Month: February 2012

We’ve had a week since our final presentation. In this time we have sent our final deliverables to our client electronically. This includes our Exhibit Concept Document (ECD), AutoCAD drawings of the design and the final PowerPoint presentation. We hope that Science World will be able to use aspects of our design and that they have benefited from our assistance in the design process.

Since the final presentation last week, we’ve been able to reflect on the project and the engineering related experience. We’ve learned how to effectively communicate with a client and to successfully meet project deadlines. Although the project was not very Civil Engineering related we feel like we have still gained valuable project management skills. These skills include effective team coordination and communication, as well as project documentation.

Overall this project has turned out to be fun and educational, especially since Science World was a great client to work with. Our group was able to work well together and all members contributed effectively.

Recycle, Reduce, and Reuse

Photo Courtesy: http://globalcalamities.wordpress.com/about-littering/

As mentioned in the previous blog, we were preparing for the final presentation. We gave our final presentation this week on Feb. 14. The presentation provided  our client with a detailed knowledge about our design, including the working mechanism of the waste receptacle. We also discussed about different options which could be added to the final design. The final Exhibit Concept Document (ECD) was also submitted at the presentation. The client provided us with very constructive feedback, and also discussed some practical design changes that could happen, to ease the operation of the waste receptacle. For example, in our original design the garbage inside the bin can be accessed by opening the top of the waste receptacle. This mechanism makes it hard for the person who is responsible for changing the garbage to pull the garbage out. Instead there could a door on the side, which could be opened and the garbage bins can be slid out.

ECD – Ken Spencer Science Park, Waste Receptacle

The project is nearing an end. This week we have begun to prepare for our final presentation, which we have confirmed for Tuesday February 14th, 2012 at Science World with our client’s team. The final design has been confirmed and drafted in AutoCAD (see image below), and a PowerPoint presentation has been created to deliver our design clearly to the client, which includes our design process from a preliminary stage to the final stage, components of the waste receptacle and precedent examples. We have begun formatting our final deliverable, the Exhibit Concept Document (ECD), which will be complete for the meeting on the 14th.

AutoCAD drawing of final design

Week three has been quite productive. Our group has discussed many of our preliminary designs and have now narrowed it down to the final design, which we have started drafting electronically. The design is attractive and interactive for visitors of all ages. The spherical shape resembles the earth and incorporates the environmental impact of waste disposal and the benefits of recycling. The electronic components of the machine will be self powered through a solar panel built into the top of the waste receptacle.

The following image is the first hand draft of our final design.