Continuous improvement as a methodology for introducing engineering design to first-year students

Developing solutions to engineering problems is often an iterative process with improvement occurring over several generations of a design. We have developed a Continuous Improvement laboratory framework that introduces first-year engineering students to design practice. This involves guiding students to systematically improve computer-controlled models of electromechanical systems while emulating the methods followed by practising engineers. The initial systems were constructed by students in Spring 1999. The first improvement cycle took place in Spring 2000 when teams of first-year students received working systems developed in 1999 along with their full technical documentation. Each team applied the engineering design process to identify opportunities for improving their system and then implemented these improvements. The resulting systems (with revised documents) become the starting models for another cycle of improvement in Spring 2001. Through this project, students develop skills in problem solving, communication, teamwork and project management. We explain the motivation for and describe the Continuous Improvement methodology. We compare this methodology to the process of building a new project. Finally, we describe our students' experiences with identifying potential project improvements and preparing proposals including examples of specific improvements proposed.