Design Process

Mechanical Engineering Project

Management
Contents
1. Introduction to mechanical design

2. Design process

3. Design considerations

4. Human factor

5. Design tools

6. Project management

7. Engineer's responsibilities

8. Bibliography
 Design Process 3

Introduction to Design can be defined as the formulation of a

plan that serves to satisfy a specific need or solve
Mechanical Design a problem. If the plan results in the creation of a
physical object, it must be functional, safe, reliable,
Mechanical design is a complex task that requires skills competitive, useful, manufacturable and, of course,
beyond the application of science and mathematics, marketable. But, above all, it is a decision-making
i.e. engineering. Its complexity requires a sequence of process. Decisions that must be taken, in most cases,
iterative steps, from the presentation and review of ideas, with a great deal of uncertainty, either due to a lack of
to their design and manufacture. information or an excess of contradictory information.
Other times, decisions are made tentatively, requiring
The design team can rely on support resources such
numerous adjustments as more data is obtained.
as, information sources, and design tools such as,
Therefore, it is important for the mechanical engineer to
(computer-aided design -CAD), (finite element analysis
be able to make decisions and solve problems as they
-FEA), the use of mathematical solvers, or 3D printing,
arise during the process.
among others. (Figure 1)
In addition, design is an activity of intense oral and
But the mechanical engineer not only needs to develop
written communication with professionals from other
competences in his or her field, but must also cultivate
disciplines and, increasingly, with professionals from
a strong sense of responsibility and professional
other cultures, even working remotely. In addition,
work ethic, as well as knowledge and skills in project
mechanical engineering includes aspects such as the
management and leadership. The work of a mechanical
production and processing of machinery, structures
designer also includes knowledge of applicable codes,
and installations, production, transport and storage of
standards, and norms, which are usually related to safety
energy, the supply of means of production, means of
conditions, industrial hygiene, environmental protection
transport and automation techniques. The knowledge
and quality, as well as economic aspects of the project's
base required for the activity is therefore very broad
final result and legal liability considerations.
and includes rigid solid mechanics, fluid mechanics,
mass and energy transfer, manufacturing processes and
electrical, electronic, and information theory.

Figure 1. Programmes Taken from SolidWorks.

 Design Process 4

Design Process 9. Prototyping and testing. Even if the modelling that

can be carried out in the analysis and detailed
The design process is complex and requires multiple design phases gives satisfactory results, it is
iterations to ensure that the proposed objective is important to build prototypes and carry out the
achieved. It is a vitally important process because, if necessary tests to ensure that the result meets
its completion does not in itself guarantee a successful the defined performance specifications under the
outcome, and the process is not followed, it is very working conditions.
unlikely that the outcome will be satisfactory to the 10. Production, once it has been verified that the design
parties involved. satisfactorily resolves the need posed by the user,
the production of the necessary units, whether
According to Robert L. Norton, in his book Machine
these are single products or large series production,
Design, McGraw Hill, the design process consists of the
proceeds.
following 10 phases (Figure 2):

1. Identification of needs, which consists of making Prototyping and

Identification of testing
sure that the problem to be solved and the options needs
Detailed design
acceptable to the user have been identified.
2. Preliminary research, which consists of seeking
information and carrying out benchmarking to find
out the best options for resolving the need identified Preliminary
Selection Production
in the previous phase. research

3. Setting objectives. It´s clear that a design cannot

cover all the possible needs of a user, therefore, it is
important to set clear and realistic objectives to be
met by the design. Goal setting Analysis

4. Performance specifications, which define what the

design should be able to do by defining numerical
values that are capable of being measured and
tested; they can serve as contractual specifications. Performance Ideation and
specifications invention
5. Ideation and invention is the creative phase of the
process, in which the mechanical engineer will
Figure 2. Phases in design.
invent the solution, based on preliminary research
and ensuring that it meets the objectives of the
project, the specifications defined in the contract
and, above all, that it meets the needs of the user.
Design Considerations
6. Analysis, consisting of analysing the problem Throughout the design process there will be a number of
and proposing possible solutions, using physical factors that are of particular importance in determining
theories, chemical processes, and mathematical the final outcome; these are the design considerations.
calculations, to come up with preliminary solutions It is important to limit the number of considerations to
that may be able to meet the stated objectives. a manageable number, as many of them will be found to
be contradictory, and it will be impossible to meet all of
7. Selection, consisting of applying decision criteria them if the number is too high.
to select the best option to meet the performance
specifications and objectives in agreement with the Design considerations may include factors
client. such as safety, maintainability, mass, or cost.
These considerations must be consistent with the legal,
8. Detailed design, which consists of continuing with
climatic, and social particularities of the geographical
the analysis of the chosen solution until it reaches
location where the proposed solution is to be used, as
the level of detail necessary to allow its manufacture
this is key to the success of the design (Figure 3).
and use.
 Design Process 5

• Supplementary protective and preventive measures,

taking into account reasonably foreseeable use.
Appropriately selected supplementary protective
and preventive measures may be used to reduce the
risk where it is not possible to eliminate the hazard.
• Information for use where hazards remain despite
the application of the above steps. These should
be identified in the information necessary for use
section, which should include operating procedures
for use, working methods and training requirements,
warnings of residual risks, and descriptions of the
personal protective equipment necessary for use.

Inherently safe design measures

Protective measures and supplementary preventive

measures

Information for use

Figure 4. Steps outlined in ISO 12100:2010.

Figure 3. Design considerations. Taken from pexels.com.

Human Factor Annex B (Informative) of the ISO Standard, on examples

of hazards, hazardous situations, and dangerous
Since all mechanical designs interact with people in a occurrences, contains a table (called table B.1) with a list
more or less direct way, human and ergonomic factors of examples of hazards classified in the following types:
need to be taken into consideration to ensure that user
interaction is comfortable, functional, and user-friendly. 1. Mechanical hazards.
In this regard, ISO 12100:2010, on the safety of machinery: 2. Electrical hazards.
- "General principles for design" - "Risk assessment and
3. Thermal hazards.
risk reduction", aims to provide designers with a structure
and general guidance for decisions during machine 4. Noise hazards.
development to enable them to produce machines
5. Vibration hazards.
that are safe for direct use. The standard sets out the
following sequence of three steps, which can be seen in 6. Radiation hazards.
(Figure 4):
7. Hazards arising from materials and substances.
• Inherently safe design measures, which eliminate 8. Hazards arising from non-compliance with
or reduce the associated risks by an appropriate ergonomic principles.
choice of design features for the machine itself, and
the interaction between exposed persons and the 9. Hazards associated with the environment in which
machine. the machinery is used.
10. Combination of hazards.

These hazards may occur during all phases of the life

cycle of the machinery, from its transport and entry into
service, to its dismantling.
 Design Process 6

Design Tools
All available design tools, such as the following, should
be known and, where possible, used:

1. Technical information, such as specialised technical

libraries of universities, colleges and professional
associations, technical publishers, and government
agencies, many of which are available via the
internet, as well as papers available via specialised
scientific resource websites, such as Web of Science
o Scopus.
2. Computer-aided design (CAD) tools allow the
development of three-dimensional designs, from
Figure 5. Design. Taken from pexels.com.
which conventional 2-D orthographic views can
be obtained, enabling the final appearance of the
solution and its suitability to the environment to be
checked.
Project Management
3. Finite element analysis (FEA) tools that allow the According to ISO 21500:2012, "Guidelines for project
simulation of the application of loads to check the direction and management", a project is a single set of
distribution of stresses, deformations, vibrations, processes consisting of coordinated and controlled
and heat flow in the solution proposed under working activities, with start and end dates, which are carried
conditions, which includes not only the simulation out to achieve the project objectives. This definition
of static loads, but also dynamic loads, movements, coincides perfectly with the mechanical design process.
fluid dynamics, and temperature transfers.
Even if an engineer has very good technical knowledge,
4. The analysis is generally carried out in 3 phases, if they are not able to correctly manage the activities,
which are preprocessing, in which the model and deadlines, and resources needed to carry out the project,
the environmental factors that affect it are defined; they will not be able to obtain satisfactory results. In
solution, mathematical solution of the model; and general terms, project management consists of the
post-processing, in which the results are shown following five groups of processes (Figure 6):
graphically and numerically.
1. Initiation. The processes used to start the project,
5. Mathematical solvers, which allow the rapid and
define the objectives, and authorise the project
repetitive performance of complex mathematical
manager to carry out the project.
calculations related to the design of the solution.
2. Planning. Thi process is used to develop the planning
6. Collaborative work methodologies, such as building
detail, that must be sufficient to establish baselines
information modeling (BIM), which integrates the
against which the implementation of the project is
work of several professionals, located at different
managed and against which the performance of the
workstations, in a single project.
project is measured and monitored.
7. 3D printing, which allows the rapid creation of
3. Implementation. The processes used to carry out
prototypes and models for testing and testing the
project management activities, and to support
suitability of the solution to the objectives set out in
the production of deliverables in accordance with
the design (Figure 5).
project plans.
4. Control. These are used to track, measure, and
control project performance against the project
plan so that preventive and corrective actions
can be taken, and change requests made, where
necessary, to achieve the project objectives.
5. Closure is used to formally establish that the
project is complete and provide lessons learned to
be considered and implemented as necessary.
 Design Process 7

Start Planning Implementation Control Closing

Figure 6. Process groups.

Engineer's
Responsibilities
Generally speaking, the mechanical engineer must
satisfy the needs of users and stakeholders, whether
they are management, customers, users, etc., and is
expected to do so in a competent, responsible, ethical,
and professional manner. When working on a design
Figure 7. Responsibility of the engineer. Taken from pexels.com.
problem it is important to develop a systemic approach,
which includes the following elements:

• Understanding the problem, which is fundamental

to being able to solve it. Bibliography
• Identify the known information from the refined [1] R, Norton, "Design of machinery", McGraw-Hill,
problem statement. Interamericana de España, S.L, 2013.
• Identify the unknown information and formulate [2] R. Budynas, K. Nisbett. "Design in mechanical
strategies for its solution, establishing what needs engineering". McGraw-Hill Interamericana de España,
to be determined and in what order, so as to arrive S.L, 2012.
at a solution to the problem.
[3] ISO 12100:2010 Safety of machinery – General
• Establish all assumptions and decisions, since, in principles for design – Risk assessment and risk
general, real design problems do not have unique, reduction. ISO, 2010.
ideal, and closed solutions.
• Analyse the problem, using a solution strategy
together with the decisions and assumptions, which
implements the problem analysis.
• Evaluate the solution at each step, i.e. looking at
how changes in strategy, decisions, assumptions
and implementation might change the results,
either positively or negatively.
• Present the solution, using the necessary
communication skills to explain what has been
designed, to the audience (Figure 7).