Posted: March 21st, 2015

DRAPER ENGINEERING

DRAPER ENGINEERING

TASK DESCRIPTION

Please read the following case study and then answer the questions at the end.

Draper Engineering Case Study

Draper Engineering Ltd makes a range of drive shafts and track rods for the automotive and transport industry.  The company has invested heavily in modern

manufacturing technology in order to remain competitive.  Current customers include four of the major European car manufacturers and two large American truck

manufacturers.  A large proportion of this technology is still not working today.

The workforce at Draper’s is very loyal.  Many of the technical and middle management personnel have worked for the company for over 20 years respectively.  However,

in the last 5 years staff turnover in the production area has been high.  Many incentives have been tried to reverse this trend, but all have failed.  For management

and staff technical grades, staff turnover is low, but the recent appointment of a new operations director has resulted in one or two notable departures.  Eighteen

months ago the in-house logistics operations were outsourced to Hardy Logistics Ltd a large international logistics company with numerous international contracts.

Hardy’s performance to date has been rather indifferent with numerous late deliveries and a significant amount of damaged stock being delivered to customers.  In

recent months there has been some improvement in the quality of this service, especially with regards to late deliveries.

Draper’s have a large engineering department headed by the Director of Engineering who is responsible for over 150 employees.  The company works a three shift system

and has up to 12 maintenance personnel on any one shift.  The functions of the engineering department are broken down into the following:

•    Routine maintenance
•    Project engineering
•    Development engineering
•    Design
•    Fabrication
•    Site services

A few years ago the site services was outsourced to Bang IT and Bend IT a building company and since then Draper’s have been beset with problems.  It is a frequent

occurrence for jobs to be started and then finished about 6 months later.  This often has serious impact on production and recently scaffolding was put up in the press

shop and no work has taken place so far.

The shift maintenance personnel report to the shift manager who in return reports to the production manager, despite the fact that their immediate line manager is the

Engineering Maintenance Manger who frequently leaves them work to do on shift.  This often causes friction between various members of staff as there is a varying level

of skills among the shift engineers and shift electricians with some being competent time served tradesman and others not.

The project and developmental engineering work frequently lacks co-ordination and planning.  Many projects are not adequately thought through and it is often the case

that new equipment arrives for installation and no one knows what it is for.  Where work is planned, it is often the case that the relevant section manager has not

been informed about it.

Planned maintenance is almost non-existent and most maintenance is done on the basis of “If it isn’t broken then don’t try and fix it.”  A recent company shutdown for

maintenance was an absolute disaster, with large amounts of maintenance not completed on time, and in some cases, machines were stripped down to only find that the

replacement parts had not been ordered.

Questions

1.    Perform a SWOT analysis on Draper Engineering using the case study provided.  Explain in detail how Draper can improve five of the issues identified from the

SWOT analysis.

2.    Analyse how Draper’s could re-organise the maintenance department to improve efficiency.

3.    Discuss how Draper’s should deal with Bang IT and Bend IT in order to improve the performance of this contractor.

GUIDANCE FOR STUDENTS IN THE COMPLETION OF TASKS

(Lecturer – please insert guidance for students here. Please link the task to the five common assessment criteria overleaf)

You report should be laid out as follows:

Title Page
Contents Page
Introduction
Question 1
Question 2
Question 3
Reference page

MARKING CRITERIA AND STUDENT FEEDBACK
This section details the assessment criteria. The extent to which these are demonstrated by you determines your mark. The marks available for each criterion are shown.

Lecturers will use the space provided to comment on the achievement of the task(s), including those areas in which you have performed well and areas that would benefit

from development/improvement.

Common Assessment Criteria Applied    Marks available    Marks
awarded
1. Research-informed Literature
Extent of research and/or own reading, selection of credible sources, application of appropriate referencing conventions.
Assessed in question 1 and 3

15

2. Knowledge and Understanding of Subject
Extent of knowledge and understanding of concepts and underlying principles associated with the discipline.
Assessed in all questions

20

3. Analysis
Analysis, evaluation and synthesis; logic, argument and judgement; analytical reflection; organisation  of ideas and evidence
Assessed in all questions

30

4. Practical Application and Deployment
Deployment of methods, materials, tools and techniques; application of concepts; formulation of innovative and creative solutions to solve problems.
Assessed in all questions

25

5. Skills for Professional Practice
Attributes in professional practice: individual and collaborative working; deployment of appropriate media; presentation and organisation.
Assessed in all questions

10

Assignment Mark (Assessment marks are subject to ratification at the Exam Board.  These comments and marks are to give feedback on module work and are for guidance

only until they are confirmed. )    Late Submission Penalties (tick if appropriate)    %
Up to one-week late
Over one week late
COMMON ASSESSMENT AND MARKING CRITERIA
OUTRIGHT FAIL    UNSATISFACTORY    SATISFACTORY    GOOD    VERY GOOD    EXCELLENT    EXCEPTIONAL
Assessment Criteria    0-29%    30-39%*    40-49%    50-59%    60-69%    70-79%    80-100%
1. Research-informed Literature
Extent of research and/or own reading,  selection of credible sources, application of appropriate referencing conventions     Little or no evidence of reading.
Views and findings unsupported and non-authoritative.
Referencing conventions largely ignored.    Poor evidence of reading and/or of reliance on inappropriate sources, and/or indiscriminate use of sources.
Referencing conventions used inconsistently.    References to a limited range of mostly relevant sources. Some omissions and minor errors.
Referencing conventions evident though not always applied consistently.    Inclusion of a range of research-informed literature, including sources retrieved

independently. Referencing conventions mostly consistently applied.    Inclusion of a wide range of research-informed literature, including sources retrieved

independently.
Selection of relevant and credible sources.  Very good use of referencing conventions, consistently applied.    A comprehensive range of research informed literature

embedded in the work. Excellent selection of relevant and credible sources. High-level referencing skills, consistently applied.    Outstanding knowledge of

research-informed literature embedded in the work. Outstanding selection of relevant and credible sources. High-level referencing skills consistently and

professionally applied.
2. Knowledge and Understanding of Subject
Extent of knowledge and understanding of concepts and underlying principles associated with the discipline.    Major gaps in knowledge and understanding of material

at this level. Substantial inaccuracies.    Gaps in knowledge, with only superficial understanding. Some significant inaccuracies.    Evidence of basic knowledge and

understanding of the relevant concepts and underlying principles.     Knowledge is accurate with a good understanding of the field of study.    Knowledge is extensive.

Exhibits understanding of the breadth and depth of established views.     Excellent knowledge and understanding of the main concepts and key theories. Clear awareness of

challenges to established views and the limitations of the knowledge base.    Highly detailed knowledge and understanding of the main theories/concepts, and a

critical awareness of the ambiguities and limitations of knowledge.
3.  Analysis
Analysis, evaluation and synthesis; logic, argument and judgement; analytical reflection; organisation  of ideas and evidence    Unsubstantiated generalisations, made

without use of any credible evidence. Lack of logic, leading to unsupportable/ missing conclusions. Lack of any attempt to analyse, synthesise or evaluate.    Some

evidence of analytical intellectual skills, but for the most part descriptive. Ideas/findings sometimes illogical and contradictory. Generalised statements made with

scant evidence. Conclusions lack relevance.    Evidence of some logical, analytical thinking and some attempts to synthesise, albeit with some weaknesses.
Some evidence to support findings/ views, but evidence not consistently interpreted.
Some relevant conclusions and recommendations, where relevant    Evidence of some logical, analytical thinking and synthesis. Can analyse new and/or abstract data and

situations without guidance.
An emerging awareness of different stances and ability to use evidence to support the argument.
Valid conclusions and recommendations, where relevant    Sound, logical, analytical thinking; synthesis and evaluation. Ability to devise and sustain persuasive

arguments, and to review the reliability, validity & significance of evidence. Ability to communicate ideas and evidence accurately and convincingly.
Sound, convincing conclusions / recommendations.    Thoroughly logical work, supported by evaluated evidence. High quality analysis, developed independently or

through effective collaboration.
Ability to investigate contradictory information and identify reasons for contradictions.
Strong, persuasive, conclusions, justifiable recommendations.    Exceptional work; judiciously selected and evaluated evidence. Very high quality analysis, developed

independently or through effective collaboration.
Ability to investigate contradictory information and identify reasons for contradictions.
Highly persuasive conclusions
4. Practical Application and Deployment
Effective deployment of appropriate methods, materials, tools and techniques; extent of skill demonstrated in the application of concepts to a variety of processes

and/or contexts; formulation of innovative and creative solutions to solve problems.     Limited or no use of methods, materials, tools and/or techniques.
Little or no appreciation of the context of the application.    Rudimentary application of methods, materials, tools and/or techniques but without consideration and

competence. Flawed appreciation of the context of the application.

An adequate awareness and mostly appropriate application of well established methods, materials, tools and/or techniques.
Basic appreciation of the context of the application.
A good and appropriate application of standard methods, materials, tools and/or techniques.
Good appreciation of the context of the application, with some use of examples, where relevant.
A very good application of a range of methods, materials, tools and/or techniques.
Very good consideration of the context of the application, with perceptive use of examples, where relevant.
Evidence of some innovation and creativity.     An advanced application of a range of methods, materials, tools and/or techniques.
The context of the application is well considered, with extensive use of relevant examples.
Application and deployment extend beyond established conventions.  Innovation and creativity evident throughout.    Outstanding levels of application and

deployment skills. Assimilation and development of cutting edge processes and techniques.
5. Skills for Professional Practice
Demonstrates attributes expected in professional practice including: individual initiative and collaborative working; deployment of appropriate media to communicate

(including written and oral); clarity and effectiveness in presentation and organisation.    Communication media is inappropriate or misapplied.
Little or no evidence of autonomy in the completion of tasks.
Work is poorly structured and/or largely incoherent.    Media is poorly designed and/or not suitable for the audience.
Poor independent or collaborative initiative.
Work lacks structure, organisation, and/or coherence    Can communicate in a suitable format but with some room for improvement.
Can work as part of a team, but with limited involvement in group activities.
Work lacks coherence in places and could be better structured.    Can communicate effectively in a suitable format, but may have minor errors.
Can work effectively as part of a team, with clear contribution to group activities.
Mostly coherent work and is in a suitable structure.    Can communicate well, confidently and consistently in a suitable format.
Can work very well as part of a team, with very good contribution to group activities.
Work is coherent and fluent and is well structured and organised.    Can communicate professionally and, confidently in a suitable format.
Can work professionally within a team, showing leadership skills as appropriate, managing conflict and meeting obligations.
Work is coherent, very fluent and is presented professionally.    Can communicate with an exceptionally high level of professionalism.
Can work exceptionally well and professionally within a team, showing advanced leadership skills.
Work is exceptionally coherent, very fluent and is presented professionally.

Student Self Evaluation Form
Student name:        Student P number:
Programme:    BEng Mechanical and Manufacturing Engineering    Year of programme     2
Assignment Title:    Draper Engineering

This section repeats in brief the common assessment criteria detailed on previous pages. The extent to which these are demonstrated by you determines your mark. Using

these criteria, tick the box that best indicates the level of achievement you feel you have achieved with regard to each of them.

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