Conference Session

Engineering Economy Division Technical Session 1

Collection

2020 ASEE Virtual Annual Conference Content Access

Authors

Brian Aufderheide, Hampton University; Otsebele E. Nare, Hampton University

Tagged Topics

Diversity

Tagged Divisions

Engineering Economy, Engineering Management, Industrial Engineering, Systems Engineering

Engineering Disciplines Brian Aufderheide1, Otsebele E. Nare1 1 Hampton University, USAAbstractThis is a Work in Progress. Students are taught how to model, write, and solve engineeringequations as part of their typical curriculum. But what is not covered is how to meld theengineering design world with the economic domain needed to be successful in industry. Oneauthor has supervised over 35 industrial design projects, and through his experience found thatwhat industry values most is a detailed Financial Operational Model with clear design andeconomic parameters evaluated through sensitivity analysis. At Hampton University

Conference Session

Engineering Economy Division Technical Session 1

Collection

2019 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Ted Eschenbach P.E., TGE Consulting; Jerome P. Lavelle, North Carolina State University; Neal A. Lewis, Fairfield University

Tagged Divisions

Engineering Economy

. Lavelle [1] performed an early survey exploringhow engineering economy is taught. This was extended by Lavelle, Needy, and Nachtmann [2].Nachtmann, Needy, Lavelle, and Eschenbach [3] performed a further analysis of the data fromthe expanded survey. Lastly, Nachtmann, Needy and Evans [4] provided a refresher survey onthe standing of the engineering economy classroom.Schmahl, et al. [5] explored textbooks, investigating what percent of problems are actuallyengineering (vs. finance) in context. Hartman [6] described the use of the Wall Street Journal tosupplement the course with relevant news articles. Ristroph and Glassinger [7] updated tax lawchanges as they apply to engineering projects. Sullivan and Terpenny [8] emphasized the needfor after-tax

Conference Session

Engineering Economy Division Technical Session 1

Collection

2020 ASEE Virtual Annual Conference Content Access

Authors

Bradley James Schmid, University of Saskatchewan

Tagged Divisions

Engineering Economy, Engineering Management, Industrial Engineering, Systems Engineering

the explanations and example problems used in the textbook.IntroductionEngineering programs in Canada and the United states have similar accreditation processes andcriteria [1], [2]. ABET accredits programs in the United States while the Canadian EngineeringAccreditation Board (CEAB) accredits programs in Canada. In each system, the ability of astudent to consider the constraints of economics and incorporate economics into engineeringdesigns, projects and considerations is a requirement. As such, engineering programs must offerEngineering Economics in their programs and often fulfill this requirement with a coursededicated to this topic though it could be fulfilled in other courses such as design courses.As part an internal improvement study

Conference Session

Engineering Economy Division Technical Session 1

Collection

2019 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Joseph Wilck, College of William & Mary; Paul C. Lynch, Penn State Erie, The Behrend College

Tagged Divisions

Engineering Economy

MBA programs at the MasonSchool of Business at William & Mary are consistently ranked between 25 and 50 in the U.S.from various ranking organizations, and in the top 100 worldwide. The part-time (evening)MBA program has a concentration in Engineering Management, and the Engineering Economycourse is an elective within that concentration. The business school does not offer a doctorate.The university overall is a top 10 public university in the U.S., and is a traditional liberal artsuniversity. It does not currently have any engineering degree programs, although it did in thepast.Literature ReviewThere are many articles that discuss how to teach or integrate business topics to engineeringstudents [1 - 3]. However, the opposite situation is

Conference Session

Engineering Economy Division Technical Session 1

Collection

2019 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Raymond L. Smith III, East Carolina University; Henry D. Lester, University of South Alabama

Tagged Divisions

Engineering Economy

to invest time in preparing their“cheat-sheet” for a variety of reasons and strategies, which correspondingly demonstrate a rangeof outcomes. The factors for these decisions are discussed and outcomes are reported.1 IntroductionOver many years researchers, largely in the field of psychology, have studied the benefits ofusing reference materials in the examination setting with respect to performance, knowledgeacquisition and knowledge retention [1-4]. Although some researcher findings have not beensupportive [5-7], a general consensus has not been formed on the practice due in large part to thediffering examination formats, topics and contexts. As a result, course instructors are often leftto debate whether the allowance of self-made

Conference Session

Engineering Economy Division Technical Session 1

Collection

2016 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

K. Jo Min, Iowa State University; John Jackman, Iowa State University; Michelle Zugg, Iowa State University

Tagged Topics

Diversity

Tagged Divisions

Engineering Economy

mode.3 Thisapproach, however, has yet to overcome the following critical shortcomings. 1. The Black-Scholes Formula is based on one discrete up or down movement of an underlying asset in a European call option without dividends (i.e., it can be exercised only at the maturity, implying a single period). This is clearly not the case for numerous engineering projects as there are many decision points before the “maturity” when decisions can be made or real options unfold (e.g., if the electric power price becomes too low, the power plant’s option to contract its operations becomes viable). 2. To mimic the evolution of the underlying asset value, a multi-period binomial lattice

Conference Session

Engineering Economy Division Technical Session 1

Collection

2016 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Wolter J. Fabrycky P.E., Virginia Tech

Tagged Divisions

Engineering Economy

enthusiastic about the potential forEngineering Economy (EE) when integrated at that level. Specifics will emerge from seven topicswherein Engineering Economy and the system level are shown to interface in a significant way.Specifics about these interfaces are addressed by EE@SL comments provided in each text box.I. Recognizing and Addressing the System LevelThe purpose of this paper may be realized most directly by recognizing the system of interest tobe the world in which we live. We observe the natural, the human-made, and the human-modifiedworlds to be interconnected sectors as illustrated in Figure 1. Of these, it is the human-modifiedworld that should be adopted as the highest-level system of concern. This section is devoted todescribing EE@SL

Conference Session

Engineering Economy Division Technical Session 1

Collection

2016 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Paul C. Lynch, Penn State University Erie, The Behrend College; Joseph Wilck, United States Air Force Academy; Omar Ashour, Pennsylvania State University Erie, The Behrend College

Tagged Topics

Diversity

Tagged Divisions

Engineering Economy

entrepreneurship, one would have to believe that engineering economy is thatcourse, Figure 1. The literature clearly shows evidence of engineering economy being at thecrossroads of engineering, business, and entrepreneurship. “The importance and relevance ofengineering economic analyses is always emphasized when students discuss their projects withpracticing engineers. Without this interaction students sometimes consider economics to beirrelevant to design – a subject for business students,” noted by Archibald, Reuber, and Allison3.Figure 1: Engineering Economy: The course that is at the crossroads of business, engineering, and entrepreneurship.Engineering education literature has continuously shown that projects with industry can behelpful for

Conference Session

Engineering Economy Division Technical Session 1

Collection

2016 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Kellie Grasman, Missouri University of Science & Technology; Dan Cernusca, North Dakota State University

Tagged Divisions

Engineering Economy

sections weredelivered in a hybrid/buffet mode, though significant modifications to online content occurredfrom Fall 2013 to Fall 2015. A thorough discussion of the historic course structure, components,and preliminary implementation results may be found in a recent journal paper.5 A summary ofFall 2013 course components is presented here, followed by a description of modificationsimplemented for Fall 2015.Fall 2013 Instructional Design StrategiesThe Fall 2013 course components may be categorized as: 1. Online Resources a. WileyPLUS, the online learning environment associated with Principles of Engineering Economic Analysis 5e by White, Case and Pratt6, consisting of a digital copy of the text as well as ungraded

Conference Session

Engineering Economy Division Technical Session 1

Collection

2018 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Ona Egbue, University of South Carolina, Upstate

Tagged Divisions

Engineering Economy

innovative teaching methods that can be applied to engineeringeconomics courses and other courses in STEM. In addition, this paper highlights strategies thatworked best and lessons learned to inform other instructors implementing active learningstrategies in their classrooms.1. IntroductionDespite advances in instructional technology advancements, traditional lecture-based modelsremain the most common teaching method across college classrooms in engineering even thoughthere is evidence showing that these methods are not very effective. Lecture-only classes do notadequately address crucial components of engineering education including critical thinking,problem-solving, and teamwork skills. Furthermore, over-reliance on lecture-based educationalmodels

Conference Session

Engineering Economy Division Technical Session 1

Collection

2018 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

James Burns, Purdue University, West Lafayette; Bob E. White P.E., Western Michigan University; Azim Houshyar, Western Michigan University

Tagged Topics

Diversity

Tagged Divisions

Engineering Economy

,techniques, and strategies might be most effective.Introduction and BackgroundIntegrating humanities studies into engineering technology curricula is a central component ofthe transformation taking place at Purdue Polytechnic. Even as enrollment trends for humanitiesmajors have been declining in recent years [1], there are still consistent calls for humanitiestopics to be a part of STEM education [2-4]. Unfortunately, adding additional content to alreadypacked STEM curricula can be very challenging for institutions operating under total credit hourrestrictions. One promising strategy for incorporating humanities into STEM courses is tostrategically weave the individual humanities topics into existing courses. Toward this goal, thecollege has

Conference Session

Engineering Economy Division Technical Session 1

Collection

2019 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Priyadarshan A. Manohar, Robert Morris University; Fahad Saad Almutairi, King Fahd Security College

Tagged Divisions

Engineering Economy

results from this thesis research work. Preliminaryresults support the hypothesis that including economic analysis in a thesis option constitutes abetter way to engage students in their learning process, and for enhancing their comprehension andinterest in engineering economics of government projects.1.0 Introduction and RationaleIt has long been realized that the engineering economics course content and teaching methods havenot kept pace with time. For example, a study by Needy et al. [1], [2] conducted as a two-phasesurvey in 1995 and 1997 of pedagogy of engineering economics found that nearly 47% of therespondents felt the need to redesign how the subject is taught in the class. Another pedagogicalissue suggested is that the curriculum of the

Conference Session

Engineering Economy Division Technical Session 1

Collection

2018 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Erick Jones, University of Texas, Arlington; Billy Gray, Tarleton State University

Tagged Divisions

Engineering Economy

Assistant Professor in the Department of Engineering Technology at Tarleton State University. He holds a PhD in Industrial Engineering from the University of Texas at Arlington, a Master’s degree from Texas Tech University in Systems and Engineering Management and a Bachelor’s degree from Tarleton in Manufacturing Engineering Technology. He has 10 years of work experience in manufacturing, operations, and engineering management. c American Society for Engineering Education, 2018 Using the Education of Engineering Economy to Impact the Reduction of Engineering Student Loan DebtIntroductionThe U.S. student debt crisis has become an epidemic over the last two decades [1

Conference Session

Engineering Economy Division Technical Session 1

Collection

2018 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Aimee T. Ulstad, Ohio State University; Mehdi Mashayekhi, Ohio State University; Hannah Meckstroth, Ohio State University

Tagged Divisions

Engineering Economy

borrowers and totals $620 billion more than the U.S. national credit card debt [1]. • The average Class of 2016 graduate has $37,172 in student loan debt, up six percent from the previous year [2]. • Eighty-eight percent of Americans are concerned about their retirement, with only 48% of households 55 and older having any personal retirement savings. The average retirement savings of all households, considering those that do and don’t have personal retirement savings, is only $2500 [3]. • Knowledge of financial literacy among Americans is poor. According to the results of a six-question financial literacy quiz, Americans on average can only answer 3.2 of them correctly [4].Engineering Economy

Conference Session

Industrial Engineering Division Tech Session 1: IE-ing a Broader Perspective

Collection

2017 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Susan O. Schall, SOS Consulting, LLC

Tagged Divisions

Engineering Economy, Engineering Management, Industrial Engineering

)composed of academic and industry leaders, leaders from ABET and the EngineeringAccreditation Commission (EAC) was chartered to advise on how to increase flexibility in theengineering accreditation criteria while maintaining a strong emphasis on educational qualityand to recommend ways to facilitate recruitment of outstanding engineers from industry andeducation to lead the ABET accreditation process. The committee identified three major barriersto change: 1) excessively long, prescriptive and detailed accreditation criteria, 2) a complicatedand user-unfriendly evaluation system, and 3) difficulty attracting technically active mid-careerprofessionals. ABET with support from the National Science Foundation convened consensus-building workshops

Conference Session

Industrial Engineering Division Tech Session 1: IE-ing a Broader Perspective

Collection

2017 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Faisal Aqlan, Pennsylvania State University, Erie (Behrend College); Yuan-Han Huang, Pennsylvania State University, Erie (Behrend College); E. George Walters III P.E., Pennsylvania State University, Erie (Behrend College); Osama T. Al Meanazel, The Hashemite University

Tagged Divisions

Engineering Economy, Engineering Management, Industrial Engineering

involves gathering of customer requirements, identifying productspecifications, generating design concepts, evaluating the designs, and selecting the best design.Results show that students’ design skills can be greatly enhanced by integrating the two courses.1. IntroductionInterdisciplinarity is becoming a critical issue for teaching design skills1. Integrating EngineeringDesign courses with Manufacturing and Ergonomic courses can effectively enhance students’design skills. Aligning product design and manufacturing education with market needs isimportant to overcome the skills gap and other challenges faced by students2. Moreover,ergonomic consideration is crucial for product design and development in today’s global market.Ergonomics, which is the

Conference Session

Industrial Engineering Division Tech Session 1: IE-ing a Broader Perspective

Collection

2017 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Alejandro Salado, Virginia Tech

Tagged Divisions

Engineering Economy, Engineering Management, Industrial Engineering

decide for an alternative that is notaligned with those ethical principles and values.A formal justification for the need to incorporate ethics in engineering curricula can be made byreferencing ABET, which requires “an understanding of professional and ethical responsibility,broad education necessary to understand the impact of engineering solutions in a global andsocietal context” (ABET, 2007, p. 1). Informally, two examples can set the ground.Example 1: Challenger. In 1986, the Space Shuttle Challenger disintegrated during launch,instantly killing its crew. Assessment of failure root cause, led to concluding that launch wasapproved despite the predicted operating temperature for one of its components (the O-ring) wasgoing to be -3 degree C

Conference Session

Industrial Engineering Division Tech Session 1: IE-ing a Broader Perspective

Collection

2017 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Cristina D. Pomales-Garcia, University of Puerto Rico, Mayaguez campus; Christopher Papadopoulos, University of Puerto Rico, Mayaguez campus

Tagged Divisions

Engineering Economy, Engineering Management, Industrial Engineering

DescriptionThe Work Systems Design course at the University of Puerto Rico-Mayagüez Campus,provides junior-level students their first formal design experience in the IE ProgramCurriculum. The course prepares students in work systems design where human beings playan important role. This is accomplished through the alignment of systems, jobs, products andenvironmental conditions to the characteristics and human abilities to achieve mental andphysical well-being. The expected course outcomes include: (1) application of designstrategies for work systems design, (2) design of products, workstations and systems usingdata and design principles, (3) evaluation of the physiological requirements of a task, (4)identification of occupational risk factors, and (5

Conference Session

Engineering Economy Division Technical Session

Collection

2021 ASEE Virtual Annual Conference Content Access

Authors

Neal A Lewis, University of Nebraska, Lincoln; Ted Eschenbach, University of Alaska Anchorage

Tagged Divisions

Engineering Economy

of the pandemic on past results.IntroductionThe U.S. Social Security (SS) program is one of the largest government programs in the world,ranking as the largest expenditure at 23% of the federal budget in Fiscal 2019 [1]. About 81% ofexpenditures of the Social Security Administration (SSA) went towards retirement benefits inFiscal 2019 [2]. The literature on SS is correspondingly vast. However, the literature on the“when to start” decision usually ignores the time value of money and addresses risk onlyqualitatively. This paper will show how a student engineering economic case study can do better.Unlike a supplied case, this is a real-world problem. Information is available from many possiblesources. Detailed rules must be read and understood

Conference Session

Engineering Economy Course Strategy Panel Session

Collection

2021 ASEE Virtual Annual Conference Content Access

Authors

James Burns, Western Michigan University; Bob White P.E., Western Michigan University

Tagged Divisions

Engineering Economy

much emphasis is place on fundamentals for too long. Because the coursestrategy described here has been applied successfully in engineering curricula (and engineeringtechnology curricula on a reduced scale), readers can have confidence that the approach works.The motivation behind the approach is a desire to treat Engineering Economy like a trueengineering design course and to provide for students a truer picture of the complexity thatfinancial analysis in industry will entail.Instructional EnvironmentThe course offered through the Industrial Engineering department at a Western MichiganUniversity and is a required course serving four of the university’s programs. Table 1 providesan approximation of enrollments by major. As an upper division

Conference Session

Engineering Economy Course Strategy Panel Session

Collection

2021 ASEE Virtual Annual Conference Content Access

Authors

Kellie Grasman, Missouri University of Science and Technology

Tagged Divisions

Engineering Economy

Conference Session

Engineering Economy Course Strategy Panel Session

Collection

2021 ASEE Virtual Annual Conference Content Access

Authors

Karen M. Bursic, University of Pittsburgh

Tagged Divisions

Engineering Economy

computer equipped classroom.During COVID most students attended via Zoom meetings that were recorded. The class meetsfor two 1 hour and 15 minute sessions per week. A Learning Management System (LMS) isused (Blackboard up until fall 2020 when the University switched to Canvas) to provide lecturenotes, assignments, track grades, and so forth. Pre-COVID the LMS was not used to delivercourse content and no online teaching had been done except in the rare instances that theinstructor was unable to be present and a video lecture might have been given. During COVIDclass recordings were posted to the Canvas page although synchronous attendance to the livepresentations was expected. Thus, the course is a traditionally delivered course, not an onlinecourse

Conference Session

Engineering Economy Course Strategy Panel Session

Collection

2021 ASEE Virtual Annual Conference Content Access

Authors

Michael B. O'Connor P.E., New York University

Tagged Divisions

Engineering Economy

Francisco Bay Area Rapid Transit district’s 1990’s expansions in the East Bay and SFO Airport at three billion to the New Starts program for the Federal Transit Administration with over a hundred projects and $85 billion in construction value. At the latter, he also acted as source selection board chairman and program COTR for $200 plus million in task order con- tracts for engineering services. Working for the third-largest transit agency in the United States, the Los Angeles County MTA, Michael managed bus vehicle engineering for $1 billion in new acquisitions and post-delivery maintenance support for 2300 vehicles with some of the most complex technology (natural gas engines and embedded systems) in the US transit

Conference Session

Engineering Economy Division Technical Session

Collection

2021 ASEE Virtual Annual Conference Content Access

Authors

Kellie Grasman, Missouri University of Science and Technology

Tagged Divisions

Engineering Economy

University of Missouri System and earned a Faculty Achievement Award for teaching. American c Society for Engineering Education, 2021 Curriculum Element: Economic Analysis Group Project Utilizing VoiceThreadObjectives:The curriculum element discussed may be implemented in an undergraduate or graduate levelengineering economics course. With sufficient instructor and/or TA support, the project may beimplemented with any class size. The primary objective of this project is to provide students theopportunity to 1) evaluate project(s) using a systematic economic analysis technique, 2) supporttheir recommended alternative with data, and 3

Conference Session

Engineering Economy Division Technical Session

Collection

2021 ASEE Virtual Annual Conference Content Access

Authors

James Burns, Western Michigan University; Bob White P.E., Western Michigan University

Tagged Divisions

Engineering Economy

Conference Session

Engineering Economy Division Technical Session 2

Collection

2017 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Karen M. Bursic, University of Pittsburgh

Tagged Divisions

Engineering Economy

distribution of theinventory.BackgroundThe Force Concept Inventory (FCI) is a multiple choice test designed to monitor students’understanding of the conceptual domain of force and related kinematics [1]. Often cited as thefirst concept inventory [2], it was one of the earliest and most well-known instruments in thesciences and there have been quite a few follow up studies that have looked at its validity in avariety of contexts. It is used frequently to assess concept learning in physics courses. Conceptinventories are used extensively in physics and astronomy [3] [4] as well as biology [5].Examples include the Statistical Reasoning in Biology Concept Inventory (SRBCI) [6] and theBiological Experimental Design Concept Inventory (BEDCI) [7]. Many of

Conference Session

Engineering Economy: Beyond the Classroom

Collection

2007 Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

J. Cunha, University of Alberta

Tagged Divisions

Engineering Economy

problems associated to the energyindustry.To better illustrate the distinction between the two articles let us take as an example the Page 12.11.3papers given to Group 1 (Fall 2005). This group received an engineering economy paperwhich title was “Production Based Probabilistic Economics for Unconventional Gas3.” Thepaper basically analyzed the economics of a producing gas field utilizing probabilisticdistributions for gas production and prices. The second article, “The Middle East and NorthAfrica in a Changing Oil Market4,” analyzed the tremendous changes undergone in theworldwide oil market in the past three decades and its political consequences in

Conference Session

Effective Tools for Teaching Engineering Economy

Collection

2007 Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Kailash Bafna, Western Michigan University; Betsy Aller, Western Michigan University

Tagged Divisions

Engineering Economy

solved by any one of thesemethods. (See Thuesen and Fabrycky, 1989 1 for example.)In the early 1990s, as computer technology advanced, spreadsheet use gradually found its wayinto engineering economy classrooms, pedagogy, and textbooks. Very early presentations onincluding spreadsheets in the teaching of engineering economy included White (1988) 2,Eschenbach, Wiebe, and Yazici (1991) 3, and Eschenbach and White (1992) 4. Noting the Page 12.676.3increasing discussion on spreadsheet use in the engineering curriculum, Alloway (1994) 5advocated the electronic spreadsheet as frequently being “the best choice for both learning andapplying engineering

Conference Session

Engineering Economy: Beyond the Classroom

Collection

2007 Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Jeannette Russ, Union University; Doanh Van, Union University

Tagged Divisions

Engineering Economy

still relatively new EngineeringCriteria 2000 (EC 2000). While no one suggests that the criteria are perfect, we have found thatthey do indeed allow flexibility to “focus on what is learned rather than what is taught,” asABET asserts in its organizational history.1 The use of current events in the engineeringeconomy course has been one of our direct attempts to encourage student learning, but wereadily admit that using current events is not a particularly novel idea. In fact, others haveintroduced more formalized methods of integrating current events throughout the engineeringeconomy course.2 The main contribution of this paper is to demonstrate how this common-senseelement of teaching engineering economy can be implemented, measured, and

Conference Session

Effective Tools for Teaching Engineering Economy

Collection

2007 Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

John Ristroph, University of Louisiana-Lafayette

Tagged Divisions

Engineering Economy

easier than the time honored tradition of manual cheating.This paper examines the foregoing issues by first exploring simple solutions and then progress-ing to more advanced methods. The presentation is based on Microsoft’s widely used Excel soft-ware [1], but other systems can be used as long as they support user-written routines known asmacros to extend their capabilities. For example, OpenOffice.org’s free Calc [2] system has mostof the capabilities of Excel, but it uses a different dialect of Basic for its macro language. EIOf-fice [3] is an integrated office system with a spreadsheet very similar to Excel that uses Java toprogram its macros. Most engineers are familiar with engineering economics, so examples aregiven for that field. The