Engineering Department Organization and Control in a Small Company

Organization of an engineering department in a small company is described. The four basic functions of the department are discussed; namely, custom engineering, sales assistance, production assistance, and new product design. The role of committees in carrying out interdepartment liaison is presented, and the specific working committees and their functions are described. Comments are presented on Management's problems in the areas of 1) providing necessary technical skills, 2) budgetary control of manpower, as required for custom engineering on fixed price-contracts and new product development, and 3) intradepartment organization versus integration of the department into the over-all company organization.