Syllabus

FE 444 Introduction to Forest Engineering Design (4 cr)


Instructor:     Peter Schiess
Office:            Bloedel 382

Phone: 206-543-1583
e-mail: schiess@u.washington.edu


Catalog Description: Design process and methodology; decision making; creativity; project planning and management; engineering economics; probabilistic and statistical aspects of forest engineering design; ethical and legal issues; presentation of design project results. (4 credits)

 

Course Overview: FEE 444 begins the two-quarter senior capstone design projects through the development of team written comprehensive design proposals.  Developing the proposal entails problem formulation, creativity, concept generation, analysis and selection, design reviews, technical communications (oral, written and graphical) and contact with clients and other stakeholders.

 

Course Prerequisites: N/A

 

Textbook or other required material:

 

Course Objectives: By the end of this course, the student will be able to implement the following in the context of engineering design challenges:

1.     Define and describe engineering design using a process model

2.     Function as part of a design team.

3.     Communicate design information.

4.     Formulate design problems

5.     Assess and explain the design needs for a specific project and identify objectives and constraints.

6.     Generate alternative design concepts

7.     Select (or eliminate) design concepts based on a rational decision model

8.     Access and utilize variety of non-textbook information pertinent to design (e.g. codes/standards, government regulations, handbooks, computer-based resources, patents, etc.).

9.     Evaluate design concepts for performance and cost.

10.  Identify and address engineering and environmental ethics issues.

11.  Propose a detailed design project plan including a schedule and a budget.

12.  Communicate a design proposal using written, oral, and graphical communication tools.

 

Topics Covered:


1.     Engineering versus science

2.     Professional journals

3.     Design process models

4.     Decision making

5.     Design proposal development

6.     Teamwork

7.     Formal problem definition

8.     Stakeholder identification

9.     Stakeholder analysis

10.  Stakeholder expectations

11.  Functional requirements

12.  Design constraints

13.  Conceptual design

14.  Creative processes / idea generation

15.  Design parameters

16.  Specifications

17.  Sources of design information

18.  Gathering information

19.  Benchmarking

20.  Reliability, robustness and quality

21.  Performance evaluation

22.  Cost evaluation

23.  Engineering and Environmental Ethics

24.  Intellectual property

25.  Task sequencing

26.  Task scheduling

27.  Project resource allocation

28.  Project budget development

29.  Design reviews

30.  Technical and business communication (oral and written)

 

 

Contribution of Course to meeting the Professional Component:

      Capstone Design Sequence Course

Two field trips: February 25, 2005, and TBA