Iem Interview Question 1 2001

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1. Discuss the dilemma engineers’ face in balancing capital expenditure versus optimum design for efficient operations and maintenance, bearing in mind the impact of capital expenditure on the engineer's fees. Is it really a dilemma , technology comes with a cost, reduction of scope of work, simple design, offer what the client want and can afford, stick to the best quality materials at the best rates, clarify all impact and implications to the clients, be reminded on safety and optimum life cycle cost. The first question an engineer should ask is, is it really a dilemma in balancing capital expenditure and optimum design? This is because the best technology will come at a certain cost. I would like to take this opportunity to discuss the cost factor in my current industry which is the space industry particularly satellite design and development. Take remote sensing industry for examples, a client normally wants the best images resolution with the largest revisit time for a remote sensing mission. A satellite typically has a mass associate with it, i.e. the higher the mass of satellite the more expensive it gets. This is because more mass means more complexity to satellite which results in bigger antenna and higher power transmitter to bring backs a huge amount of data from space to earth. This results in bigger battery size, bigger solar panel, more a higher accuracy attitude determination components and bigger mass memory. The engineer must understand the design process whether to design the system according to requirements or to have the system design to cost. The design process will then be different by having different design drivers. The approach will definitely have an impact to the engineers’ fee. By understanding the cost associate to a technology, engineers can be innovative in his or her work in order to reduce cost. An engineer can be

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