Evidence of the Benefits of Interdisciplinary Engineering Teams: Incorporating Systems Engineering into Civil Engineering Design

Brett Rocha; Aaron Hill; Nathan Hedgecock; Skylar Franz; Morgan Ernst; Mark Sallot

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Conference: 2022 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition
Location: Minneapolis, MN
Publication Date: August 23, 2022
Start Date: June 26, 2022
End Date: June 29, 2022
Conference Session: Multidisciplinary Engineering Division Technical Session - Interdisciplinary Capstone Projects, Pandemic Adapted Mechatronics Lab, Call for Change
Page Count: 14
DOI: 10.18260/1-2--41531
Permanent URL: https://peer.asee.org/41531
Download Count: 306

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Paper Authors

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Brett Rocha United States Military Academy

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CPT Brett Rocha is a first year instructor at the US Military Academy in the Department of Civil and Mechanical Engineering. She received her B.S. in Civil Engineering from USMA in 2012, her M.S. in Engineering Management from Missouri University of Science and Technology in 2016, and her M.S. in Civil Engineering from University of Central Florida in 2021. She teaches mechanics of materials, design of steel structures, and design of concrete structures.

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Aaron Hill United States Military Academy

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Colonel Aaron Hill is the Deputy Department Head and Professor, U.S. Military Academy in the Department of Civil & Mechanical Engineering responsible for teaching, scholarship, and leadership at the Academy and Department levels. He was commissioned as an Engineer Officer from the U.S. Military Academy in 1997, where he majored in Civil Engineering. He has served in a variety of assignments around the world including Afghanistan, Sinai Peninsula, Bosnia, and Croatia. COL Hill served in the department from 2006 to 2009 and again from 2016 to the present. Along the way, he earned Master’s degrees in Engineering Management (Missouri S&T) and Civil Engineering (Virginia Tech) and a Ph.D. in Civil Engineering (The University of Texas at Austin). He has taught several courses in the civil engineering curriculum ranging from structural engineering and steel design to infrastructure systems and construction management. Each spring, he co-teaches Project Management Professional prep classes to the West Point community. His research interests include topics in structural engineering and engineering education. He serves as the Vice-Chair of the American Institute of Steel Construction (AISC) Partners in Education Committee and as a member of the American Society of Civil Engineers (ASCE) Committee on Education and Committee on Faculty Development. A portion of his cadet development is dedicated to serving as an Officer Representative for Women’s Volleyball and Men’s Basketball, and as a small group leader within Officer Christian Fellowship. He is a licensed Professional Engineer in the state of Virginia and a Project Management Professional.

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Abstract

This evidence-based paper highlights the benefits of interdisciplinary collaboration between Civil Engineering (CME) and Systems Engineering (DSE) students for the 2022 United States Military Academy (USMA) Steel Bridge Team. The American Institute of Steel Construction, (AISC) and American Society of Civil Engineering (ASCE) Student Steel Bridge Competition challenges students to design, fabricate, construct, and test a 1:10 scale steel bridge that meets dimensional, material, and performance constraints as part of an intercollegiate competition. The AISC Steel Bridge competition is a capstone course requiring students to apply engineering principles and theory learned during their undergraduate studies, such as structural design, mechanics of materials, and construction management into the engineering design process. For the civil engineering students, the competition requires the use of both physical models and modern technology to solve a complex engineering problem. Previously the USMA Steel Bridge Team was limited to only civil engineering students. While civil engineering students are exposed to construction management techniques through their engineering course load, it was found that systems engineering students provide a skill set that improves the scheduling and communication throughout the design, fabrication, and construction processes. The influence of the systems engineering students is not limited to bolstering the project management skills of the Steel Bridge Team. The systems engineering students enable a more efficient design to meet the team’s objectives through the implementation of a stakeholder analysis and customer value model (CVM). The systems engineering students also create and run linear optimization models to help identify the most effective way to approach construction of the bridge on competition day. The interdisciplinary nature of the project allows both the civil engineering and systems engineering students to more effectively satisfy the student outcomes of the Accreditation Board of Engineering and Technology (ABET). The integration of the two disciplines requires the students to apply more effectively ABET student outcomes (5) an ability to function effectively on a team whose members together provide leadership, create a collaborative and inclusive environment, establish goals, plan tasks, and meet objectives and (6) an ability to develop and conduct appropriate experimentation, analyze, and interpret data, and use engineering judgement to draw conclusions. The civil engineers and systems engineers need to ensure effective communication and collaboration as a team to ensure that the stakeholder analysis and the CVM are effective tools for meeting the team’s objectives. The use of the stakeholder analysis and the CVM provides a new lens for the civil engineering students to analyze the results of their experimentation and exercise engineering judgment to solve a complex problem. This paper will provide evidence of the interdisciplinary success of the USMA Steel Bridge team through Comprehensive Assessment of Team-Member Effectiveness (CATME) surveys, analysis of the bridge’s criteria for meeting stakeholder requirements, and improved efficiency of the team through design, fabrication of their bridge for the AISC Steel Bridge competition.

Citation
Format

Rocha, B., & Hill, A., & Hedgecock, N., & Franz, S., & Sallot, M., & Ernst, M. (2022, August), Evidence of the Benefits of Interdisciplinary Engineering Teams: Incorporating Systems Engineering into Civil Engineering Design Paper presented at 2022 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition, Minneapolis, MN. 10.18260/1-2--41531

TY  - CPAPER
AB  - This evidence-based paper highlights the benefits of interdisciplinary collaboration between Civil Engineering (CME) and Systems Engineering (DSE) students for the 2022 United States Military Academy (USMA) Steel Bridge Team. The American Institute of Steel Construction, (AISC) and American Society of Civil Engineering (ASCE) Student Steel Bridge Competition challenges students to design, fabricate, construct, and test a 1:10 scale steel bridge that meets dimensional, material, and performance constraints as part of an intercollegiate competition. The AISC Steel Bridge competition is a capstone course requiring students to apply engineering principles and theory learned during their undergraduate studies, such as structural design, mechanics of materials, and construction management into the engineering design process. For the civil engineering students, the competition requires the use of both physical models and modern technology to solve a complex engineering problem. Previously the USMA Steel Bridge Team was limited to only civil engineering students. While civil engineering students are exposed to construction management techniques through their engineering course load, it was found that systems engineering students provide a skill set that improves the scheduling and communication throughout the design, fabrication, and construction processes. The influence of the systems engineering students is not limited to bolstering the project management skills of the Steel Bridge Team. The systems engineering students enable a more efficient design to meet the team’s objectives through the implementation of a stakeholder analysis and customer value model (CVM). The systems engineering students also create and run linear optimization models to help identify the most effective way to approach construction of the bridge on competition day. The interdisciplinary nature of the project allows both the civil engineering and systems engineering students to more effectively satisfy the student outcomes of the Accreditation Board of Engineering and Technology (ABET).  The integration of the two disciplines requires the students to apply more effectively ABET student outcomes (5) an ability to function effectively on a team whose members together provide leadership, create a collaborative and inclusive environment, establish goals, plan tasks, and meet objectives and (6) an ability to develop and conduct appropriate experimentation, analyze, and interpret data, and use engineering judgement to draw conclusions. The civil engineers and systems engineers need to ensure effective communication and collaboration as a team to ensure that the stakeholder analysis and the CVM are effective tools for meeting the team’s objectives. The use of the stakeholder analysis and the CVM provides a new lens for the civil engineering students to analyze the results of their experimentation and exercise engineering judgment to solve a complex problem. This paper will provide evidence of the interdisciplinary success of the USMA Steel Bridge team through Comprehensive Assessment of Team-Member Effectiveness (CATME) surveys, analysis of the bridge’s criteria for meeting stakeholder requirements, and improved efficiency of the team through design, fabrication of their bridge for the AISC Steel Bridge competition.
AU  - Brett Rocha
AU  - Aaron Hill
AU  - Nathan Hedgecock
AU  - Skylar Franz
AU  - Mark Sallot
AU  - Morgan Ernst
CY  - Minneapolis, MN
DA  - 2022/08/23
PB  - ASEE Conferences
TI  - Evidence of the Benefits of Interdisciplinary Engineering Teams: Incorporating Systems Engineering into Civil Engineering Design
UR  - https://peer.asee.org/41531
DO  - 10.18260/1-2--41531
ER  -