INTRODUCTION TO ENGINEERING MANAGEMENT

What is Engineering? allocation, decision-making, risk

management, quality assurance, and
• The profession in which a innovation within an engineering
knowledge of the mathematical and context. The key principles include:
natural science gained by study,
experience, and practice is - Leadership
applied with judgement to develop - Project Management
ways to utilize, economically, - Resource Allocation
the materials and forces of - Innovation
nature for the benefit of - Quality Assurance
mankind.
Engineering Principles
What is Management?
Engineering principles refer to the
• A set of activities (including fundamental concepts and guidelines
planning and decision-making, that govern the practice of
organizing, leading and control) engineering. These principles are the
directed at an organization’s basic rules and standards that
resource (human, financial, engineers follow when designing,
physical, and informational) with developing, and implementing various
the aim of achieving systems, structures, or processes. Some
organizational goals in an key engineering principles include:
efficient and effective manner.
- Design: Engineers follow
Engineering Management principles of design to create
solutions that meet specific
• Engineering management is a
requirements, are functional,
specialized form of management
reliable, and cost effective.
required to successfully lead
- Analysis: Engineers use
engineering or technical
mathematical and scientific
personnel and projects and
principles to analyze and
applies to either functional
management or project management, evaluate the performance, safety,
Engineering managers use their and feasibility of designs.
training and experience to coach, - Sustainability: Engineers
mentor, and motivate technical consider environmental, social,
professionals. and economic factors to ensure
that projects are sustainable and
• Engineering management is
have minimal impact on the
concerned with the direct
planet.
supervision of engineers and the
management functions (planning, - Safety: Engineers prioritize
organizing, leading, and safety in all designs to protect
controlling) in a technological the public, workers, and the
organization. environment from potential
hazards.
• Prepare engineers to become
- Optimization: Engineers strive to
effective leaders in meeting the
optimize designs and processes to
challenges in this new
achieve the best possible
millennium.
performance, efficiency, and cost
Principles of Engineering Management effectiveness.
- Ethical Considerations: Engineers
Engineering management principles are adhere to ethical principles to
based on integrating engineering ensure that their work benefit
principles with management practices to society, respects diversity, and
effectively lead engineering teams and upholds professional integrity.
projects. These principles focus on
strategic planning, resource
 INTRODUCTION TO ENGINEERING MANAGEMENT

These engineering principles guide • Ready engineers for managerial

engineers in their decision making, positions (managerial functions,
problem solving, and innovation efforts success factors, leadership talents,
to create solutions that improve the business/management perspectives,
world around us. expectations, contributions)
Major Premises Dual Aims
• Technology and business savvy • Make engineers more effective as
represents a very powerful technical contributors (understand
combination of great demand in managerial points of view, effect
society. teams coordination, drive to add
• Market environment is rapidly value)
evolving (changing marketplace • Ready engineers for managerial
complexities, web-based positions (success factors,
technologies, globalization). leadership talents,
• Leaders with understanding of business/management perspectives)
technology and management • Make managers more effective in
perspectives are needed. decisions involving technologies
• Engineers with proper management (understand engineering language,
and leadership training have limitations and possibilities)
great opportunities to add value. • Ready managers for contributing
effectively in the management of a
Typical Engineering Activities technology-critical organisation.
• Design/development of Engineering Management Functions
products/processes
• Project engineering/management • Planning (forecasting, setting
objectives, action planning,
• Value engineering and analysis
administering policies,
• Technology development and establishing procedure)
applied R&D (laboratory, field) • Organizing (selecting
• Production/manufacturing and organizational structure,
construction delegating, establishing working
• Customer service relationship)
Work of an Engineer As Technical • Leading (deciding, communicating,
Contributor motivating, selecting/developing
people)
• Understand objectives of tasks • Controlling (setting performance
specified standards,
• Develop action plan for evaluating/documenting/correcting
implementation performance)
• Define standards (performance Skills for Technical Managers
metrics)
• Select methodology/techniques 1. Leadership Skills
• Implement task with proper efforts 2. Technical Skills
• Generate results and secure value 3. Administrative Skills
• Report findings (impact, lessons Learnable Skills
Aims • Management knowledge and skills
• Make engineers more effective as (operational, strategic,
technical contributors (understand financial/accounting, interpersonal
managerial points of view, effect skills/communications, etc.)
teams coordination, drive to add • Decision making skills/ tools (what-
value) if analysis, risk analysis, problem
 INTRODUCTION TO ENGINEERING MANAGEMENT

solving, root cause analysis, a. The problem is not intuitive:

decision tree, optimization, etc.) beyond our cognitive
• Planning capabilities 
– Project Scheduling 3. High Penalty for Mistakes
– Project Budgeting and Selection a. A small mistake could lead to
• Organising serious consequences
– Strategic decision-making
– Game theory Challenges In the New Millennium
• Leading 1. Challenges - Inside
– Incentives and Productivity ➢ Implement projects/programs; manage
(Principal-agent theory) people, technologies, and resources
• Controlling to add value; develop new product
– Project Management features to enhance company
– Performance evaluation competitiveness; define, control and
reduce costs to improve
Heuristic
profitability; initiate technology
➢ A technique to solve a problem with projects to sustain company
a “good” but not necessarily position.
“optimal” solution. 2. Challenges - Outside
➢ Based on experiences, ➢ Keep abreast of emerging
hunches/instincts, and judgment. technologies and apply them to
strengthen company’s core
Analytical competencies; apply web-based tools
to enhance operations and foster
➢ Formulate the decision model for the customer relations; identify best
problem. practices to improve engineering
➢ Use of computer and other tools to operations and surpass them; create
conduct an extensive and thorough supply chain networks to derive
analysis to produce an “optimal” speed, quality and cost benefits.
solution. 3. Challenges - Present
When Do Heuristics Work Well? ➢ Do things right to keep company
operating smoothly; use Balanced
1. Optimal answers are often obvious Scorecard to monitor non-financial
➢ Draw on life experience to come and financial performance; control
up with an answers. costs and eliminate wastes to attain
2. Task environments are forgiving of profitability in the short-run.
mistakes 4. Challenges - Future
➢ A wide range of ➢ Seek e-transformation opportunities
behaviors/solutions are to create company profitability in
optimal or near-optimal the long-run; introduce new
3. One can learn by trial and error generation products timely; create
➢ Reinforcement learning: be vision for the future related to
more likely to repeat actions technologies; Define what should be
that generate good results and done for technology-based success in
less likely to repeat acts that the future.
produce bad ones. 5. Challenges - Local
➢ Utilize resources to best achieve
When Do Heuristics Fail Us?
company’s objectives; take ethical
1. Ambiguity of Feedback and lawful actions while taking into
a. The trial and error method does account local conditions; maintain
not work: the decision is not and nurture local professional
repeated or feedback is networks; share lessons gained with
ambiguous  people at other company sites.
2. Complexity of Decision 6. Challenges - Global
 INTRODUCTION TO ENGINEERING MANAGEMENT

➢ Apply location-based resources to

realize global economies of scale
and scope for achieving cost and
technology advantages; develop
global professional networks;
acquire a global mindset; exercise
leadership roles in international
settings.
Tips for Engineering Managers:
➢ Demonstrate Technical Competence &
Innovative capabilities
➢ Brush Up Communications skills (ask,
listen, write and talk)
➢ Show unfailing reliability to induce
trust and confidence
➢ Be Proactive in seeking challenging
tasks
➢ Exhibit readiness for assuming
larger responsibilities (take
courses, practice skills, gain
experience