HEV TECHNOLOGIES @ STRATH

Primary Role: Project Manager

Research: Preliminary Task Set (All); Barriers to Up-Take; Infrastructure Developments & Concept Decision

 

- From a personal perspective, my general reflection upon the past two semesters of engagement are that I have achieved significantly well with respect to stated responsibilities; exceedingly so in some regards.  In addition, I feel strongly that the project has facilitated opportunities to both develop & refine personal skills & traits which will be beneficial in my prospective career. Furthermore, it is accurate to state that such was achieved simultaneously to development of intimate knowledge pertaining to alternate fuel vehicles, demonstrated in performance of critical analysis & subsequent preliminary design of a conceptual HEV, and application of key project management skills.

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- Considering my task assignment within the scope of the project, namely those pertaining to the familiarisation task, analysis of barriers to HEV & EV up-take and infrastructure developments, I believe all were demonstrated to be performed to above satisfactory expectations. In all cases, thorough research was performed with evidence-based & justifiable conclusions drawn.  Notable is that in-light of contract scope revision, and demonstrating my personal commitment to the project, the extent of the infrastructure investigation grew to incorporate national-level developments and analysis pertaining to additional maturation of charging & hydrogen refuelling standards and further assessment of disruptive technologies. Such was of significant impact and benefit to the overall quality & conclusions of the finalised group deliverable(s). The principle learning outcomes of these responsibilities were, upon reflection, the refinement of information processing & analysis techniques and experience of the application of critical thinking pertaining to the maturation of developing standards & technologies and performance of commercialisation assessments.

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- With respect to my personal contribution towards the eventual group conclusion pertaining to the most promising & sustainable HEV or EV architecture, I’m justified to state my contribution was significantly impactful. Not only did my contribution constitute supporting identification of realistic price points & targeted metrics such as emissions & cost per MPG, key characteristics such as the selection of grid-dependence and the utilisation of a small-medium capacity energy storage unit were significantly informed by conclusions reached through performance of an investigation of infrastructure & consumer behaviours. This is also true for selection of a parallel HEV architecture; informed directly by assessment of supporting infrastructure penetration & investments, relevant standards maturation and barrier identification. In addition, regular suggestions for research significantly impacted outcomes of colleague’s investigations.

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- Considering performance of my primary management duties, I feel justified in stating that these were largely performed to satisfactory standards, and although perhaps there were minor failings, in such instances subsequent reflection facilitated significant & meaningful lessons being learnt & implementation of positive changes. Most notable successes were the implemented group structuring & resource management processes; which facilitated suitable identification of strengths, weaknesses & preferences, supported development of the strong group synergy attained and allowed full exploitation of both expertise & resources available. The most notable failing within the context of management was that of development of an initial schedule. Mostly an issue of inexperience, inadequate allocation of time to development of group structure & processes, exacerbated by unfamiliarity with the 11-week schedule & ‘Tier 5’ credits, resulted in over-extension with respect to realistic, attainable semester one achievements. However, feedback received & self-reflection informed significant changes which improved scheduling significantly within semester two ultimately resulting in positive outcomes & satisfactory deliverable(s) for the project; this will be exemplified directly within the 27-March Oral Assessment.

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- With regards to general impact upon the group; I believe my personal impact to have been significantly positive. Suggestions for additional areas of research were regularly raised and, in conjunction with numerous training & website ideas, subsequently implemented to the benefit of both the group & project outcomes. In terms of evidencing personal growth, a principle outcome identified in semester one through Belbin’s test was that of developing a more trusting nature; & whilst initiative was employed to support the project group’s deliverable(s) as necessary, provision of greater autonomy to colleague’s in semester two is evidence of successful reflection & learning. Also, although I don’t wish to rely on anecdotes, that I received strong praise from colleagues & our Client with respect to input to & management of the project respectively is further evidence of a successful contribution.

 

- My personal feelings with respect to group performance is that we were capable of working both effectively & efficiently. The group developed strong relationships, allowing critical give & take of feedback, nurtured a group work style borne of highly distinct personal preferences and, where necessary, were willing to support each other in regards to advice, suggestions & partial performance of duties.

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- & finally, with respect to personal goals, identified at project initiation, application of management skills and web development were both satisfactorily achieved throughout the duration of the project.; notably evidenced by development of a functioning & professional website. This was generally a common theme across all group members; indicative of our relative successes, both personally & as a group.

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My final thoughts are to say "Chairs!!" to my colleagues & supervisor.

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