IEEE Miami Section in Conjunction with Energy Systems Research Laboratory at Florida International University is pleased to invite you to lecture on

The Practice of engineering Economy

by William Peterson
Email: drbillpeterson@aol.com
Professor of Engineering Management, Florida International University

Date: Friday, February 6th, 2013
Time: 10:00 AM to 11:00 AM
Place: Room EC-33500 in the third floor of FIU College of Engineering and Computing
10555 W. Flagler Street, Miami, Florida, 33174.

Abstract: Spreadsheets, as a supplement to the traditional factor/tabular data approach to presenting engineering economy, seem to have reached the level of being the norm. Some of us, especially those of us with extensive industrial experience, have argued for more extensive use of spreadsheets and the use of the formulas embedded in said spreadsheets as a way to shift the emphasis of the engineering economy course from one of data manipulation to one of input generation, arguably the value added step for practitioners, analysis method selection, arguably a key skill for practitioners and decision makers, and decision making, the arguably decisive step for [engineering] managers. The value the engineer/engineering manager adds is in insuring that the financial impact of a project is correctly captured and thus insure that “good” projects are implemented and that ‘bad” projects are not. This involves selecting the correct and complete inputs for the analysis. The financial arm of the organization selects the analysis method – the engineer/engineering manager adds value by using the method correctly and by insure appropriate values are used. While engineering economy is generally taught as a standalone course, it is a (or arguably the) key element in project management.