CHAPTER 4 Engineering Communication © 2011 Cengage Learning Engineering. All Rights Reserved.

Engineering – An Exciting Profession Introduction to engineering profession Preparing for an engineering career Introduction to engineering design Engineering communication Ethics © 2011 Cengage Learning Engineering. All Rights Reserved.

Outline In this chapter we will Discuss problem solving skills Show how you should present your engineering work Introduce you to Microsoft PowerPoint—a tool that is used commonly to give an attractive and effective presentation © 2011 Cengage Learning Engineering. All Rights Reserved.

Objectives The objectives of this chapter are to Introduce basic steps in engineering problem solving Introduce various forms of engineering written communication Homework presentations Progress reports Technical reports Lab reports Introduce oral and engineering graphical communication © 2011 Cengage Learning Engineering. All Rights Reserved.

Why Is Communication Important to an Engineer? As an engineering students you need to develop good written and oral communication skills. As an engineering student and later as an engineer you need to know how to express your thoughts present a concept for a product or a service present an engineering analysis of a problem and its solution, or show your findings from an experimental work © 2011 Cengage Learning Engineering. All Rights Reserved.

Why Is Communication Important to an Engineer? (continued) You need to know how to communicate design ideas by means of engineering drawings or computer aided modeling techniques. Most engineers are required to write reports that may be detailed and lengthy may contain charts, graphs, and engineering drawings, or may be brief and in the forms of progress reports, memorandum, or executive summary © 2011 Cengage Learning Engineering. All Rights Reserved.

Examples of Written Communication Categories Homework Weekly progress reports Technical reports Lab reports Design project reports © 2011 Cengage Learning Engineering. All Rights Reserved.

Problem Solving – 4 Basic Steps Defining the problem Simplifying the problem Performing the solution or analysis Verifying the results © 2011 Cengage Learning Engineering. All Rights Reserved.

Problem Solving Step 1: Defining the problem Understand the problem what is being asked what is known what is to be determined © 2011 Cengage Learning Engineering. All Rights Reserved.

Problem Solving Step 2: Simplifying the problem Make appropriate assumptions Understanding the fundamental concepts and physical laws as well as when and where to apply them and their limitations will benefit you in making the correct assumptions © 2011 Cengage Learning Engineering. All Rights Reserved.

Problem Solving Step 3: Performing the solution or analysis Select appropriate model(s) You may need to apply Mathematical concepts Physical laws Engineering fundamentals Show appropriate units You may need to show your results in numerical or parametric forms © 2011 Cengage Learning Engineering. All Rights Reserved.

Problem Solving Step 4: Verifying the results Does the answer make sense? How would you know your answer is correct? Should you ask your professor? Should you check the back of your textbook to match answers You should know the range of answers You should know other ways to analyze the problem You should know how to simplify or approximate the problem for a “ball park” answer © 2011 Cengage Learning Engineering. All Rights Reserved.

Homework Presentation All homework presentation should include: Given: Problem statement Extracted information Find: What is to be determined? Solution Appropriate model(s) diagrams Step by step calculations Answers with proper units highlighted © 2011 Cengage Learning Engineering. All Rights Reserved.

An Example of Engineering Problem Presentation © 2011 Cengage Learning Engineering. All Rights Reserved.

An Example of Engineering Homework Presentation (continued) © 2011 Cengage Learning Engineering. All Rights Reserved.

Progress Report A short form of communication to others in an organization or to the sponsors of a project Work completed so far Work expected to be completed during the next reporting period Any problems that may have come up, and the recommended solutions © 2011 Cengage Learning Engineering. All Rights Reserved.

Executive Summary A brief and concise form of communication to top management To convey the findings of a study or proposal Typically few pages long References may be made to more comprehensive reports © 2011 Cengage Learning Engineering. All Rights Reserved.

An example of a memo format Short Memos Short memos are used to convey information in a brief way to interested individuals An example of a memo format © 2011 Cengage Learning Engineering. All Rights Reserved.

Examples of Technical and Design Report Contents Technical Report Title Abstract Objectives Theory & analysis Apparatus & experimental procedures Data & results Design Report Title Executive summary Design objectives Design assumptions, limitations & specifications Design summary Design drawings © 2011 Cengage Learning Engineering. All Rights Reserved.

Examples of Technical and Design Report Contents (continued) Technical Report Discussion of results Conclusions & recommendations References Appendix Design Report Alternative designs Economic analysis Conclusions & recommendations References Appendix © 2011 Cengage Learning Engineering. All Rights Reserved.

Technical Report – Abstract The most important section in any report Complete and concise statements including Objectives Procedures Results Conclusions and recommendations The last section to write © 2011 Cengage Learning Engineering. All Rights Reserved.

Technical Report – Objectives State what is to be investigated List your objectives explicitly, for example, 1. , 2., 3., . . . . © 2011 Cengage Learning Engineering. All Rights Reserved.

Technical Report – Theory and Analysis To state pertinent principles, laws, and equations (equations should be numbered) To present analytical models used To define unfamiliar terms and symbols To list important assumptions © 2011 Cengage Learning Engineering. All Rights Reserved.

Technical Report – Apparatus and Experimental Procedures To present the list of apparatus and instrumentation used (include instrument range, accuracy, and ID number) To describe how you performed the experiment The experimental procedure should be itemized Include schematic diagram of the experimental setup © 2011 Cengage Learning Engineering. All Rights Reserved.

Technical Report – Data and Results Present the results of the experiment in tabular or graphical forms The tables and graphs must include titles, column or row headings, units, axis labels, and data points clearly marked All figures and tables must be numbered and have descriptive titles All figure numbers and titles should be placed below the figures. All table numbers and titles should be placed above the tables. © 2011 Cengage Learning Engineering. All Rights Reserved.

Technical Report – Discussion of the Results Emphasize and Explain to the reader the important results of the experiment. When applicable, compare experimental results with theoretical calculations © 2011 Cengage Learning Engineering. All Rights Reserved.

Technical Report – Conclusions and Recommendations Compare your objectives with your experimental results Support your conclusions with appropriate reference materials State recommendations based on the conclusions © 2011 Cengage Learning Engineering. All Rights Reserved.

Technical Report – References Books Author, title, publisher, place of publication, date (year), pages Articles Author, “title of article,” name of journal, volume number, issue number, year, pages Internet materials Author, title, date, URL address © 2011 Cengage Learning Engineering. All Rights Reserved.

Technical Report – Appendix Original data sheets Sample calculations Supplementary notes © 2011 Cengage Learning Engineering. All Rights Reserved.

An Example of Lab Report Cover Sheet © 2011 Cengage Learning Engineering. All Rights Reserved.

Oral Presentations Oral presentation Keep the audience’s attention Maintain eye contact with the audience Use humor Use good visual aides If possible get the audience involved Avoid using terminology or phrases that may be unfamiliar to the majority of listeners © 2011 Cengage Learning Engineering. All Rights Reserved.

Oral Presentations (continued) Length of Presentation Varies depending on the scope of the talk Usually 20 – 30 minutes Prepare and rehearse your presentation Ask a friend to critique your presentation Practice, practice, practice! © 2011 Cengage Learning Engineering. All Rights Reserved.

Visual Aides PowerPoint Use colorful charts, graphs, & tables Use appropriate contrast Use large fonts Don’t overcrowded the “slide” Use short phrases instead of paragraphs If available, use models and prototypes If possible, use video clips and animations © 2011 Cengage Learning Engineering. All Rights Reserved.

An Example of Animation mechanical work is defined as the component of the force that moves the object times the distance the object moves more in physics, mechanics of materials, structural analysis & others work = F x d unit: N-m, j, lb-ft…. distance, d force © 2011 Cengage Learning Engineering. All Rights Reserved.

Engineering Graphical Communication More in chapter 16 Engineers used engineering drawings to convey their ideas and design information about products Engineering drawings portray vital information such as shape of the product, its size, type of material used and assembly steps Machinists use the information on the engineering drawings to make the parts © 2011 Cengage Learning Engineering. All Rights Reserved.

Examples of Engineering Drawings Assembly crawing of corkscrew © 2011 Cengage Learning Engineering. All Rights Reserved.

Examples of Engineering Drawings (continued) Common manufactured metal beam connectors © 2011 Cengage Learning Engineering. All Rights Reserved.

Examples of Engineering Drawings (continued) Examples of drawings used in electrical and electronic engineering © 2011 Cengage Learning Engineering. All Rights Reserved.

Summary You should know the basic steps involved in the solution of engineering problems. You should realize that you must find your own ways to verify your solutions to a problem. You should realize that it is very important for engineers to know how to communicate well with others both orally and in written form. You should be familiar with various ways of giving an engineering presentation. © 2011 Cengage Learning Engineering. All Rights Reserved.