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Engineering Communication

Presentations are an integral part of any engineering project. Depending on the

size of the project, the presentations might be brief, lengthy, frequent, and may follow a
certain format requiring calculations, graphs, charts, and engineering drawings.

Engineers are problem solvers. Once they have obtained a solution to a problem,
they need to communicate effectively their solution to various people inside or outside
their organization.

Presentations are an integral part of any engineering project. As an engineering

student, you would be asked to present your solution to assigned homework problems,
write a technical report, or give an oral presentation to your class, student organization,
or an audience at a student conference.

Communication skills and presentation of engineering work. As an engineering

student, you need to develop good written and oral communication skills.

Basic steps involved in the solution of engineering problems:

1. Defining the problem. Taking time to understand the problem completely at

the beginning will save lots of time later and help to avoid a great deal of
frustration. Once you understand the problem, you should be able to divide
any given problem into two basic questions: What is known? and What is to
be found?

2. Simplifying the problem

2.1. Assumptions and Estimations. Understanding the physical laws and
the fundamental concepts, as well as where and when to apply them
and their limitations, will benefit you greatly in making assumptions and
solving the problem.
 3. Performing the solution or Analysis. Once you have carefully studied the
problem, you can proceed with obtaining an appropriate solution. This
approach will allow you to change the value of a given variable and see its
influence on the final result.
4. Verifying the results. The final step of any engineering analysis should be
the verification of results. Various sources of error can contribute to wrong
results. Before you present your solution or the results to your instructor or,
later in your career, to your manager, you need to learn to think about the
calculated results.

Homework Presentation. Engineering paper is specially formatted for use by

engineers and engineering students. The paper has three cells on the top that may be
used to convey such information as course number, assignment due date, and your
name. A given problem may be divided into a “Given” section, a “Find” section, and a
“Solution” section. Your engineering assignments will usually consist of many problems;
thus, you will present your work on many sheets, which should be stapled together.
Professors do not generally like loose papers, and some may even deduct points from
your assignment’s total score if the assignment sheets are not stapled together. The
steps for presenting an engineering problem are demonstrated in Example 4.1. If you
are presenting solutions to simple problems and you think you can show the complete
solution to more than one problem on one page, then separate the two problems by a
relatively thick line or a double line, whichever is more convenient for you.

Progress Report. Progress reports are means of communicating to others in an

organization or to the sponsors of a project how much progress has been made and
which of the main objectives of the project have been achieved to date.

Executive Summary. Executive summaries are means of communicating to people in

top management positions, such as a vice president of a company, the findings of a
detailed study or a proposal..
Short Memos. Short memos are yet another way of conveying information in a brief
way to interested individuals. Generally, short memos are under two pages in length.
Detailed Technical Report. Detailed technical reports dealing with experimental
investigations generally contain the following items:
1. Abstract. This is a very important part of a report because readers often read
this part first to decide if they should read the report in detail. In the abstract, in
complete but concise sentences you state the precise objective, emphasize
significant findings, and present conclusions and/or recommendations.
2. Objectives. The purpose of the objectives section is to state what is to be
investigated through the performance of the experiment. Be sure to list your
objectives explicitly (e.g., 1., 2., ..., etc.).
3. Theory and Analysis. There are several purposes of the theory and analysis
section:
•To state pertinent principles, laws, and equations (equations should be
numbered);
• To present analytical models that will be used in the experiment;
• To define any unfamiliar terms or symbols; and
• To list important assumptions associated with the experimental design.
4. Apparatus and Experimental Procedures. There are two main purposes of the
apparatus and experimental procedures section:
1. To present a list of apparatus and instrumentation to be used, including
the instrument ranges, least count, and identification numbers.
2. To describe how you performed the experiment. The procedure should
be itemized (step 1.,2., etc.) and a schematic or diagram of the
instrument setup should be included.
5. Data and Results. The purpose of this section is to present the results of the
experiment, as described in the stated objective, in a tabular and/or graphical
form. These tables and graphs show the results of all your efforts. Include
descriptive information such as titles, column or row headings, units, axis labels,
and data points (data points should be marked by, etc.). All figures must be
numbered and have a descriptive title. The figure number and the title should be
 placed below the figure. All tables must be numbered and have a descriptive title
as well. However, for tables, the table number and the title should be placed
above the table. It is sometimes necessary to note in this section that you have
included the original data sheets in the appendix to your report.
6. Discussion of the Results. The purpose of the results section is to emphasize
and explain to the reader the important results of the experiment and point out
their significance. When applicable, be sure to compare experimental results with
theoretical calculations.
7. Conclusions and Recommendations. The conclusions and recommendations
section compare your objectives with your experimental results. Support your
conclusions with appropriate reference materials. Be sure to state
recommendations based on the conclusions.
8. Appendix. The appendix serves several purposes:
• To provide the reader with copies of all original data sheets, diagrams,
and supplementary notes.
• To display sample calculations used in processing the data. The sample
calculations should contain the following parts:
A title of the calculation
A statement of mathematical equation
Calculation using one sample of data
9. References. A list of references that have been numbered in the text must be
included in the report. Use the following format examples:
For Books: Author, title, publisher, place of publication, date (year), and
page(s).
For Journal Articles: Author, title of article (enclosed in quotation marks),
name of journal, volume number, issue number, year, and page(s).
For Internet Materials: Author, title, date, and URL address.

Oral Communication and Presentation. We communicate orally to each other all the
time. The oral technical presentation in many ways is similar to a written one. You need
to be well organized and have an outline of your presentation ready, similar to the
format for a written report.

Engineering Graphical Communication. Engineers use special kinds of drawings,

called engineering drawings, to convey their ideas and design information about
products. These drawings portray vital information, such as shape of the product, its
size, type of material used, and assembly steps.

CHAPTER 5

Engineers design many products and provide many services that affect our quality of life
and safety. They supervise the construction of buildings, dams, highways, bridges,
mass transit systems, and power plants. Engineers must perform under a certain
standard of professional behavior which requires adherence to the highest principles of
ethical conduct.

Ethics refers to the study of morality and the moral choices that we all have to make in
our lives. Professional societies, such as medical and engineering, have long
established guidelines, standards, and rules that govern the conduct of their members.

NSPE - The National Society of Professional Engineers

- The NSPE ethical code of conduct is used in making judgments about
engineering ethic-related cases that are brought before the NSPE’s Board of Ethics
Review.

Engineer Ethics
• I. Fundamental Canons - Engineers, in the fulfillment of their professional
duties, shall:
1. Hold paramount the safety, health and welfare of the public.
2. Perform services only in areas of their competence.
3. Issue public statements only in an objective and truthful manner.
• II. Rules of Practice
1. Engineers shall hold paramount the safety, health, and welfare of the public.
2. Engineers shall perform services only in the areas of their competence.
3. Engineers shall issue public statements only in an objective and truthful
manner.
4. Engineers shall act for each employer or client as faithful agents or trustees.
5. Engineers shall avoid deceptive acts.
• III. Professional Obligations
1. Engineers shall be guided in all their relations by the highest standards of
honesty and integrity.
2. Engineers shall at all times strive to serve the public interest.
3. Engineers shall avoid all conduct or practice that deceives the public.
4. Engineers shall not disclose, without consent, confidential information
concerning the business affairs or technical processes of any present or
former client or employer, or public body on which they serve.
5. Engineers shall not be influenced in their professional duties by conflicting
interests.
6. Engineers shall not attempt to obtain employment or advancement or
professional engagements by untruthfully criticizing other engineers, or by
other improper or questionable methods.
7. Engineers shall not attempt to injure, maliciously or falsely, directly or
indirectly, the professional reputation, prospects, practice, or employment of
other engineers. Engineers who believe others are guilty of unethical or illegal
practice shall present such information to the proper authority for action.
8. Engineers shall accept personal responsibility for their professional activities,
provided, however, that engineers may seek indemnification for services
arising out of their practice for other than gross negligence, where the
engineer’s interests cannot otherwise be protected.
 9. Engineers shall give credit for engineering work to those to whom credit is
due, and will recognize the proprietary interests of others.

Engineer’s Creed
The engineer’s creed, which was adopted by NSPE in 1954, is a statement of
belief, similar to the Hippocratic oath taken by medical practitioners. It was developed to
state the engineering philosophy of service in a brief way. The NSPE engineer’s creed
is:

To give the utmost of performance;

To participate in none but honest enterprise;
To live and work according to the laws of man and the highest standards of professional
conduct; and
To place service before profit, the honor and standing of the profession before personal
advantage, and the public welfare above all other considerations.
In humility and with need for Divine guidance, I make this pledge.

The engineer’s creed is typically used in graduation ceremonies or licensure certificate

presentations. These are additional definitions that should be studied carefully.

Engineers should also be careful and aware of the following:

Academic Dishonesty—Honesty is very important in all aspects of life. Academic

dishonesty refers to behavior that includes cheating on tests, homework assignments,
lab reports; plagiarism; lying about being sick and not taking a test because of it; signing
the attendance sheet for another student, or asking another student to sign the sheet for
you in your absence. Universities have different policies that deal with academic
dishonesty including giving the dishonest student a failing grade for the course or
requiring the student to drop the class or placing a student on probation.
Plagiarism—Plagiarism refers to presenting someone else’s work as your own. You
may use or cite the work of others including information from journal articles, books,
online sources, TV or radio, but make sure that you cite where you obtain the
information from. In Chapter 4, we discussed in detail how you should give proper
reference in your oral and written communications.

Conflict of Interest—A conflict between the individual’s personal interests and the
individual’s obligations because of the position he or she holds.
Contract— Contract is an agreement among two or more parties, which they entered
into freely. A legal contract is one that is legally binding, meaning if not fulfilled it could
have legal consequences.
Professional Responsibility—It is the responsibility associated with the mastery of
special kind of knowledge that a person possesses