ESM 450: Economic

Analysis and Operations

Dr. Michele Yatchmeneff
Assistant Professor of Civil Engineering

Instructor Information

What to call me? I prefer Professor Yatchmeneff or

Professor

Office: EIB 301M

Office Hours: W 3:30 4:30 pm & F 9:30 10:15 am

Or

by appointment, when Im not teaching I should be

on campus M-F 8 am 5 pm and I can make exceptions
to these times to accommodate your schedules

If

you ever need help, (others and) I are here to help:

Care Team

SafeZONE

Training: LGBTQIA

Email: michele@uaa.alaska.edu (best way to contact me)

Office Number: 907-786-1853

Instructor Information

Unangax from King Cove and False Pass

Engineering Intern: Veco & Alaska Native Tribal Health Consortium

(ANTHC)

BS Civil Engineering UAA 2005

EIT Alaska 2005

Civil Engineer at Summit Consulting Services 2005-2007

ANSEP Regional Director 2007-2009 ($2M annual budget)

MS Engineering Management UAA 2009

ANSEP Deputy Director 2009-2012 ($4M annual budget)

PhD Engineering Education Purdue University 2015

UAA Assistant Professor of Civil Engineering

Work at ANSEP in the summers and collecting research ($6M annual3

budget)

Who are you?

Name

Where you are from

Major

1 Interesting Fact:
Immediate

plans after graduating

Something

someone wouldnt know just by looking at

you
Favorite
How

hobby, sport, or sports team

many and names of 4 legged and/or 2 legged kids

4

Course Description

The purpose for this course is to give junior/senior

engineering students an introduction to the management
and economic justification of engineering projects and
organization.

The content includes fundamentals of engineering

economy, project scheduling, estimating, legal principles,
professional ethics, and human relations.

Expected Outcomes

Apply the fundamentals of engineering economy

Perform most economic analyses encountered as a working engineer

Answer EIT or PE engineering economy questions

Evaluate project management

Evaluate project scheduling

Evaluate project monitoring and control

Understanding of ethics in engineering management

Apply the basics of engineering management in the profession

Apply the basics of the role of, and the necessity for, engineering
management of private and public organizations

Apply the basics of engineering management in organizations

Apply the basics of legal issues and personal law

6

Class Tools

Book: Sullivan, W. G., Wicks, E. M., & Koelling, C. P. (2015).

Engineering economy (Sixteenth). Upper Saddle River, NJ: Pearson
Higher Education, Inc.

I dont know how different 16th Edition it is from 15th Edition and I
dont have 15th Edition, so youll have to work with your
classmates who have 16th Edition to verify whats changed.

Excel: Tutorials on Blackboard (under Assignments). Financial

functions might be of particular interest.

Calculator: Go to NCEES Website (

http://ncees.org/exams/calculator-policy/) to find a calculator that
they allow you to use during the exam so you can start getting used
to it.

Blackboard: Post announcements and assignments. Go to:

https://classes.uaa.alaska.edu/.

Fundamentals of Engineering (FE) Exam

(http://ncees.org/exams/fe-exam/)

The FE examination is a 6 hour Computer-Based Test (CBT) with discipline

emphasis. Out of 110 questions you can expect about 4% to be about
Engineering Economics specifically. Excel/spreadsheets computations and
Ethics and Professional Practice questions are also be expected on the FE.

Discipline areas for the FE exams:

Chemical

Civil

Electrical and Computer

Environmental

Industrial

Mechanical

Other Disciplines

Civil CBT Exam Specifications:

(http://ncees.org/wp-content/uploads/2012/11/FE-Civil-CBT-specs.pdf)

5. Engineering Economics (46 questions or 3.6-5.5%)

A. Discounted cash flow (e.g., equivalence, PW,
equivalent annual worth, FW, rate of return)
B. Cost (e.g., incremental, average, sunk, estimating)
C. Analyses (e.g., breakeven, benefit-cost, life cycle)
D. Uncertainty (e.g., expected value and risk)

Electrical & Computer CBT Exam Specifications (

http://ncees.org/wp-content/uploads/2012/11/FE-Ele
-CBT-specs.pdf
)
4. Engineering Economics (35 questions or 2.7-4.5%)
A. Time value of money (e.g., present value, future
value, annuities)
B. Cost estimation
C. Risk identification
D. Analysis (e.g., cost-benefit, trade-off, breakeven)

10

Mechanical CBT Exam Specifications (

http://ncees.org/wp-content/uploads/2012/11/FE-Me
c-CBT-specs.pdf
)
5. Engineering Economics (35 questions or 2.7-4.5%)
A. Time value of money
B. Cost, including incremental, average, sunk, and
estimating
C. Economic analyses
D. Depreciation

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Class Format
1.

Lecture on chapter slides (provided on Blackboard)

It

is expected students will have read chapter material

prior to class!

2.

Work on weekly Assignments in class in groups. Groups

will be selected to come to the board to solve each
problem.
It

is expected students will have begun solving the

Assginment problems prior to class!

wont provide solutions on Blackboard because weve

gone over them in class and youll have had ample
opportunities to ask questions

12

Attendance

I wont take attendance in class

But attendance is expected

There will be In-Class Quizzes each day to ensure

attendance and participation

13

In-Class Quizzes

Daily

Worth 10 points

Completed Individual (not completed in groups)

Days we have lecture: quiz on definitions and/or problems

from lecture notes

Days we work on Assignments in class: quiz on problems

similar to Assignments

Open note & book

Get to miss 4 without penalty (2 weeks of class)

Fail course after missing 8 (4 weeks of class)

14

Assignments

Due weekly

Submitted on Blackboard

Multiple Choice: 2 attempts, wont give you answers but let

you know which you got wrong or right

Hard copy: pdf, Word, and/or Excel ONLY, must be submitted

on Blackboard not emailed, used to verify your work

Completed in groups but everyone needs to submit their own

multiple choice answers and hard copies

Missing more than 4 will result in failing grade

Due beginning of class

Can submit late with 10% reduction in grade of

assignment I wont except assignments after any exams
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Exam Format

Submitted on Blackboard. Available 24 hours (midnight to

11:59 pm). No class on Exam days.

Open notes and computer but cannot work with others

Welcome to email me questions but you must send me your

work

Very similar to homework

Randomly selected problems so wont be similar to others

in your class

Multiple Choice: 1 attempt, not timed, wont give you

answers

Hard copy: pdf, Word, and/or Excel ONLY, must be

submitted on Blackboard not emailed, used to verify you
are doing your own work

16

Case Study Project

Done Individually or in teams of 2 (no more)

Introduction (includes a problem statement and Cash Flow

Diagrams), Analysis displaying your scenarios or options
(Done in Excel), and Conclusion (summary of findings and
what you decided). Examples:
Retirement

plan (how many years to retirement,

contribution amounts, types of accounts, etc.)

Buying

a house (15 year vs 30 year loan, interest rates,

down payments, paying more on principal, paying more
than once a month)

Purchasing

a real estate property (down payment,

living in the property, cost of management, profit)

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Grading

In-Class Quizzes (2 weekly): 10%

Assignments (1 weekly): 15%

Examinations (3): 40% total

Chapters 14: 15%

Chapters 5-9: 15%

Chapters 10-13: 10%

Comprehensive (Chapters 1-13) Final Examination: 25%

Case Study Project: 10%

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Next

Chapter 1: Introduction to Engineering Economy

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