DRAFT: This module has unpublished changes.

Assignment 1 reflection- I found this assignment to be interesting. It was interesting because I learned how much effort goes into desinging a product that needs to be used for the public. This assignment will help me in my career as an engineer because I will now know what to think about when I am designing my products. It will also help me create better and safer products for my customers. The equation in that we had to write about also helped as well. It taught me that the more prepared you are the more ready you will be for any unexpected outcomes. That also helps with test and finals for classes. The more you study the more you will be ready for any wierd questions. 

DRAFT: This module has unpublished changes.

Valliappan Lakshmanan

ESG 201 Assignment 1

 

Question 1 – The risk equation is very simple. It shows us the consequence of risk that our project will face. The consequence of risk depends on various factors such as, vulnerability, probability of occurrence, cost, and our mitigation of preparedness. Vulnerability refers to how open someone or something is to danger or risk. For example someone who is not wearing jacket outside when it is freezing cold is very vulnerable to catching a cold. Probability of occurrence refers to the probability that the risk will happen. Cost refers to how much money we put into our project. The mitigation or preparedness refers to that exactly. It measures how prepared we are for risk of danger. If the denominator of a fraction is greater than the numerator of the fraction than we will get a very small number. If we flip this around and the numerator of the fraction is greater than the denominator of the fraction, we will get a big number. In the case of consequence of risk we want to get a small number because that means that our chances of risk are very low. This also means that our preparedness is very high and our chances of danger and risk are greatly reduced. The more prepared we are for risk and danger the less of a chance our project has to fail. If we look at the factors that are in the numerator of this equation we can see that these factors all have to do with risk. If our vulnerability is great than our consequence of risk will also increase. We can see that the more prepared we are than the lower the chances of danger.

 

Question 2- The Nikon D3100 DSLR camera has made photography as simple and easy as possible. So simple in fact that everyone has the tools to take photos that years ago only professional photographers could take. This tells us that the Nikon D3100 was designed with ergonomics in mind. Ergonomics is the study of how to make technology and other systems easy for everyday human use. Although the Nikon D3100 has a very high rating for ergonomics it is very vulnerable to other things and that increases the consequences of risk for the camera. For example the camera is very vulnerable to the environment. It cannot be used in extremely hot or cold temperatures. The camera also is not water proof so it cannot be used in the rain or snow. Also it is very vulnerable to breaking when dropped on the floor. It is not that durable. One can say that the consequences of risk are very high for the camera because it vulnerability is very high and the preparedness factor is very low. There are many factors that can affect the vulnerability of an object. Human error can affect the vulnerability of a project. If someone makes a mistake on the project and no one notices than that can really effect the preparedness of the project. Communication can also effect the vulnerability of a project. A good example of communication making a project vulnerable is the space shuttle challenger disaster. The space shuttle was not supposed to operate under a certain temperature. This was not communicated to the rest of personal very well and unfortunately because of this simple communication mistake, seven lives were lost. There are so many different things that can affect the cost of a project. The economy, the lack of or abundance of materials, time duration, organization, and amount of material used to build the project. The amount we prepare for risk is a factor that can affect the probability of occurrence of a disaster.

 

Question 3- When it comes to risk, humans usually tend to back away. There is a factor of fear in risk. When it comes to risk, we human beings cannot predict what will happen. Risk involves something that is unknown to us. Human beings fear what is unknown to us. We tend to stay away from things or activities that we do not know because there is great deal of risk involved. When there is a great deal of risk involved that means that there will be a greater chance of failure. Failure is something humans do not want to face. We do not want to fail. We look at failure in a very negative light. That is why phycology plays such an important role in risk taking. We have to look at risk taking in a different light. I believe that taking risks are win win situation because if the risk you take works out than you win big, but if you fail than you still win because you will learn something. It is different though when people’s lives are on the line. This greatly increases the pressure and stress for engineers because if the project or system fails than people lose their lives. Popular media also plays a very important role in risk taking because media has the ability to reach millions and millions of people in just a few seconds. Media can magnify a disaster. It can change people’s view on certain institutions and technologies. It can make the public aware of what went wrong. We can also learn a lot from engineering disaster because of the media. It allows us to go back in time and make certain modifications to our technologies today. Media allows to prevent future disasters. 

DRAFT: This module has unpublished changes.