The Electrical Engineer: A Piece in the Project Jigsaw Author: Jeff Taylor-Jackson M. I. E. T.

Abstract This article looks at the product development process and the positive impact that the electrical engineer can have on the whole process, beyond the immediate tasks of his/ her specific area of design. It will look at the complete product lifecycle as a process from initial sales and negotiation, to system level design, mechanical collaboration, design for manufacture and design for test, through to lifelong maintenance.

Introduction The product development processes normally consist of various specialist individuals and departments working in their own individual specialist tasks. Once these particular tasks have been completed, the project passes onto the next stage in the process and then when required, the process loops back for essential re-work to ensure that the product actually works in the way described, and can be manufactured. Organisations must be able to react to the changing market needs rapidly, effectively, and responsively, while reducing time to market. Any decisions must be made quickly and the changes must be right-first-time. If you think you have insufficient time to do it right, when will there be enough time to do it all again? Organisations can no longer waste effort repeating tasks, thereby prolonging the time it takes to bring new products to market. What many electrical engineers don’t fully appreciate is how important they can be to every part of this “Project Jigsaw” and how much of a positive impact they can have on the project’s design and development success.

T e c h n i c a l A r ti c l e

Starting with Sales

Testing

It is important that all departments have input to the product

In large organisations you may be blessed with a dedicated test

development sales negotiation process. Getting costs accurate

department, whose function it is to provide test solutions to

is imperative, and this demand requires participation from all

products. This makes the problem of testing a little easier because

aspects of the engineering process at the tender stage. The sales

liaison with this department can greatly reduce any risk involved

process is where the majority of a product’s costs are committed.

in testing any product, complex or not. Suggestions from the test

Those not engaging in dialogues with all departments within the

department may include questions such as thermal considerations,

company, risk either being late for completion or over budget.

short circuit tests, continuity, load, EMC / EMS and signal integrity

There is little point making a great sale, if you cannot possibly make

tests. If such a department does not exist, then these things will

the product in the timescale the sales department commit to, and

have to be considered by the designers themselves.

underestimate how much the product will cost to make. This is true for large or small organisations.

If Automatic Test Equipment (ATE) is being used, the designer should be thinking about the way this equipment is connected to the design. In the case of an electrical harness, a test harness

Systems Engineering

connector could be required to facilitate testing when the product has been fitted and assembled in the project, also this

The systems engineering team normally focus on the engineering

would enable the re-testing of the product during any routine

project - planning as a whole, engineering functions that are set

maintenance.

internally in the design, with respect to test and manufacturing. The external constraints based upon customer requirements are also factors that are considered. The system team will also identify the customer needs, the operational personnel, (such as design, test, manufacturing and electrical engineers). The diversity of each discipline plays a key role in the success of the project. All these elements cannot operate independently, they must be compatible and mutually supporting, and the systems engineers’ role is to ensure that this is co-ordinated. Research undertaken by Pinto and Slevin [1] , suggests that companies that have adopted this project planning and project management technique, experience better control and customer relations, shorter development times, lower costs, higher quality and reliability, and usually higher profit margins. Other spinoff advantages include better orientation toward results, better interdepartmental co-ordination, and a higher working morale.

So what about the Electrical Engineer?

Manufacturing

As you can imagine trying to sell a fantastic product, that cannot be

This is where engineers have to think about how the design is to be

manufactured, tested, or made cost effectively, would present an

made. How easy is the assembly or disassembly of the product?

impossible task. The electrical engineer may feel that they cannot

Is there easy access to internal components or connections?

begin to affect the products success or sustainability, but nothing

In order to design for manufacturability, everyone in the project

could be further from reality. The system level design will place

team needs to understand how products are manufactured through

the electrical engineers in a requirement block in the design. As

rules and guidelines. With manufacturing participation, the electrical

stated previously, every element in the production process interacts

engineer can get the design made, and participate in the design of

with each other, and this will be the case here. Even inside this

the processes to be used to build the product they are designing.

“electrical” block there can still be interdependent disciplines, such as power, data, and fibre optics. The electrical engineer will receive a set of requirements, not only from a customer perspective, but from a system perspective. In the early design phases, engineers need to think about how their design is going to be tested. How is the resulting product to be manufactured? What are the power requirements?

Working with manufacturing can deliver designs that are simple and inexpensive to make, that are also easy and inexpensive to service and support. Another benefit is that costs and time-to-market are often cut in half since products can be quickly assembled from fewer parts; products are easier to build and assemble, in less time, with better quality. Working closely with manufacturing

encourages design re-use, standardisation of parts, maximum

As a direct result of the planning stage and the electrical engineers’

use of purchased parts, modular designs, and standard design

involvement in all aspects of the design, a set of recommendations

features. With significant improvements in quality and delivery,

can be created that can help ongoing and future projects to:

customer acceptance is high and, in general, gives your company a

•

Identify problems earlier

competitive edge.

•

Clarify performance, cost, and time relationships

•

Improve project performance

•

Locate opportunities for future technological advances

•

Evaluate the quality of project planning and ultimately project

Mechanical Design This may be a little strange at first, how can the electrical engineer influence the mechanical engineer and vice versa? In any project, the product will almost certainly be placed inside some sort of enclosure; this could be big, in the case of a train or ship, or small in the case of a missile, or an engine bay. In either case, mechanical constraints can affect the electrical design. If a harness

management •

Reduce cost

•

Speed-up the achievement of results

•

Identify mistakes, remedy them, and avoid them in the future

•

Provide information to the client

•

Reconfirm the organisations commitment to the project

is too big to go through a bulkhead or web, then the harness will

The ‘weak link’ in the process is the lack of involvement of the

have to re-designed to make the overall diameter smaller, or an

project members themselves. For example, a project planner and

inline connector may be required to pass through the bulkhead.

project manager may be unsure how long a product will take to

Perhaps the harness is so large that the bend radius is not small

design, or how long components within that design may take to

enough to go around an object. Here mechanical engineers can

procure. The plan has only a start and end date, by which the

model the harness to overcome these problems. For example,

project tasks have to be put within. Task times are then guessed

with data from the mechanical engineer, such as an exact length

at, and a critical path for these tasks created. A need for detailed

of a harness, the electrical engineer can make volt drop and

input from the individuals within the project team would take the

current calculations - the net result bring about reductions in cross

guesswork out of many activities.

sectional areas, and therefore minimising the mass of a harness.

The inclusion of project members in the process can also provide those involved with information on the direction that a project is

Conclusion

taking and ensures that each person knows their responsibilities throughout the project lifecycle. By direct involvement, individuals

The goals of any project would be manufacturability, testability,

can feel valued as part of the project team, and their part in the

reliability and maintainability, from the outset if it is to be a technical

project jigsaw fits!

and commercial success. Throughout the project, a continual evaluation of the projects progress is undertaken. This ensures that the project remains on track and is able to achieve the projects goals.

To find out more about how Zuken can partner with organisations to empower electrical engineers to have a larger positive impact on the product development process visit www.zuken.com/e3.series or contact Zuken UK Limited on 01454 207801

Author of this article is Jeff Taylor-Jackson, E³.series Specialist Application Engineer for Zuken, UK.

References [1] J.K. Pinto und D.P. Slevin: „Critical factors in successful project implementation“, I.E.E.E Transactions on Engineering Management EM-34 ; Feb. 1987 pp 22-27.

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