ME 497 Senior Design Project

TEAM 6

1. Purpose

The group has been formed to provide a valuable learning experience to the students involved as well as to design and develop a working commercial product by the end of the 2022/2023 academic year. 

 

2. Background 

In a broad sense we are a team working to solve a problem we observe in the local area using our engineering and academic skills. Our team is composed of twelve senior-year engineering students who have each taken on different responsibilities to accomplish and implement our solution. We are one of many teams with this task. These teams are managed by the Mechanical Engineering Department and specific faculty advisors. Therefore, Lafayette College is one of our major stakeholders and that will not change throughout the duration of the project. Our solution’s eventual users include many groups associated with safety at higher education institutions across the United States, including college/university administrations and faculty, students and their families, campus public safety departments, and local police departments.

 

3. Scope

We are Lafayette College students in an engineering senior design class. The class is themed around applying our engineering experience and academics to improve something in the real world. As we surveyed, interviewed, and researched a range of people in our local and national community, we have decided to target a market of students who feel unsafe on their college campus. One of the major problems that has emerged from this problem discovery phase is the lacking effectiveness of current campus safety systems, especially the blue light system that has become commonplace on campuses across the country.

Goals:

• Problem Discovery Website Update: 10/3/2022
• 5 Minute Presentation: 10/3/2022
• 5 Minute Presentation: 10/24/2022
• Statement of Individual Goals: 10/24/2022
• Problem Framing Website Update: 10/24/2022
• 5 Minute Presentation: 11/21/2022
• Problem Definition Website Update: 11/22/2022
• Midyear Poster Session: December 2022
• Safety Plan and Review: January 2023

Both individually and collectively, members of the group will work to accomplish these goals by their respective deadlines to the best of their ability. 

 

4. Team Composition

Team Members:

Alterman, Jed – Mechanical Engineering major and Math minor

Aronson, Michael- Mechanical Engineering and Math minor

Jochims, Ryan – Mechanical Engineering 

Kevelson, Max – Mechanical Engineering

Lee, Timothy – Mechanical Engineering and Math minor

Price, Henry – Mechanical Engineering, Math Minor

Tupper, Aaron – Mechanical Engineering Major, CS minor

Wallach, Sebastian – Mechanical Engineering and Environmental Studies Minor

Wenger, Benjamin – Integrative Engineering, Robotics Concentration

Wisehart, Fayth – Mechanical Engineering and English

Zuchold, Andrew – Mechanical Engineering

Zurmuhl, Kyle – Mechanical Engineering and CS Minor

 

Eleven of our twelve team members are Mechanical Engineers. We have a Integrative Engineering major whose concentration is in Robotics. Four members of the team are minoring in Mathematics and two are minoring in Computer Science. One member of our team is double majoring in Mechanical Engineering and English. All members of the team bring strong skills from within and outside of Mechanical Engineering. This wide range of skill sets will benefit our team and help us reach our goals. 

Each member of our team is a core member. As the project gets more involved each team member and their specialized roles will become more important to achieving our team goal. Advisory members of our group include the faculty and staff represented by each department of our twelve team members. 

The Lafayette Machine Shop will be required further into the project for prototyping and product development. Song will be required for advisory help and relaying information from the Mech-E Department to our group.

 

5. Membership Roles

Alterman, Jeremiah – Budget Manager

Aronson, Michael – Social Chair

Jochims, Ryan – Team Co-Leader

Kevelson, Max  – Literature Chair

Lee, Timothy – Public Relations

Price, Henry – Public Relations

Tupper, Aaron – Website Administrator

Wallach, Sebastian – Project Manager

Wenger, Benjamin – Quality Control

Wisehart, Fayth – Team Co-Leader

Zuchold, Andrew – Standards Chair

Zurmuhl, Kyle – Website Administrator

Roles were decided at the first meeting, with the intention of re-evaluating roles in the middle of the semester.

Roles defined so far are as follows: 

• The two Team Co-Leaders facilitate meetings, coordinate with Professor Song prior to each meeting, and should suggest day to day activities and next steps. 
• The two Website Co-Administrators establish the website, decide on the URL of the website (along with other team members), and finalize website deliverables on the nights they are due.
• The Project Manager has a high-level understanding of each part of project to ensure team progress
• The Social Chair schedules meetings and organizing social events
• The Standards Chair ensures that our design reaches preset design and manufacturing standards
• The Budget Manager is similar to a treasurer, and will track spending and estimate costs required for each subsystem involved in our project.
• Our Quality Controller inspects the final project
• The Public Relations chair manages relations between the group and outside entities
• The Literature Chair is in charge of organizing research, reports

 

6. Team Empowerment

As our team targets new objectives, we will divide into a number of sub-teams. To the extent possible, we will aim for leadership continuity in these sub-teams, even as our general team roles change. If any group member is unhappy with their role, they will be able to voice their displeasure with the group and potential steps forward will be discussed as a collective. All members of our team are equals and will be treated with dignity and respect, regardless of formal role.

 

7. Team Operations

Effective and efficient decision making is essential to successfully completing the goals outlined above. Groups decisions should be conducted during the two meeting times during each week if they impact the majority of the group members. Smaller decisions can be made without unanimous approval as long as everybody is notified in advance. Our communication norms include documentation of minutes at each meeting and regular updates in a messaging chat in which all members are included. Roles within the team can be fluid and people may change roles so long as another person agrees and the change makes sense. Relations within and outside of the group should be generally respectful and cordial if the other party has more authority than the team as a whole (administrators or college organizations). To elaborate, team members may challenge ideas, but not other members. In no circumstance should project-related discussions lead to attacks or criticisms of team members. Team members will assume that all comments are made with positive intent. During the twice-weekly meetings, the team should update everyone about any major events or changes that have happened throughout the week. 

Decision making will take place in a respectful manner, with unbiased presentations of problems and facts. If a team member asks for help, that request should be taken seriously.

 

8. Team Performance Assessment

The primary goals that were identified by the team included building a functional prototype, fostering an environment in which everyone’s input is considered, and being proud of the work completed by the group. In order to measure the standing of each of these categories it will be important to measure the team’s progress against the timeline the team constructed with consideration of the deliverables required in the course. Additionally, it will be imperative to give team members the opportunity to express their views on the team’s functionality often to prevent discordance in the group as well as ensure each member is satisfied with the work the team is doing.

 

9. Acquisition Milestones and Schedules

• Problem Discovery Website Update: 10/3/2022
• 5 Minute Presentation #1: 10/3/2022
• 5 Minute Presentation #2: 10/24/2022
• Statement of Individual Goals: 10/24/2022
• Problem Framing Website Update: 10/24/2022
• 5 Minute Presentation #3: 11/21/2022
• Problem Definition Website Update: 11/22/2022
• Midyear Poster Session: December 2022
• Safety Plan and Review: January 2023

 

10. Signature Page

11. Approval

The following signature signifies the authorization of the team charter by the power of the team’s supervisor, Professor Yingxiao Song.