has benefited from its tools, equipment, and projects
developed by engineers these are the following:
• The stone blade axe which was a very useful tool; and the irrigation system used to
promote crop growing (6000 3000 B.C.)
• The pyramids of Egypt – (3000 to 600 B.C.)
• Roadbuilding by the Romans – (600 B.C. to A.D. 400)
• The production of paper and gunpowder by the Chinese (100 A.D. to 1600 A.D.)
• The production of steam engines and the spinning and moving machines (1601 A.D. to
1700 A.D.)
Specifically, the functions of engineering encompass the following areas:
1. Research - where the engineer is engaged in the process of learning about nature and
codifying this knowledge into usable theories.
2. Design and development - where the engineer undertakes the activity of turning a
product concept to a finished physical item. Design for manufacturability and value
engineering teams (a feature of some companies) are charged with improvement of
designs and specifications at the research, development, design and production stages
of product development.
3. Testing - where the engineer works in a unit where new products or parts are tested for
workability.
4. Manufacturing - where the engineer is directly in charge of production personnel or
assumes responsibility for the product.

Engineers are currently producing solutions to many of the difficulties faced by mankind, much.
Their outputs, new or improvements of old ones are very much needed in the following specific
problem concerns:
1. The production of more food for a fast growing world population
2. The elimination of air and water pollution;
3. Solid waste disposal and materials recycling;
4. The reduction of noise in various forms;
5. Supplying the increasing demand for energy;
6. Supplying the increasing demand for mobility;
7. Preventing and solving crimes; and 8. Meeting the increasing demand for
communication facilities.
BES-16b Engineering Management (Discussion date:_________)
Engineering Management
What is Engineering Management? Engineering management relate to the activity combining
knowledge with the "technical ability to organize and coordinate worker power, materials,
machinery, and money.”
The top position an engineer manager may hope to occupy is the general managership or
presidency of any firm. large or small. As he scales the management ladder, he finds that the
higher he goes up, the less technical activities he performs, and the more management tasks he
accepts. In this case, it is but proper that the management courses be well understood by the
engineer manager.

The Engineer in Various Types of Organization

Classification according to the degree of engineering jobs:

• Level One - with minimal engineering jobs like retailing firms

• Level Two - with a moderate degree of engineering jobs like. transportation companies
• Level Three - with a high degree of engineering jobs like construction firms

1. Engineers have slim chance to become general manager or president, unless he owns the
firm. engineer manager may be assigned as head of a small engineering unit of the firm.
If it is very small there will not have this unit.
2. In level two firm, engineer may be assigned to head the engineering division. Need for
management skills will now be felt by the engineer manager.
3. 3. Level three firms provide the biggest opportunity for an engineer to become the
president or general manager, he cannot function effectively without adequate
management skills.
Definition of Management
Definition of Management It is defined as the "creative problem solving-process of planning,
organizing, leading, and controlling an organization's resources to achieve its mission and
objectives.”

Requirements For the Engineer Manager's Job

• A bachelor’s degree in engineering from a reputable school: In some cases. a master’s

degree engineering or business management is required
 • a few years’ experience in a pure engineering job;
• Training in supervision; special training in engineering management
The Process of Management Consist of:

• Planning
• Organizing
• Directing/Leading
• Controlling

How One May Become a Successful Engineer Manager

Kreitner indicates at least three general preconditions for achieving lasting success as a manager.
They are as follows:

• Ability
• Motivation to manage, and
• Opportunity

1. Ability
Managerial abilty refers to the capacity of an engineer manager to achieve organizational
objectives effective and efficiently.

2. Motivation to Manage
Many people have the desire to work and finish specilc tasks assigned by superiors, but
not many are motivated to manage people so that they may contribute to the realization
of the organization's objectives.

3. Opportunity
Successful managers become possible only if those having the ability and motivation are
given the opportunity manage. The opportunity for successful management has two
requirements:
• Obtaining a suitable managerial job, and
• Finding a supportive climate once on the job
Summary:
Engineers are known for their great contributions the development of the world's civilization.
There are many areas where their presence necessary like research, design and development,
testing, manufacturing, construction, sales consulting, Government, teaching, and management
Engineers may be found contributing their share in the Various levels of organization. Engineering
activities need to be managed and engineers are sometimes placed in positions where they must
learn management skills.
Management is concerned with planning, organizing, leading and controlling an organization's
resources to achieve its mission and objectives There are certain qualifications required of the
engineer manager.
One may become a successful engineer manager if the preconditions of ability, motivation to
manage and opportunity to manage are met.

Decision - Making

• Good Decisions provide the right environment for continuous growth and success of any
organized effort

Decision-making
Is the process of identifying and choosing alternatives based on the values, preferences and
beliefs of the decision-maker.
• Decision-making is defined as the process of identifying and choosing alternative courses of
action in a manner appropriate to the demands of the situation.
• Decisions are made at various management levels and at various management functions.
• Decision-making according to Nickels and others is "the heart of all the management

Decision-Making Process
1. Diagnose problem
2. Analyze environment
3. Articulate problem or opportunity
4. Develop viable alternatives
5. Evaluate alternatives
6. Make a choice
7. Implement decision
8. Evaluate and Adapt decision result

• "Identification of the problem is tantamount to having the problem half-solved."

• What is a Problem? A problem exists when there is a difference between an actual situation
and a desired situation.
• Diagnosing the problem requires identifying hypotheses and testing them, identified all the
possible root causes of the problem, summarize them in a set of hypotheses, prioritize their
analysis, conduct the analysis using a hypothesis map, and synthesize your conclusions.
Analyze the Environment
The objective of environmental analysis is the identification of constraints, which may be spelled
out as either internal or external limitations Components of the Environment:
1. Internal
2. External

Internal Environment
• Refers to organizational activities within a firm that surrounds decision-making.
• Example of internal limitations:
1. Limited funds available for the purchase of equipment
2. Limited training on the part of employees
3. Ill-designed facilities

INTERNAL ENVIRONMENT
Organizational Aspects
like org. structure, policies,
procedures, rules, ability of
management, etc. External Environment
Marketing Aspects
like product strategy.
promotion strategy, etc. Decision
Personnel Aspects
like recruitment practices,
incentive systems, etc. External Environment
Production Aspects like plant
facility layout. inventory
control, etc. Financial Aspects
like liquidity, profitability, etc.

Engineering Firm
• Government
• Labor Unions
• Supplies
• Banks
• Public
• Competitors
• Clients
• Engineers
Develop Viable Alternatives
1. Prepare a list of alternative solutions.
2. Determine the viability of each solution.
3. Revise the list by striking out those which are not viable.

• A problem may be solved by any of the solutions offered. The best among the alternative
solutions must be considered by the management. This is made possible by using a procedure
with the following steps:

Example:
An engineering firm has a problem of increasing its output by 30%. This is the result of a new
agreement between the firm and one of its clients. The list of solutions prepared by the
engineering manager shows the following alternative courses of action:
1. Improve the capacity of the firm by hiring more workers and building additional facilities
2. Secure the services of subcontractors
3. Buy the needed additional output from another firm
4. Stop serving some of the company's customers
5. Delay servicing some clients

Evaluate Alternatives
• After determining the viability of the alternatives and a revised list has been made, an
evaluation of the remaining alternatives is necessary. This is important for making a choice,
Proper evaluation makes choosing the right solution less difficult.
• how the alternatives will be evaluated will depend on the nature of the problem, the
objectives of the firm, and the nature of alternatives presented. Souder suggests that "each
alternative must be analyzed and evaluated in terms of its value cost and risk characteristics*

Make a choice
• Choice-making refers to the process of selecting among alternatives representing
potential solutions to a problem.
• "Particular effort should be made to identity all significant consequences of each
choice*
 • To make the selection process easier, the alternatives can be ranked from best to worst
on the basis of some factors like benefit, cost, or risk.

Implement decision
• Implementation refers to carrying out the decision so that the objectives sought will
be achieved.
• To make implementation effective, a plan must be devised.
• According to Aldag and Stearns, those who will be involved in implementation must
understand and accept the solution.

Evaluate and Adapt Decision Result

• In implementing the decision, the results expected may or may not happen. Il is therefore,
important for the manager to use control and feedback mechanisms to ensure results and
to provide information for future decisions.
• Feedback refers to the process which requires checking at each stage of the process to
assure that the alternatives generated, the criteria used in evaluation, and the solution
selected for implementation are in keeping with the goals and objectives originally
specified.
• Control refers to actions made to ensure that activities or goals, that have been set.

Approaches in Solving Problems

• In decision-making, the engineer manager is faced with problems which may either
be simple or complex. To provide him with some guide, he must be familiar with the
following approaches:
1. Qualitative evaluation
2. Quantitative evaluatio
Qualitative Evaluation
• This term refers to evaluation of alternatives using intuition and subjective
judgement.
• Stevenson states that managers tend to use the qualitative approach when:
1. The problem is fairly simple.
2. The problem is familiar
 3. The costs involved are not great
4. Immediate decisions are needed.

Quantitative Evaluation
• this term refers to the evaluation of alternatives technique in a group classified as rational
and analytical
Quantitative models:
1. inventory models
2. Queuing theory
3. Network models
4. Forecasting
5. Regression Analysis
6. Simulation
7. Linear programming
8. Sampling theory
9. Statistical decision theory

Inventory Models
• Inventory models consist of several types all designed to help the engineer manager make
decisions regarding inventory.
1. Economic order quantity model
Used to calculate the number of items that should be ordered at one time to
minimize the total yearly cost of placing orders and carrying the items in inventory.
2. Production order quantity model
this is an economic order quantity technique applied to production orders.
3. Back-order inventory model
this is an inventory model used for planned shortages.
4. Quantity discount model
an inventory model used to minimize the total cost when quantity discounts are
offered by suppliers.
Queuing theory
• the queuing theory is one that describes how to determine the number of service units
that will minimize both customers waiting time and cost of service.
 • The queuing theory is applicable to companies where waiting lines are a common
situation.

Forecasting
• Forecasting may be defined as "the collection of past and current information to make
predictions about the future*

Regression Analysis
• The regression model is a forecasting method that examines the association between
two or more variables. It uses data from previous periods to predict future events.
• Regression analysis may be simple or multiple depending on the number of
independent variables present. When one independent variable is involved, it is called
simple regression; when two or more independent variables are involved, it is called
multiple regression.
Simulation
• Simulation is a model constructed to represent reality, on which conclusions about real-
life problems can be used.
• It is highly sophisticated tool by means of which the decision maker develops a
mathematical model of the system under consideration.
• Simulation does not guarantee an optimum solution, but it can evaluate the evaluate the
alternatives fed into the process by the decision-maker.
Sampling Theory
• Sampling theory is a quantitative technique where samples of populations are statistically
determined to be used for a number of processes, such as quality control and marketing
research.
• When data gathering is expensive, sampling provides an alternative. Sampling, in etfect,
saves time and money.

Statistical Decision-Theory
• Decision theory refers to the rational way to conceptualize, analyze, and solve problems
in situations involving limited or partial information about the decision environment.
Bayesian Analysis
 • A statistical procedure which endeavors to estimate parameters of an underlying
distribution

Summary:
Decision making is a very important function of an engineer manager. His organization will rise
or fall depending on the outcomes of his decisions, It is therefore, necessary for the engineer
manager to develop skills in decision making. The process of identifying and choosing alternative
courses of action in a manner appropriate to the demands of the situation. is called decision
making, it is done at various management levels and functions, The decision process consists of
various steps, namely: diagnose the problem, analyze environment, articulate problem or
opportunity, develop viable alternatives, make a choice, implement decision, evaluate and adapt
decision rules. There are two approaches in solving problems, namely: qualitative evaluation and
quantitative evaluation. Qualitative evaluation is used for solving fairly simple problems, while
quantitative evaluation is applied to complex one.