Viability of the Proposed Solution

Introduction
To develop or not to develop the product that is the question. Often, the decision not to
develop a product is financial based on a thorough analysis, it is determined that the
anticipated income from the product cannot support the anticipated cost of development.
However, if a financial analysis indicates that the sales of a new product (when compared
to the cost of development) could potentially produce an acceptable profit, you must ask,
Should the product be developed? But this is not always an easy question to answer.
A designer or engineer has an ethical responsibility to his client, his profession, and to
society. In light of these responsibilities, the designer should consider all potential
consequences, good and bad, resulting from development of a product and then compare
the benefits of product development to potential negative impacts. Do the benefits outweigh
the risks? Is continuing with product development the right thing to do?
The design, manufacture, packaging, distribution, and use of any new product will result in
consequences, both positive and negative. These consequences are far reaching and wide
ranging. For example, will the manufacture and distribution of the product consume
nonrenewable natural resources or produce pollution? How will the development of the
product affect the workers that will help produce, transport, and sell the product? What
affect (intended or not) will the use of the product have on the consumer, the environment,
and society? On the other hand, development of the product may create jobs, use
abandoned facilities or discarded waste materials, and improve the lives of people.
The considerations mentioned above assume that the product is well designed and
functions as intended. However, another important ethical responsibility of the designer is
to ensure that the product is well designed and does not suffer unintended failure. What will
happen if your product does not work as intended or suffers a catastrophic failure? Will the
failure cause harm? It is important that the designer has the knowledge and expertise, or
seeks out people with that knowledge and expertise, to properly design the product in order
to minimize the risks of failure.
In this activity you will consider the consequences of your product design, compare the
positive and negative impacts, and assess the ethical implication of continuing to develop
your product.
Equipment
Engineering notebook
Internet access
Access to trade journals, magazines, newspaper, and other printed material
Product Lifecycle handout (from Lesson 1.1)
Product working drawings

Procedure
Work together as a team to complete the following.

2013 Project Lead The Way, Inc.

Engineering Design and Development Component 2 Viability of the Proposed Solution Page 1
1. Revisit the Project Proposal that you created and your design specifications.
Consider the technical expertise and knowledge that is required to properly design
your product. Has your team acquired the math, science, and engineering
knowledge necessary to properly design your product? Have you contacted experts
in order to gain the necessary knowledge or obtain assistance with the parts of the
design that your team is not well equipped to perform? It is impossible to include an
exhaustive list of math, science, and engineering principles that you should
incorporate into the design of your product because each product design will require
consideration of different concepts. The following list is intended only to get you
thinking about concepts that you may need to investigate further.
Loads. How will loads be transferred from the environment to your product,
and how will loads be transferred within your product? Will the loads be static
(unchanging) or dynamic (changing)? How can you calculate the loads? Will
the components of your product be able to withstand the magnitude of these
loads?
The product will weigh about 25 lbs. The wood will be cut into sheets of
the proper dimensions in the carpentry department, and then carried to
the lab to be worked on. This is a static load because it is still while its
being transported.
Materials. Will your choice of materials withstand the test of time? Will the
density/weight of the materials adversely affect your design? Will mechanical
properties of your materials provide sufficient strength, stiffness, and abrasion
resistance? Will the material be able to withstand repetitive loading without
premature failure? Will the material operate well within the range of
temperatures to which the product will be subjected? How will the material
react to sunlight, temperature variations, chemicals to which it will be
exposed?
We are using plywood. We know that it will be efficient enough because
our product will not hold heavy loads and plywood is a resilient
material.
Mechanical Engineering. Does your design require an input of heat or
mechanical power? Are there moving parts in your design? What simple
machines are employed in the design? Will all the components of your
product interact effectively? Will the loads be efficiently transferred from part
to part? Do all the parts move at an ideal speed?
No moving parts will be incorporated in our design. The only simple
machines in the design are wedges (nails).
Energy. Does your product require an input of energy? In what form is the
energy supplied? How is it converted by your product to produce the desired
output?
No input of energy is necessary.
Chemical/Bio Engineering. Does your design involve conversion of raw
materials to another form during manufacture or use? What chemical or
biological transformations are involved in the process(es)?
No chemical or biological processes are used in this product.

2013 Project Lead The Way, Inc.

Engineering Design and Development Component 2 Viability of the Proposed Solution Page 2
 Electrical Engineering. Will your design involve electricity, electronics, control
systems, telecommunications, or computers? How will these systems be
integrated into your design?
Our product will have a power strip, but said power strip is pre-made.
We simply have to mount it on our design.
2. Have you researched laws, codes, and regulations that could potentially impact your
design? Do you feel that your team has met its ethical responsibility for technical
expertise related to the design of your product? If not, perform additional research at
this time. Revise your product design as necessary.
Laws and regulations require that the design is safe and can handle reasonable
conditions for the product. As our design is not made for children, nor is it
meant to handle human loads, a reasonable level of safety is easy to design
and achieve. By not using any particularly hazardous materials, we felt we
have met both the safety and ethical responsibility intrinsic with creating a
product.

3. Create a graphic to document your products anticipated lifecycle. Research the

efforts necessary to take your product from raw materials to the end of its lifecycle
(and potentially be reused or recycled into new products). Detail each phase of the
cycle with information specific to your product. For example, in the Raw Material
Extraction phase, indicate the raw materials that must be obtained in order to create
your product. In the Material Processing phase, detail the processes necessary to
convert the raw materials to usable substances in your product. In the Assembly and
Packaging phase, detail the anticipated method of assembly (one-off, hand
assembled, human assembly line in a large manufacturing facility, fully automated
robotic assembly, etc.) and the anticipated type of packaging that will be used.
4. Consider the consequences of the development of your product at each phase in its
lifecycle to people (designers, users, nonusers, employees of the manufacturers,
distributors, sellers, etc.), the environment (including the use of nonrenewable
natural resources; the potential release of toxins, waste, or pollution; the creation of
visually unappealing facilities or noise pollution; the effect on animal and plant
species, etc.), and society.
By purchasing both cork and wood pulp, the pre-manufacture stage supports
multiple logging industries. It is important that we are selective in who we
purchase these materials from to insure their workers are treated ethically and
the materials are obtained legally and morally. Any workers within the
production stage of the product must be treated fairly and humanely. The use
of paints has the worst footprint from the product, as any incidents could lead
to liquid waste, while the paint already creates pollution from its production
and fumes during use. Both the manufacture and distribution stages of the
product use energy in some form, which leaves a carbon footprint on the
planet. During use, the product will be a conduit of electrical power, while only
wasting energy lost to internal resistance. When the product use is over, many
of the materials can be recycled, which takes energy, while things like paint
and fasteners will likely by discarded, adding to landfills.

2013 Project Lead The Way, Inc.

Engineering Design and Development Component 2 Viability of the Proposed Solution Page 3
 5. Compose an ethical justification for further development of your product by
describing why and how the benefits of your product outweigh the negative impacts.
The negative impacts of our product are very minimal per unit, while the
positive impacts are consistent and require no extra input of materials.
Including the power strip integrated within the design reduces electronic
waste normally created by the use of extension cords and outlet splitters
within offices. The footprint of wood is much smaller than that of electronic
waste, so including 3 outlets within a cubicle already outweighs the typical
use of rubber and metal normally used to create these outlets.
Conclusion
1. What are some potential ways in which your product could fail? What design
features have you included to minimize the chance of failure?

The most likely way for our product to fail would be from having to bear too great
a load. Originally, our design was made of inch wood, but we were
concerned if it would fail to retain its shape under loads. To remedy this, we
have switched to a much stronger inch two-ply wood in order to increase its
strength.

2. Is development of a product that knowingly causes harm to people ever ethically

justifiable? Why or why not? Give examples to support your position.

Under no conditions is it ever justifiable to create a product that causes harm to

people. Even when people choose to use a product that harms them, blame still lies
on the manufacture for all negative effects caused by their product. When cigarette
manufacturers create their products, they are accountable for all the disease and
atmospheric pollution created. Despite any denial of responsibility or citing that
humans consciously purchase the products does not nullify the damage they cause.

2013 Project Lead The Way, Inc.

Engineering Design and Development Component 2 Viability of the Proposed Solution Page 4
 2013 Project Lead The Way, Inc.
Engineering Design and Development Component 2 Viability of the Proposed Solution Page 5