Over the holiday period I was out of contact for the beginning of the holidays and it was only towards the end of the holidays that I was able to get in touch with any of the group. This slowed down the rather rapid pace that had been maintained for the beginning of the project slightly. However as soon as contact was re-established then I was able to get back up to speed with the rest of the group without any problem.
Our Materials Expert was absent for the first few weeks of the project, and after finally get a hold of him we found out it was due to illness. However apart from this little hiccup when the work was set he was able to perform at the level desired.
One of the major difficulties that arose for me was the continuous alterations of the beam, so therefore the amount of times the force analysis had to be done for each new design. The method would have been easier if a set model was created on a program like excel and the calculations could have been produced much quicker. However with the final design being of British Standards we were able to compare our calculations with benchmarks so we knew that the system would not fail and we weren't just taking a stab at it.
One of the main problems with the design was that the main component of the crane, the beam, was not collapsible so it could only be transported on either the top of the land rover type of 4x4 or on the landing booms of a helicopter, instead of in the loading bay with the actual kit. This is a restriction of the design but weighing that against critically weakening the design I believe it was the right path to take.
Overall the project went well and through the vigilance of the project manager, who made sure everything was to be done quickly and efficiently were able to complete the project without having to rush anything.
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