Q.

The British Mini car was designed by a team headed by Sir Alec Issigonis in the late 1950's. Describe the process of the design of this product.

Consider the context of the times, relevant political and social events, competitors' products and the various technical and engineering issues that needed to be solved. Describe in detail the final design with its major features. Why was the car designed with these features?

Q

Airbus is manufacturing the giant airliner A 380 which it plans to sell for US$ 300 million each. The development costs of the A 380 are reported as about US$ 23.4 billion.

I. If the target breakeven volume is 250 planes what is the maximum variable cost per plane which can be tolerated before the BEP rises above 300 planes.

II. Sketch accurately (using the supplied graph paper) a breakeven chart for the product indicating the breakeven solutions for 250 and 300 planes (i.e. when the total cost equals the sales revenue) and indicate the total cost at each breakeven.

Q

In 1911 the Triangle Waist-shirt company experienced a serious Fire.

i. Describe what happened.

Imagine Government Authorities have asked a design company to suggest practical products that could be designed to prevent or reduce such fatalities.

ii.  Write a suitable problem statement

iii. Produce a specification which will define what the successful designers will do

iv. Discuss your solutions.