Formulating and Planning a Project

Course - Pearson BTEC Level 4 Higher National Certificate in Engineering

Introduction

Project planning refers to the collection of tactful activities which are followed by the management of an organization or individuals to accomplish a defined kind of project without having any deviation either in terms of stipulated quality or deadline or associated deliverables(Amirtash, et al., 2021). The assessment is performed based on a simulated case study in which a global manufacturing company, Tourat Industries, which is expertise in the production of high-quality engineering products or services is facing significant competition in the respective global industry. Hence, for increasing the efficiency and competitiveness of Tourat Industries in the engineering industry of the world, it has been asked to formulate and plan a competitive kind of engineering project, and the project which is proposed in the context is "Smart Hybrid Car".

With the support of the assessment, initially, an overview of the proposed engineering project is described along with highlighting the reason for its selection of an efficient project which is competitive enough to help Tourat Industries in increasing its competitiveness in the targeted industry. Further, the competitive engineering techniques which are implemented in the proposed project to improve its performance are detailed along with highlighting the techniques which will be used to plan the project. Apart from it, potential risks and hazards associated with a smart hybrid project are illustrated along with detailing the factors of safety and tolerances applied within it along with highlighting the impact of relevant legislation of the UK on it.

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Table of Contents

• Introduction
• Overview of the Project and Its Rationale
• Efficiency
• Forecasting and Project Planning Methods
• Project Risks and Hazards
• Engineering Tolerances and Factors of Safety
• Implications of Current and Relevant Legislation and their Effects on the Project Plan Development
• Conclusion
• References
• Appendix

Unit 4 - Managing a Professional Engineering Project

Title - Formulation of a Smart Hybrid Car Project

Learning Outcome 1: Formulate and plan a project that will provide a solution to an identified engineering problem.

Your line manager has advised that you are to deliver a professional engineering project, therefore your assignment will need to address a range of project topics in addition to engineering design.

Select an appropriate engineering-based project and formulate and develop a professional project plan.

You may carry out a feasibility study to help choose and to justify your final project selection from these options, being sure to acknowledge the core theme of safety throughout.

Overview of the Project and Its Rationale

The project which is formulated and proposed to the management of Tourat Industries for regaining and maintaining its competence in the engineering industry of the targeted market is "Smart Hybrid Car".

As per the proposed project, it is planned to manufacture an AI (Artificial Intelligence) enabled car which might be efficient in traffic and road conditions with more than 99 % accuracy so that appropriate driving and safety-related decisions might be taken in advance. In the current global environment, the demand for conventional sources of energy is increased by more than 60 % in comparison to previous decades due to which it is not cost-efficient for Tourat Industries to produce a car based on traditional resources as they are more costly(Statista, 2023). Hence, for having an edge over rivals, it is proposed to develop a smart car that can be driven using both conventional sources of energy like petrol or diesel and solar energy efficiently so that dependency on natural resources might be limited to make the surrounding environment sustainable. The competitive features which are available within the proposed smart hybrid car are illustrated as follows-

Usage of Solar Energy as a Primary Source of Fuel and Petrol or Diesel as a Secondary Source of Energy

For limiting the emission of carbon dioxide, it is proposed to develop a smart hybrid car that might automatically adjust its energy consumption-related mode based on the availability of a source of energy so that optimum use of conventional resources might be performed(Yao, et al., 2018). Apart from it, the smart hybrid car is efficient in conversing around 80 to 90 % of the total 1000 watts per square meter and this efficiency of sun ray absorption and conversion is constant in all weather conditions whether that is cloudy or rainy season with sunray.

Auto Pilot and Accurate Road Blockage Sensor System
The proposed smart hybrid car is efficient in driving itself if it is set on auto-pilot mode and this efficiency is up to 100 % safe so that it might prove its competitiveness on all kinds of roads and regions effectively. Apart from it, the smart hybrid car is intelligent enough to alert the driver about the change in road lane or smoothness of the road with more than 99 % accuracy so that corrective and informed decisions might be taken by drivers in advance to curb any accident.

The reason behind the selection of the smart hybrid car project is that it will not only help Tourat Industries in increasing its brand image in the global automobile industry but it will also assist the global population to meet their vehicle-related needs without affecting the surrounding environment(Senthilnathan, et al., 2017). Apart from it, using the smart hybrid car project, the management of Tourat Industries will be successful in creating a sustainable brand image from the perspective of its targeted customers and this will eventually assist in having an edge over rivals in terms of potential customers' footfall and market share.

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Question: Define what this means and provide evidence of research and engineering techniques that can be im- plemented to improve product or service performance in relation to your project.

Efficiency

Solution: Efficiency refers to the capability of an organization or product or machine to accomplish its pre-determined objective or functionality in minimum time and cost without creating any adverse impact on either associated stakeholders or the surrounding environment(Wilson, et al., 2018). The first and foremost engineering technique which can be used to increase the efficiency of the proposed smart hybrid car is photovoltaic engineering as it will help in augmenting the solar ray conversion efficiency of the product and this will eventually assist in augmenting its fuel efficiency.

Using photovoltaic engineering, it will become easy to build photovoltaic cells within the internal and external body of the smart hybrid car and this panel will help in converting the solar power into electricity which can be efficiently stored within the batteries inserted within it. For increasing the absorption and conversion ratio of the solar panels attached to the smart hybrid car will be made of a strategic combination of an alloy of nitrogen gas, indium, and gallium along as well as silicon as their retentive trait will help the maximum light energy from the rays of the sun. the energy which will be retained after the light energy absorption will be released in free-of electrons to the storage sections made of nickel and lithium(Bose, 2017). The strategic usage of solar panels and lithium batteries along with the photovoltaic engineering technique will help in increasing the sun ray absorption, conversion, and overall fuel efficiency of the smart hybrid car.

Other engineering technique that can be used for augmenting the cost and safety-related efficiency of the proposed smart hybrid car is artificial intelligence, machine learning, and IoT (Internet other Things). With the strategic implementation of machine learning and AI technique, it will become easy to integrate the functionality of the engine with the real-time driving situation of the smart hybrid car and this will eventually assist in automatically switching on and off the engine in case of the idle situation(Dabbaghjamanesh, et al., 2020). It means that the tactful implementation of machine learning and AI-related engineering technique will help in reducing the fuel consumption ratio of the smart hybrid car with higher precision and this will eventually help customers to have cost-efficient driving. Further, it is mostly seen in the automobile industry, customers have to monitor the cooling, voice, and glass clearing-related system as per the situation due to which they spend more than necessary electrical and fuel in meeting their needs. With the implementation of AI technology in the internal mechanical functionality of the smart hybrid car, it will be easy for customers to get their mechanical functions like A.C. (Air conditioning) and lighting adjusted as per real-time situations and this will eventually help in saving its fuel.

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Question: Define the techniques which you have considered and used within your project.

Forecasting and Project Planning Methods

Solution: Project planning method refers to the technique which is used by an entity or individual to accomplish and manage a defined kind of operational activity or project so that determined financial and non-financial objectives might be met without any variation in terms of quality, cost, and associated deliverables(Siegel, 2019). The technique which is used to plan, manage and accomplish the smart hybrid car development project is the agile project management method as it will help in accomplishing the project as per the determined need of Tourat Industries without any further deadline delay. Agile is an advanced project management technique with the support of which a determined kind of project is developed and accomplished by iterating the process of testing, development, and modification periodically with the involvement of all involved stakeholders(Andrei, et al., 2019). The rationale behind the adoption of the agile technique for the development of the smart hybrid car is that it will assist in developing its different mechanical and technical features by testing respective efficiency from the perspective of Tourat Industries and this will eventually help in augmenting its competence(Dima & Maassen, 2018). Another technique that is used within the proposed smart car hybrid car project is the Gantt chart as it has helped in forecasting the activities which will be needed to perform at different phases to get the project accomplished on time without any variation in terms determined quality metric. Gantt chart is an innovative project management equipment with the support of which activities necessary for the accomplishment of a project are visually presented in bar chart format along with respective deadlines (Sharon & Dori, 2017). Based on the technical and mechanical functionalities needed for the development of the smart hybrid car project, its Gantt chart is prepared as follows in tabular format-

On the evaluation of the Gantt chart, it is found that the development of the smart hybrid car project is scheduled to be accomplished in 143 days which will start on 5th March and it will last on 25th July 2023 if all things including financial and non-financial estimation go well. The activities which are supposed to be executed during the accomplishment of the smart hybrid car project are illustrated as follows in tabular form along with sub-phases and respective duration.

The benefit of the Gantt chart is that it has helped in forecasting how much time will be needed for during the designing, production, testing, and delivery of the smart car hybrid project and this has eventually assisted in taking corrective measures to get the project accomplished successfully(Junior., et al., 2021).

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Question: Define those which you have encountered and are relevant to your project and discuss the practical methods and techniques that you have used to mitigate such risks.

Project Risks and Hazards

Solution: Project risk management is an important managerial approach in which potential financial, technical, and non-financial risk associated with a project or operational activity is tactfully identified and managed using an appropriate mitigation strategy(Muriana & Vizzini, 2017). The potential risk which is relevant to the smart hybrid car development project is identified as follows along with discussing mitigation methods that are used to mitigate the adverse impact of the risk-
S. No Name of Risk Detail of the Risk Probability of the Risk Mitigation Strategy

1 Shortage of Fund In case of inappropriate forecasting of the requirement of expenses in future production, the fund shortage-related risk might be faced. Medium Framing budget based on historical consumption trends and future tendency

2 Hike in Procurement Cost of raw material Surge in the inflation rate might increase the cost of raw material-related risk. High Cost agreement with suppliers for the entire duration of the project

3 Surge in Borrowing Rate The hike in the inflation rate might cause banks or lenders to increase borrowing rates. High Fixed interest rate agreement with lenders for the fiscal period

4 Delay in Supply of Necessary Raw Material Inappropriate planning of supply and logistics might create the risk of idle hours. Low Implementation of IoT in logistics to track and manage work accordingly

5 Failure of Production machines The absence of periodic check-ups of machines might create a risk. Low Periodic checking of each machine

6 Fire Breakout or Health Casualty The absence of proper guidelines about the usage of the machine and critical electric items might create a safety risk. Medium Periodic and appropriate safety guide to workers along with provision for immediate health amenities

Question: Explain where these have been considered and applied within your project.

Engineering Tolerances and Factors of Safety

Solution: Engineering tolerance refers to the range between which the value of a performance metric can vary during the execution or accomplishment of a project and its application plays a significant part in limiting the possibility of any substantial variation in the overall quality of a project(Wani, et al., 2020). The primary place where the concept of engineering tolerance has been applied during the accomplishment of the smart hybrid car project is the deployment of photovoltaic cells and solar panels in the car as this helped in limiting the absorption and conversion rate of sun rays within acceptable limits. For example, the tolerance range of sun ray absorption and conversion capability of the solar panel used in the smart hybrid car was kept at 90±5 where the lower limit is 85 % and the upper limit is 95 %. Apart from it, the concept of engineering tolerance is used in the development of the autopilot feature within the smart hybrid car project, and as this has helped in maintaining the accuracy of the machine learning used for predicting upcoming roadblocks with an accuracy range of 98±2. The factors of safety which are considered during the development of the smart hybrid car project include the accuracy level of the machine learning model to ensure higher accuracy of autopilot, sensor receipt, and fast safety process beginning. Apart from it, the connectivity of electric wires installed within the smart hybrid car is used as a factor of safety so that any fire-related situation might not be faced by customers during driving due to the usage of hybrid mode.

Question: Explain those which are relevant to your industry and your project.

Implications of Current and Relevant Legislation and their Effects on the Project Plan Development
As per the new Co2 emission law or legislation of the UK, any petrol or diesel, or hybrid car is not allowed to produce more than 95 gm of carbon dioxide per km and if this is found financial, the license revoking and imprisonment-related situation might be faced by the company as per the severity of the violation(UK Gov, 2023). The carbon emission-related regulation of the UK is relevant to the smart hybrid car development project as petrol is supposed to be used as an alternate source of fuel within the car and this will emit carbon dioxide. With the availability of CO2 emission-related regulation, extra capital is supposed to be invested in R&D so that carbon emission-related limits might be followed while delivering it to the customers.

Conclusion
It is concluded that project planning plays a significant role in managing the overall financial and non-financial resources of a project so that it might be accomplished on time without raising any resource shortage and quality deviation-related risk. It is analyzed that with the development and launching of a smart hybrid car project, it will become easy for the management of Tourat Industries to meet the rising cost-efficient car driving needs of its customers in an innovative style and this will eventually augment its market share. Apart from it, with the strategic usage of an agile and photovoltaic technique of engineering, the efficiency of the proposed smart hybrid car project can be increased in terms of cost and quality and this will eventually assist Tourat Industries to have an edge over rivals in the engineering industry.

FAQs: Formulate and Plan a Project for an Engineering Problem

1. What kind of engineering problems can be addressed in this project?
2. What are some key steps to formulating my project?
3. What are essential elements of a project plan?
4. How can I ensure my project is feasible and sustainable?
5. What makes a successful project in this assignment?
6. Where can I find additional help and resources?

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