Department of Mechanical Engineering

Faculty of Engineering Technology

January 20th 2016
Dear Student,
Mini project is a compulsory component of the course MEM5336- Management for Engineers.
You need to select one of the topics given in the next page for the project and inform the course
coordinator Ms. Punya Sirisena via email before 07th April 2016. Also read carefully the section
About the Mini Project given in page 4.
There will be a discussion on 07th April 2016 at 9.30 AM at the Nawala Campus to explain you
how to carry out the mini project. At the discussion you will be assigned to a supervisor.
After completing the mini project, you should prepare a 10 minute power point presentation (10
to 15 Slides) and e-mail it to the Course coordinator (mem5336ousl@gmail.com) on or before
30th July 2016. When preparing the power point presentation, follow the instructions given at
the end of this document.
Date for the oral presentation, which is compulsory activity, will be informed through
Moodle/My OUSL.

Ms.P.R.Dadigamuwa
Academic coordinator

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Mini Project topics

Date of the workshop -07th April (Thursday) 2016
Date of submission of the power point presentation and the draft copy is
30th July 2016.
Note: Remember to mention the proposal number on top of your presentation.
Topic No 1
Explore the possibilities of introducing Lean Manufacturing Concept to improve the
production process or services in your organization.
(Lean concepts or Lean Manufacturing is a systematic approach that identifies and eliminates
all types of waste or non-value-added activities; not only in production operations, but in the
service industry as well.)
Study about the lean manufacturing concept
Select a process/ service delivery sections that to be improved and map them
Identify weak links/ areas
Define KPI (Key Performances Inductors) for a critical process
Suggest / recommend remedial measures to achieve KPIs
Topic No 2
Stress management is considered to be a vital factor in achieving goals of a company. Select a
workplace (factory or an office) and discuss with worker groups in view of identifying factors
affecting to the stress conditions that would result in loss in overall work performance.
Prepare a presentation including a brief introduction of the stress management in general and
give recommendations based on data analysis to avoid disastrous conditions pertaining to the
above workplace.
Topic No 3
Occupational health and safety is the responsibility of all stake holders of an industry.
However, this aspect in work place is often reported to be neglected. Select an industry (or a
business organization or a work place) and study on the responsibilities of the management in
the areas of health and safety, and how they comply with the legislation.
Your presentation should include a description on the importance of health and safety aspects,
local and international laws relating to industrial safety and your finding with the
recommendations to improve the health and safety management in the industry you selected.

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Topic No 4
Organizational structure defines how tasks are divided, grouped, and coordinated in
organizations. Every organization has a structure that clarifies the roles that organizational
members perform, so that everyone understands their responsibilities to the group.
Analyze the organizational structure of selected organization, based on factors affecting
coordinating and controlling of activities of the organization.
Identify the positive and negative aspects of the organizational structure through the feedback
of the members of the organization in the light of knowledge gained from the course.
Propose the ways and means of improving the organization structure. Justify the validity of
your proposal/s.
Topic No 5
Productivity improvement can be done by improving the employee work performance through
motivating people. Behavioral scientists believe that individuals are motivated to act in a
certain way by a desire to satisfy certain needs (Maslaws Hierarchy of needs theory).
Select an organization or a workplace and identify the employee satisfaction and
dissatisfaction of their needs through a data collection (using a questionnaire). Analyze the
data and recommend the ways and means of improving productivity through motivation. Your
final presentation should include followings.
Analysis of existing productivity improvement technique(s)
Finding weakness/es in existing productivity improvement technique(s)
Most effective utilization of existing or proposed method and resources
Setting and measuring performance standard
Use of performance standard to pay incentives
Standardize method, material and equipment used in the production process
Topic No 6
Ergonomics (or human factors) is the scientific discipline concerned with the understanding
of interactions among humans and other elements of a system, and the profession that applies
theory, principles, data and methods to design in order to optimize human well-being and
overall system performance.
Select an organization and identify the main product and production methods, number of
workers (male/female), the hrs of work (including breaks and overtime) and any important
labour issues. Carry out listing the ergonomics checklist (Total checklist will be provided at
the discussion class) in an identified area of the workplace.
Prepare a list including the ways of improving human well-being and overall performance of
your workplace.
Submit only the hard copy and the soft copy of your presentation on or before 30th June 2016
to the academic coordinator/course coordinator. Do not submit any additional report.

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satisfactory progress. A few proposals for

projects are given for your consideration.

About the Mini Project

The project is a component of the
Continuous Assessment of the course
MEM5336-Management for Engineers.
You are expected to spare 40 hours for the
work of mini project.
Aim
The aim of the project is to give you an
opportunity to study yourself real world
problems in management. You would also
be able to compare theoretical knowledge
gained through the course Management for
Engineers with the realities in the
management of organizations and acquire
consolidated understanding on different
aspects in management.
Learning outcomes
On successful completion of the project
you should be able to,
Analyze a managerial problem you are
confronted with
Find favorable solutions by
employing different management and
decision making techniques
Plan, organize and control functions of
their organizations to achieve better
efficiency and effectiveness
Generate a structured presentation

Selection of the topic

Select a project topic from the attached list
of topics which can carry out your own
work place or at an organization known to
you.
Duration
You are expected to spend about 40 hours
on the project including the generation of
the power point presentation.
Evaluation
The evaluation of your work of mini
project will be carried out in two
components, (1) Power Point presentation
and (2) Oral presentation. Without oral
presentation, no marks will be assigned
for the Power Point Presentation.
The project will contribute 20% to the
Overall Continuous Mark (OCAM). A
Pass in Mini Project (minimum 50 mark)
is a requirement for you to obtain the
eligibility to sit the Final Examination in
MEM5336, in addition to the obtaining at
least 40 for OCAM.

PRELIMINARY WORKS
Your commitment
You are fully responsible for identifying
and specifying a suitable problem or topic.
You should carry out investigations,
proposing logical solutions and discussing
the positive and/or negative effects of the
proposal. You are responsible for obtaining
any data/information required for external
organizations. You may consult the
supervisor/coordinator
and
obtain
necessary assistance from them to ensure

Firstly, you should identify a topic from

the given list of topics. Once the topic is
identified, you are expected to do an indepth review of the project, understand the
activities involved and the steps to be
considered for the successful completion
of the proposed project before submitting
the power point presentation. Literature
survey is an important part in this phase of
the project.

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Instructions for the preparation of power point presentation

Slide topic
First slide

Descriptions
Give the following:
Topic No. and Title
Name, Registration No.
Supervisors name

Introduction

No. of slides
(max)

Give a brief description to the topic that should

include the importance of the issues addressed
under the project and objective of undertaking the
project (not the course requirement)

01

03

The organization/s selected (if any) for the study

and brief description to the organization
Background to the issue
(with theoretical base)

Give what information is available on the topic.

You may also include brief description about the
theoretical aspects

02

Approach/Methodology

Explain how you approach or try to achieve the

objectives

02

Observations/Results

Provide your results in a summary form

03

Analysis of results

Analysis of results should be given so that

interpretations can be easily done [ you may
provide graphs, statistical analysis, logical
explanations etc]

03

Conclusions and
Recommendations

Based on the analysis give your final conclusions

of your work and the recommendations

01

Do not include lengthy survey questionnaire as power point slides, but you can produce them
during the presentation as a hard copy.

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