UAA Civil Engineering

CE 438 - Design of Engineering Systems

Operations Manual

2008

Contents

• Instructor Information
• Course Objectives
• Course Organization
• Design Groups
• Evaluation Criteria
• Expectations

Instructor Information

Instructor Contact Information: T. Bart Quimby, P.E., Ph.D

Course Objectives

This output of this class will be the following:

• A set of engineering drawings.
• A set of specifications the final design
• A set of engineering calculations sufficient to substantiate the drawings and specifications.
• A design report containing a discussion of the final design, a cost estimate for each of the major components of the project, important construction considerations, etc.
• A public presentation of the final result.

Course Organization

Principal Engineer: The instructor. (Bart Quimby)

His responsibility is to find the client, negotiate the scope of work with the client, provide the facilities and equipment necessary to complete the work, provide supervision to the engineering and support staff, provide the final evaluation of staff performance so as to provide appropriate staff compensation, and to make sure that the firm produces a quality product.

Team Leaders: Students chosen by the Principle Engineer based on past work experience, academic performance, and the needs of the project.

Team Leaders will be given overall responsibility for complete portions of the project (i.e., site design, site component design, soils investigation, water & wastewater design, cost estimating, etc.), represent the needs of their groups at the weekly class meeting, be a member of the project management team, and present the results of their respective groups at the final presentation.

Staff Engineers: All other students.

Staff engineers will be assigned to work under the direction of the team leaders and may be moved between groups as the needs of the project dictate. Staff engineers will perform calculations, develop design drawings & specifications, and other tasks as necessary.

All members of the class are expected to attend all class meetings, submit weekly reports, participate in performance evaluations of their peers, and provide expertise as necessary to complete the project.

Project Teams

First Phase:

For the first month of the project, the class will be divided into four groups.  Each group will have a Team Leader.  Each team will brainstorm concepts to meet the design objective.  A brief report of the results is required for the Feb 15th meeting.  Over the following week, the principle engineer will work with the client to define one or more concepts to be designed over the rest of the semester.

Second Phase:

For the second phase of the project, teams will be formed to complete the design selected by the client.  The following teams will likely be formed:

Project Management Team

The project management team will consist of the team leaders from the other teams. This group will develop a project schedule, keep track of the progress of the project, and make decisions that will ensure timely completion of the project.

General Site Design

This group will finalize the site layout.

Geotechnical and Foundations

This group will be responsible for determining typical site soil conditions, assisting the other teams with soils related design, including the design of foundation systems.

Environmental Assessment, Safety, and Permitting

This group will be responsible for identifying all permits that will be required for the completion of the construction, write an environmental assessment, and identify safety issues. 

Cost Estimating and Specifications

This group will develop a best guess engineering cost estimate for the project (including each of the alternatives) on a weekly basis and coordinate the production of the project specifications.  The cost estimate will be very rough at first and continually refined as the design progresses.  This will be the smallest of the groups.

Each of the above groups will produce an independent report that will be due at the final presentation.  They will also participate in the final presentation.

Evaluation Criteria

Grades in this course will be assigned based on the Instructor's qualitative evaluation of your performance. The instructor will use surveys, your weekly reports, submitted materials, and personal observation to evaluate your performance.

Your performance will be evaluated by ranking your performance in the three areas listed below with an integer score from 0 to 5. Your overall score will be taken as the weighted average of the category scores. Grades will be assigned based on your overall score and the following grade scale

4.00-5.00 A = Outstanding performance (deserves a promotion + raise)

3.00-3.99 B = Great performance (deserves a moderate raise)

2.00-2.99 C = Good performance (keep around)

1.00-1.99 D = Poor performance (should be put on probation)

0.00-0.99 F = Unacceptable performance (should be let go)

Note:  The default grade in the class is a "C".  To do better or worse than this, YOU have to catch the attention of the instructor through your work, weekly submittals, interaction with your colleagues, and performance reviews.

Attitude (20%)

• Works well with other people in the class
• Works well with the instructor and grader
• Willingly assists where needed
• Shows initiative in completing the project

Dependability & Productivity (40%)

• Completes assigned tasks in a timely fashion
• Reports submitted on time
• Attends class meetings
• Devotes appropriate time to the project
• Significant results for the time invested
• Thoughtfully completes performance surveys

Technical Competence (40%)

• Ability to handle technical assignments without undue assistance
• Ability to use tools (i.e. computers, lab equipment, spreadsheets, CAD, etc.)
• Able to communicate technical information (i.e. presentable calculations and reports)

Any behavior that can be classified as unethical or in violation of the Student Code of Conduct (see current university catalog with particular note of the policy on Academic Dishonesty) is grounds for failure of the course.

Expectations

Each student will be required to do the following

1. Submit, via the website, weekly activity reports by 5:00 PM every Thursday.

• This report is to consist of a brief summary (100 words or less) of your activities relative to the project since the last report. The report of your activities will be included in a weekly report and be posted on the class web page every Friday.

2. Submit a weekly time report (by via the class web page).

• Time is to be reported in quarter hour increments
• Your time is to be classified using the activity and group classifications given on the web form. If your time was divided among multiple activities, then make multiple form submissions for the week.

3. Attend and participate in the weekly class meetings.

• If you can not make it to the class meeting, you are to notify the instructor as soon as possible and pass along any information you have that might be relevant to the class meeting. You may be asked to take on additional tasks to make up for absences. It is expected that you will arrive to class meetings on time.

4. Perform assigned tasks during the week.

• This may include meeting with your team and or working on tasks assigned to you in meetings or by supervisory personnel.

5. Participate in four evaluation surveys of your classmates.

• You will be asked to evaluate the performance of your classmates in several areas four times during the semester. The instructor uses this information for identifying personnel problems that need to be dealt with during the course of the semester. These evaluations will not be used directly in grade determination.
• You will be provided with an evaluation form listing all the members of the class. You are to rate each student with a score of 0 to 5 in each of the three major evaluation areas. You may enter "N/A" if you do not have a basis for making an evaluation on a particular class member.

6. Work cooperatively with members of your group and the class.

• This is not a competitive work environment. Your success and the success of the class as a whole are interdependent. Consequently, you are expected to respect the rights and opinions of your classmates, administrative assistant, and instructor so that the project can progress smoothly. You are also expected to be open with your opinions and views in a constructive manner.