Incremental-Improvement Design Case Studies

虽然设计在工程课程中越来越受到重视，但这种强调的不成比例的一部分放在了设计新产品和工艺上。在实践中，工程师面对不完美的现有工艺（或产品）的情况远比需要构建一个新工艺（或产品）的情况要多。我们建议通过开发过程改进模块来解决课程和工程实践之间的这种差异，这些模块将被纳入从大一到中级课程到顶点设计课程的工程课程中。过程改进模块将基于工业启发的案例研究，并将针对化学工程的初始项目范围。教学模块将培养解决问题的策略，提高工程师的关键能力：能够检查现有的操作过程或工业系统，并确定在最广泛的意义上可以改进的方法（包括降低成本，提高质量，提高可靠性或灵活性等），而无需完全重新设计过程。增量过程改进特别适合大一或大二的学生，因为从头开始设计通常会因为缺乏工程科学背景而变得复杂。过程改进保留了设计活动的许多优点，但带来了更易于管理的问题。在渐进式改进中，学生们从一开始就有一个完整的可行设计（如果没有全面的工程科学背景，他们不可能自己推导出这个设计）。识别和实施过程改进的教学模式将包括课堂讨论，就像工程团队的会议一样。学生将提出关于流程限制和改进领域的想法，团队讨论每个想法的优缺点。这提高了学生建设性地参与会议和交流思想和批评的能力。这将提高沟通技巧，并在持续审查和主动改进的背景下鼓励批判性思维。该项目的可交付成果将是6个过程改进案例研究，这些案例研究将基于对工业过程改进的审查进行综合。案例研究将涵盖化学工程主题的横截面，适用于不同层次的课程。一些案例研究将包括计算机模拟，而其他将适合实验室实验。对于每个案例研究，我们将提供有关初始过程和一系列潜在改进的全面信息，包括数值结果、基本原理、可以提供给学生的提示以及课堂讨论主题。在现有的核心课程中引入模块（而不是开发一门新课程）的好处是，更多的项目（在其他机构）可能会采用至少一部分模块。课程模块将在论坛上推广，这些论坛包括选定的专业会议、美国工程教育学会的出版物（如化学工程教育和工程教育杂志）和非营利组织化学工程教育的计算机辅助。

While design is gaining emphasis in engineering curricula, a disproportionate part of this emphasisis placed on designing new products and processes. In practice, in engineer is faced with an imperfect existing process (or product) far more often than with a requirement to build a new one. We propose to address this discrepancy between curricula and engineering practice, by developing process-improvement modules to be incorporated in engineering courses ranging from freshman-level through intermediate courses to the capstone design courses. The process improvement modules will be based on industry-inspired case studies, and will be targeted to chemical engineering for the initial scope of this project. The instructional modules will cultivate problem-solving strategies that enhance a key ability of an engineer: The ability to examine an existing, operating process or industrial system and identify ways in which it can be improved in the broadest sense (including cost reduction, better quality, improved reliability or flexibility, etc.), without a complete redesign of the process. Incremental process improvement is eminently suitable for the freshman or sophomore levels because design-from-scratch is usually complicated by the lack of engineering science background. Process improvement retains many of the advantages of a design activity but comes in more manageable problems. In incremental improvement, the students have from the outset an entire feasible design (which would be impossible for them to derive on their own without comprehensive engineering-science background). The instruction mode for identifying and implementing process improvements will involve class discussion much like a meeting of an engineering team. The students will float ideas about process limitations and areas of improvement, and the team discusses the pros and cons of each idea. This enhances the students' ability to constructively participate in meetings and exchange ideas and critiques in that setting. This will improve communication skills, as well as encourage critical thinking in the context of continuous review and proactive improvement. The deliverables of the project will be 6 case studies in process improvement, which will be synthesized based on a review of industrial process improvements. The case studies will cover a cross-section of chemical engineering topics and suitable for courses at different levels. Some case studies will include computer simulations, while others will be suitable for laboratory experimentation. For each case study, we will provide comprehensive information on the initial process and a series of potential improvements, with numerical results, rationale, hints that can be offered to the students, and class discussion topics. The introduction of modules in existing core courses (rather than the development of a new course) has the advantage that many more programs (at other institutions) are likely to adopt at least a portion of the modules. The course modules will be promoted in forums that include selected professional conferences, publications of the American Society for Engineering Education (such as Chemical Engineering Education and the Journal of Engineering Education), and the non-profit organization Computer Aids for Chemical Engineering Education.