Cheif Designers Project Review

I believe this project went well and that we worked well as a team. We remained on schedule for the first stage and , due to continuous work from the group over the Easter holidays, were able to complete the project on time despite some set backs.

The greatest problem we faced was that two of our group members were missing for approximately three weeks each at different stages of the project. Our materials specialist was absent due to illness at the start of the project, and our stress analyst was not contactable over the Easter holidays due to a breakdown in communication. The remaining group members however worked well around these losses and those who did miss part of the project worked hard upon their return to make up for their loss, in order to produce the final crane to a high standard.

The second set back occurred towards the start of the Easter break when it was realised that the main beam needed redesigning. This set us back about a week, though did give us the opportunity to redesign the beam to British standard dimensions.

The greatest flaw in the design that was picked up in the Q&A section of the presentation was that the beam, at 5.5 metres in length, was on the border of being impractically large. This was a problem that we had considered, though splitting the beam would have weakened it significantly. If I had more time for this project , I would spend much of it considering possible solutions to splitting the beam. In addition, the design of the head piece of the shoulder component would be difficult to manufacture for a reasonable cost.

In conclusion, though we had a few issues, I believe this project was a success, and that we completed it to a high standard as well as to specification.