EGB387 Engineering Economy and Planning

Unit Outline: Semester 2 2025, Gardens Point, Internal

Overview

In addition to design competence, Engineers require a sound understanding of construction and management principles and engineering economic analysis to fully meet the expectations of employers and the broader community. This unit addressing a complete financial and economic evaluation of project using several evaluation criteria commonly applied in the assessment of engineering project alternatives. This is a construction engineering second major unit and the knowledge and skills developed in this unit will help engineers to think creatively and to understand the decisions required in a project planning and feasibility environments as well as understanding projects within the economic (value and investment) environment. This advanced unit significantly integrates your prior knowledge and skills to effectively perform specific management tasks in typical civil engineering projects.

Learning Outcomes

On successful completion of this unit you will be able to:

1. Describe the different aspects of construction project planning, scheduling, life cycle, diversity and quality at a developed level.
2. Explain the importance of connectivity of construction project time, cost, risk and quality at a developed level.
3. Analyse the construction project alternatives using engineering economy tools at a developed level.
4. Evaluate the economic environment of construction engineering projects for future investments at a developed level.

Content

Learning Approaches

Teaching Mode:
Hours per week: 4
Lecture: 2
Tutorial: 2

As indicated above, the unit progressively develops your exposure to and development of problem solving skills responsive to typical civil engineering projects and related people and issues.

Feedback on Learning and Assessment

The assessment will comprise formative assessment (to help you understand how you are progressing in this unit) and summative assessment (to grade your work against expected learning outcomes). Verbal feedback on your assessments will be given to you by your lecturer and tutors during lecture and tutorial classes, and via email and Canvas. 

Assessment

Overview

Assessment includes a group project, individual problem solving tasks relevant to the content and a final exam. 

QUT's Assessment Policy is located at MOPP C/5.1 http://www.mopp.qut.edu.au/C/C_05_01.jsp.

Unit Grading Scheme

7- point scale

Assessment Tasks

Assessment: Group Project

Solar panels have been installed for many years and the surplus is fed back into the mains.  When times of strong sunlight, the flow of current causes serious problems for the supply Authorities coupled with a heavy draw on supply at times of low solar activity.

A proposal has been developed for this project to use the energy surplus from solar panels to pump water to an elevated dam for later release through a hydro system to generate energy.

Students are required to work in groups to provide a Project Executive Plan  (PEP) covering scoping & schedule, procurement, delivery methodology and stakeholders, safety, aboriginal group consideration, quality, and innovation ideas.

“Care, Share, and Respect” are the important keywords in understanding basic Aboriginal cultures.  Some discussion among these words will be introduced in the lecture and the students are required to reflect these words in the PEP.

Assessment: Problem Solving Task

Students will be tested based on their learning through Problem Solving Task

Assessment: Examination (written)

Final Examination

“If campus access is restricted at the time of the central examination period/due date, an alternative, which may be a timed online assessment, will be offered. Individual students whose circumstances prevent their attendance on campus will be provided with an alternative assessment approach.”

Academic Integrity

Academic integrity is a commitment to undertaking academic work and assessment in a manner that is ethical, fair, honest, respectful and accountable.

The Academic Integrity Policy sets out the range of conduct that can be a failure to maintain the standards of academic integrity. This includes, cheating in exams, plagiarism, self-plagiarism, collusion and contract cheating. It also includes providing fraudulent or altered documentation in support of an academic concession application, for example an assignment extension or a deferred exam.

You are encouraged to make use of QUT’s learning support services, resources and tools to assure the academic integrity of your assessment. This includes the use of text matching software that may be available to assist with self-assessing your academic integrity as part of the assessment submission process.

Breaching QUT’s Academic Integrity Policy or engaging in conduct that may defeat or compromise the purpose of assessment can lead to a finding of student misconduct (Code of Conduct – Student) and result in the imposition of penalties under the Management of Student Misconduct Policy, ranging from a grade reduction to exclusion from QUT.

Resources

Resource Materials

Prescribed text(s)

Blank, Leland T and Tarquin, Anthony J (2023), Engineering Economy, Mc Graw Hill publisher, Ninth edition. ISBN 978-1-259-25329-4.

Reference book(s)

Project Management Institute (2017), A guide to the project management body of knowledge (PMBOK guide), Newtown Square, Penn., USA: Project Management Institute, Sixth edition. (Call number 658.404 197 /6)
Samson, Danny (2000), Management for engineers, Prentice Hall, Frenchs Forest, NSW 3rd edition

Risk Assessment Statement

In this unit, there are no extraordinary workplace health and safety issues associated with the components of the unit.

Standards/Competencies

This unit is designed to support your development of the following standards\competencies.

Engineers Australia Stage 1 Competency Standard for Professional Engineer

1: Knowledge and Skill Base

1. 
   Relates to: Problem Solving Task , Examination (written)
2. 
   Relates to: Group Project
3. 
   Relates to: Group Project

2: Engineering Application Ability

1. 
   Relates to: Problem Solving Task , Examination (written)
2. 
   Relates to: Group Project
3. 
   Relates to: Group Project

3: Professional and Personal Attributes

1. 
   Relates to: Group Project
2. 
   Relates to: Group Project

Course Learning Outcomes

EN01 Bachelor of Engineering (Honours)

1. Engage stakeholders professionally and communicate the outcomes of your work effectively to expert and non-expert audiences using appropriate modes.
   Relates to: Group Project
2. Display leadership, creativity, and initiative in both self-directed and collaborative contexts of professional engineering practice.
   Relates to: Group Project
3. Manage projects to solve complex engineering problems, using appropriate information, engineering methods, and technologies.
   Relates to: ULO1, Group Project
4. Deploy appropriate approaches to engineering design and quality.
   Relates to: ULO4
5. Engage with and apply regulatory requirements relating to safety, risk management, and sustainability in professional engineering practice.
   Relates to: ULO3, Group Project, Problem Solving Task , Examination (written)
6. Demonstrate coherent knowledge and skills of physical, mathematical, statistical, computer, and information sciences that are fundamental to professional engineering practice.
   Relates to: ULO3, Problem Solving Task , Examination (written)
7. Demonstrate a thorough understanding of one engineering discipline, its research directions, and its application in contemporary professional engineering practice.
   Relates to: ULO2