Engineering management knowledge is necessary for engineering managers to successfully achieve their project goals. For instance, nowadays many different engineers who have different knowledge are working together and they may find it is difficult for them to find a proper way to communicate with each other efficiently.
Each member who is in an engineering team may have his or her own different professional knowledge so engineering managers with their knowledge may help the team members to cooperate and communicate efficiently.And engineering managers can help organizations with the project which includes project management, cost control, safety control and so on. Experienced engineering managers could lead a company to the right way and make more profits for a company. Engineering manager need to master a lot of engineering concepts and theories such as project management, project cost management, project quality management, flexibility, and safety management. What Do Engineering Managers Do?Engineering managers will face both engineering and business problems in their career, so they need to experience and be trained in both business and engineering field.
Mostly, engineering managers administrate engineers who are driven by non-entrepreneurial thoughts, and therefore need the accessory community skills to guide, teach and motivate technical professionals ("Engineering Management', n. D. ). Because an engineering manager needs to solve problems which are not just in engineering field, it will be a very challenging job to work as an engineering manager.For instance, an engineering manager must learn to manage the extra stress which from many different departments and personnel issues that associate with organizing a business.
It is hard to develop management skills immediately, and it needs training and experience to truly acquire management skills (Matt, n. D. ). Engineering managers have to learn a lot of different knowledge in different area, it is their job to make sure all the people can cooperate efficiently. An engineering manager should know how to lead a team or a company to the right Way, making goads, and then manage the process after goals are determined.
Wales (2000) wrote that an association, like an engineering consulting firm, a manufacturing company, an academic department or college, or a government agency which is in unity, vitality, and flexibility should notice three different, but connected, continuing purposes: managing, leading, and producing. They also can be looked as the three Ad's: directing, deciding, and doing. These three different but supplementary efforts are very important to lead a company to success.Managing concentrates on directing what and when a person should do, and when a company is in a directing or managing mode, a lot of knowledge and skills such as communication skills, authorization, making goals, monitoring and getting resources and distribution.
Leading means managers should decide which way an association should go and what should be done. There are many helpful skills and knowledge for the leader like integrity and seditiousness, vision, target setting and straightening, constant learning, patience for vagueness, courage, calmness in crises, and creativity.Producing means doing what should be done after the goal is decided. Teamwork, technical ability, concentration, persistence are supportive knowledge and skills when we are producing (as cited in Wales, 2004, p.
3). If an engineer learns engineering management, he or she will have an advantage in his or her engineering field. Especially in engineers' early part of their careers, engineers who access to engineering management education may have nominative superiority in the employment market when comparing to the engineers who do not have the business comprehensive skills and qualifications (Immortal, 201 1).The knowledge which managing, leading, and producing requires plays a very important role to an engineering manager, so it is necessary for engineering managers to keep learning engineering management knowledge to improve their skills. Project Management In a company, engineers need to achieve project targets, so hoot manage a project is a very important job for an engineering manager and it ay be a direct result of how an engineering manager manages it. Project management can be defined as gaining, designing, planning, structuring, and managing projects.
First of all, we should know what project means clearly, both for ourselves and our client, to make sure that we have the appropriate team for the work. In other word, we should understand the client's targets, a suitable name of the project, which is the client entity, and the team is good enough to do the work, stakeholders and consultants, and desire for project results. Then the next is making a specific initial project range which contains opposition, arrange steps, and assign tasks which should be done, a time- table, money control, and deliverables.It is better to negotiate about the range of work before the fee is decided if the project is not very simple because it is easier to determine the fee than after that. Work begins after the fee negotiation is finished, the agreement is signed, and a specified work project is made. (Burgeon, 2009).
Project management is an important part of engineering management, which is designed to accomplish the project goals systematically. Project Cost Management Each project will have a cost, and the cost of a project will determine whether the project will have profit or not.In understanding the differences between cost and project cost management, cost is typically gauged in a currency like dollars that can achieve goals or to exchange something, such as personnel, finances, and materials. On the other hand, project management is a necessary step to finish a project within a confined budget.
It is very important to a manager about project cost management. For instance, because of the cancellation of technical projects, the United States wastes ore than $200 billion in the mid-sass and compared to meeting the cost targets the actual cost is over 189% of the initial estimates (Leasers & Leasers, 2007).There are some steps such as cost estimating cost budgeting, and cost control a manager need to know about project cost management. Cost Estimating Cost estimating knowledge will help managers to evaluate how much money they will spend in a project. Project managers need to make a cost management plan that shows how to distribute the cost. Rough order of magnitude (ROOM), budgetary, and definitive are three techniques that can alp project managers making cost estimates.
The table blow may help managers to decide what kind of method should be used in the progress of a project. (Leasers & Leasers, 2007) It is complicate and demands considerable number of works when a manager makes cost estimates if it is a large project. Because managers who are lack Of experience may have a bias to underestimation, outside specialists should inspect the estimates and ask questions to ensure that they do not bias the estimates. A lot of companies' upper management needs a number for a tender no matter if the final cost estimate is real cost or not.There may be some companies underestimate the costs so they can get a contract easily.
Project managers should discuss with project funded to make the actual cost estimates (Leasers ; Leasers, 2007). Cost estimating can help to accomplish the projects within the estimated cost to make sure an organization has enough money to accomplish their goals. Cost Budgeting An engineering manager need to know how to spend money, such as how to allocate the project money to make sure the money is not wasted.With the cost budget knowledge a manager need to know how to distribute the estimate of project cost to personal work actions and giving a cost baseline.
Most associations have exploited a normalized system which can be used in developing a project budget. Bias from the system may cause it hard to comprehend, estimate, and compare the budget request with competing applications. Reasons should be included in the budget saying how and why money in each budget category will be used.The reasons may not be very detailed, but engineering managers need to present fundamental clearly (Leasers ; Leasers, 2007).
Engineering managers need to learn cost budget to now how to use the money, such as how to distribute the money to the right categories and need to explain why they distribute in that way. Cost Control Every company needs to control their cost because cost control will directly connect to their companies' profit. Appropriate control of the cost will save a lot of money for a company. Controlling stage of the project is the time that cost control need to be implemented.
Cost control means project managers need to control "cost-effectiveness" and to make sure that only suitable project modifications are contained in any essential modification of the "cost OTTOMH line. " If the schedule or changes will be deferred in the pattern, the stakeholders need to be informed by the project managers and then get "allowed" changes to the project which will influence costs. Project managers can use EVA (earned value analysis) to do cost control. EVA is an industry standard method that combines range, time, and cost data.A project manager can be aware how much the project will achieve its targets: range, time, and the cost by giving the initial planned bottom line cost and approved changes (Leasers & Leasers, 2007). If a company wants to be profitable, cost intro is the essential part which a company must pay attention to.
Project Quality Management Quality management contains quality planning, quality control, and quality improving, all of the steps are necessary for project quality. During the planning, implementation, and control stages of project management project quality management processes happens.At the planning phase stage the quality planning process happens, ascertain which quality standards are related to the project and how to content them. During the execution phase the quality guarantee will be done to estimate the general project performance. And the practicable quality standards should be satisfied while recognizing the ways to develop general quality. During the controlling phase quality control is completed by inspecting detailed project outcomes to make sure that they will keep quality standards (Leasers & Leasers, 2007).
The following three sections is the explanation of quality planning, quality control, and quality improving. Quality Planning Quality planning is to help the project manager plan quality management activities for the project. In the very early phases, the project managers should be aware of the importance of the quality of a product design and that trait contribute to reaching the customers demands. Project teams often design tests which can help them to comprehend which variables have the most effect on the overall result of a process during the viability stage.The project manager should know that quality may be affected by many ranges of aspects of projects such as dependability, serviceability, system outputs, performance, features, and functionality (Leasers & Leasers, 2007).
In the quality planning phase, managers need to know what can affect project quality so they will not make inaccurate plans. Quality Control In quality control phase engineering managers need to ensure there will be qualified outcomes. To make sure to achieve quality standards quality control substantially demands verifying or testing a particular product.Making an approval decision on whether the product achieved demand condition and normal or not is an important part of the primary outputs of quality control. When the product cannot achieve quality standards, the product must be discarded and reworked, and the production process must be rechecked and may need to modification (Leasers & Leasers, 2007).
Quality control needs reject managers to inspect the finished work to ensure the work is qualified. Improving Project Quality An engineering manager can always improve the quality of the project, offering constant quality improvement is an aim of quality guarantee.To develop the quality of projects a variety of proposals have been presented which contains program managers and organizational leadership should comprehend the cost of quality, and promote the quality surroundings and mental condition. The proposals contain concentrating on workplace factors and organizational impacts which may influence product quality.
Moreover, to improve product quality, project managers can use some kind of ripeness model (Leasers & Leasers, 2007). Constantly improving a project's quality will have continuous competitive advantage.Flexibility Marketplace is changing every day, the ability to change is very important in nowadays. Company managers need to pay attention to the changing consumer requirements and their evenly enterprising contestants. So, a flexible Structure and adaptability to the exterior environment is very important to a company.
Association goals must be focused on achieving the general target of the company. Everyone in the association must put considerable endeavors to improve the company (Morrison ; Ericson, 2003).When a company shows its flexibility for change, customers may trust this company more than other companies. Flexibility can also lead a company strive through many difficulties. Safety Management Safety management is extremely important in engineering companies, appropriate safety management may prevent a lot of unnecessary accidents.
Dillon wrote Safety is an acknowledged management responsibility and each individual has responsibility for his/her own safety in addition to that of there whom his/her actions may affect one way or the other.In situations where work is being accomplished through the organization of people, the safety of those people becomes the responsibility of the line of authority or management. Thus, the fundamental objective of safety management is to eradicate human anguish and suffering and to achieve economy of operations in an effective manner (2003, p. 57) So, with the knowledge of safety management companies can increase the safety factor of their employees. Engineering Management is a particular form of management which is required to effectively lead people and projects.Engineering management knowledge can be used in many circumstances like cooperating different people with different knowledge and coordinate different departments.
Engineering managers need to learn both engineering knowledge and management skills; they can use engineering management knowledge to solve a lot of problems which may combine business, personnel, and engineering issues. With the knowledge of project management, engineering managers know which way they need to go and what should be done to solve the problems which they may going to face, and tit the cost management skills companies can control their costs and expand their profits.Project quality management will help companies keeping and improving the quality standard of their productions. Flexibility will keep a company adjusting the changing environment to ensure the company will not be eliminated. Safety management is process for controlling safety risks.
As an engineer, learning engineering management will expand the engineer's existing professional knowledge by adding additional knowledge in management field. Engineering management is a useful knowledge for companies. Companies may achieve their goals and make more profits through engineering management knowledge.
