Year 4 of Engineering: Integrated Design Project

As I recall the details of my final year, I reflect on its significance. For me - and I speak on behalf of my peers and past seniors - the final year represents not just an academic milestone, but personal growth. It represents a threshold to cross using the culmination of wisdom, resilience, teamwork, with a hint of questionable sleeping habits. Still working on that last one, haha.

If you're in your final year of engineering, you'll have your IDP to look forward to. Your project will be based on a project statement or theme. For Sem 1 22/23, our project statement was:

"Discovering new and creative approaches to make life easier for differently-abled people."

Address the issues faced by the differently-abled community, design and materialize a product that would promote accessibility or inclusivity.

And that, we did.

Our success was by Allah's Will and Grace. Alhamdulillah 'ala kulli hal, none of this would have been possible if He had not deemed so.

There are lessons from this success that I feel I can carry with me as I move forward in my career. This article will serve an informal, personal post-mortem of how we worked together, which lead to winning the overall best IDP design of the semester - and hopefully it inspires you too!

Holdup ?? I can't let you read the rest of this article without including the honourable mentions of this post. Scroll past the names of the people that made this project possible!

?? Team members (from the left): Syed Shauqiuddin , sakinah ali , Nurul Intan Shima Ellyna J. , Sofiya Nur Irdina , Adib Fahmi

?? IDP I Supervisor: Ir. Dr. Chua Yaw Long CEng, FIMechE, MIEM

?? IDP II Supervisor: Pn Fevila Nurnadia bt Adria Syaifoel

Special shoutout to my parents and my grandmother. In another world they would have been engineers too ??

Part One: Planning

"When one door closes, choose a nearby wall and bash it in with brute force!" - Mabel Pines quoting Grunkle Stan

October 2022 brought about the first discussion the team had. The agenda encompassed a comprehensive overview of what our potential deliverable could be, with a particular focus on common problems a person with disabilities may face. Technical considerations, such as feasibility and potential applications within the project scope, were thoroughly discussed to ensure a timely execution.

Projects are all about effective communication and execution. Let's go through a simple framework I usually follow before conducting a meeting for any group projects.

Meeting Checklists ?

1. Preparation: Never go into a meeting unprepared. Prep work for meetings may look like: Setting an agenda, doing prior research, and preparing materials like visual aid and charts.
2. Discussion: Use all you can to enhance understanding and engagement, and don't be afraid to speak your mind. Discussions conducted typically lasts about 45 minutes, with the maximum being an hour. I try my best to conduct the meetings that I call for within that time frame, and never beyond that (unless it was agreed beforehand). Respecting everyone's time goes a long way.
3. Closing: Ensure that everyone everyone is on the same page. Always have a short summary of the meeting, set a date for the next one, do a round table to give an opportunity for everyone to speak or ask questions, and assign tasks before dismissal.
4. Moving forward: Don't let the project dwindle without a game plan before your next meeting, but don't wait until the next meeting to talk about minor issues that can be fixed with a simple vote, a yes or a no.

By the end of the first two meetings and conducting in-depth research on our project statement, we've identified our differently-abled community and a common issue they face:

Wheelchair users have always found that is hard to board a car due to their mobility limitation, and the existing products on the market in Malaysia that aids such movement are very limited. Plus, the ones that are available are expensive and are shipped from overseas.

From a business perspective, this was a great opportunity to design and market a new line of products in Malaysia that facilitates the movement of wheelchair users.

We had two main goals:

1. To ease the transfer process of wheelchair-bound individuals to and from a Class 1 vehicle
2. To produce a functional and affordable product for wheelchair users that is compact, foldable, and easy to store

By the time we were done with our literature review, we came up with several concepts that connect a standard wheelchair to the passenger side of a car and allows them to slide across with ease.

We named this product Traverse, which, by definition is to move back, forth, or sideways. Very fitting for this project if you ask me :^)

During this planning stage, we went through a process similar to the FEED process - project definition, risk assessment, cost estimation, designing, environmental impact assessments, all that good stuff. We learned to utilize the QFD (Quality Function Deployment) and evaluate each of our designs using a weighted matrix technique meant specifically for design engineering.

Each member also had to simulate the maximum force exerted of our own designs to get a better feasibility study during the design selection phase.

One thing about projects: you can plan, but in many cases, plans deviate due to a number of reasons - uncooperative stakeholders, delays in receiving material, design blocks, internal and external miscommunication; the list goes on, really. Designing Traverse wasn't hiccup-free either, but the concept was there.

Being mentally prepared to face these issues is a huge key, and more often than not, my friends have shown resilience in adversity and willingness to take two steps forward, one step back. And for that, I do commend them ?

My favourite part of this whole project was - hands down - the logbook. Personalizing a notebook with sketches and notes has always been my forte, so I easily treated this logbook like a journal of some sort. Every research I came across, every little idea, went straight into the logbook. This meant I could easily retrace and categorize my own line of thoughts, which was otherwise hard enough to do. It's too bad I wasn't allowed to have my logbook back after submission.

Now that Traverse felt like it was coming together, it was on to the next step - actually building it.

Part Two: Materializing

"Waiting for something to happen?" - Mewo, OMORI

Let's talk about one of the most sleepless nights I've ever had in my entire academic life: April - May 2023. Now that the design concepts were done, the next step was to materialize a prototype. Bear in mind, my peers and I still had to juggle our FYPs and other commitments.

As with any project, materializing the product or service will take up most of the schedule. What harms a project the most, in my opinion, is when information is not circulated among stakeholders. Effective communication, collaboration, and attention to detail is crucial as it provides the foundation for subsequent phases. Each member plays a significant role, and we couldn't afford to wait for something to happen without action.

During the mid-semester break, I saw the opportunity to build a prototype using the materials from my grandmother's shed in my hometown, Tawau. With the help of both my parents (yes this part was very much a collective family effort ??), we built a foldable prototype from wood. Unstable as it was, it was the first step we needed to move forward with a second prototype. It gave us a visual on what worked, and what didn't.

The first prototype not only addressed the initial flaws of our concepts, but also forced us to come up with innovative features that would enhance the overall performance of the model. More often than not, it was a trial-and-error process.

At the time, the most versatile material we could use was wood. Perhaps without the constraint of time and resources, we might have scoured for better, more sustainable materials.

Building our second and third iteration happened during Ramadhan 2023. The late-night sessions after Tarawih prayers turned into early-morning endeavors, and each building session brought us closer to a viable solution. As we delved into building the prototypes, unforeseen challenges surfaced, and these challenges sparked intense brainstorming sessions.

One such challenge I remember in particular, is deciding on how the model will folded. We pulled a bunch of different solutions, like using cardboard and 3D simulation to demonstrate how practical our ideas would be. I've come to learn that visualization is so important for the team to be on the same page, and using whatever material that communicate our ideas is skill that can be learned.

Part of our IDP requirements was the use of 3D printing. These were used in the brackets of the final prototype to connect to the steel frame of the legs to the of the wooden seat.

By this point, almost three months have passed, and we were nearing the end of the semester. Traverse had gone through three iterations throughout this project, and it was definitely part and parcel of the design process. Looking at the transformation of Traverse is awfully inspiring in some way: the culmination of weeks of hard work. There's so much more than what meets the eye when it comes to designing a product, and it has only increased my appreciation of the hidden works of products that others might not see.

Finally, one major aspect of a project that students overlook is the documentation and reporting process. Tedious as it may be, it actually provides a common ground for understanding, reducing the likelihood of misinterpretations or miscommunication. Whether it's conveying the intricacies of a system, articulating the nuances of a scientific experiment, or detailing the steps of a manufacturing process, documentation acts as a bridge for clarity and comprehension. (plus it does make a good reference for, say, writing an article on LinkedIn haha)

And so, a final working prototype has been developed, ready for its grand debut.

Part Three: Presentation

"There's no different angle, no clever solution, no trickety trick that's gonna move that rock. You gotta face it head-on." - Toph Beifong to Avatar Aang

One final hurdle remains: The presentation. What would become one of the most important week happened to be the craziest too, and it was at this time when everything clashed together - from submissions to exam preparations to FYP finalizations, NDT trainings and reports. There was really no way skirt around these responsibilities but to face them head-on.

The day prior to the presentation, we've put together a promotional / demonstrational video of Traverse (inspired by our friends who also did one of their project). This was also the day we planned on the booth setup, snacks, slides, props, colour coordination and posters.

Presentation day rolls by. There was a sense of anticipation and nervousness regarding how the judges would receive our ideas, the effectiveness of our communication, and the potential impact of the presentation, and it really felt like everything was built up just for this moment. Running on an hour of sleep each day for the past week took a huge toll on my focus, but thankfully I was able to get myself together when the time came.

After three hours of waiting to present, the judges finally stopped by to evaluate our product and presentation - the last group to present.

And then, the surprising reveal of the best design for the semester.

None of us had ever expected to ever win first place (especially with our blunder on the break-even analysis during the presentation), and I can still remember us staring at each other in utter and complete disbelief. We exchanged looks of confusion as we walked up to the front of the stage to receive our trophy, and the fact didn't even sink in until the event was over. It was absolutely surreal.

Eventually, IDP comes to an end, and the countdown to our last days in UNITEN begins.

Bonus: Traverse; Living Up to Its Name

I'd like to think that Traverse, by the nature of its name, will move forward.

Traverse's most recent design is by far the last. There were many things we could have done better, like market testing, better aesthetics, integrating circuits perhaps, have the model adapt to all sorts of vehicles, etcetera. New ideas being developed in the span of a few months won't reach its most optimized stage in that time frame; not by a long shot.

Which is why it prides me to say that in September 2023, Traverse had been one of the 11 recipients of a RM50,000 grant in the Grassroots Open Challenge (GOC) Competition that would aid in its further development and marketability, including its patenting. A big thanks to Syed Shauqiuddin for taking part in this competition on our behalf and overseeing this process.

We won't see the last of Traverse just yet ???

This project had heart and soul. I personally vouch for my friends, their hard work and capabilities. We were highly driven by motivation to pass the subject too, sure, but we also went above and beyond to ensure its success; to see it through. This was a huge achievement, signifying the end of our studies and the beginning of a new phase. Even if we hadn't won anything, just creating something with the potential of helping so many people was its own reward. All the failures and long nights had only made the conclusion so much more satisfying.

At the core of it all, that's what I truly believe engineering is about - using the gift of creativity to give back to a society that, although not perfect, has given us multitudinous opportunities and provided a place for us to call home.

Hence, the greatest lesson from this experience that I can ever impart on you is: Try, for your efforts will never betray the outcome.

Thanks for making it to the end! I've always been fascinated in the world of engineering and its limitless possibilities and creativity. Read my previous article on designing and building a home-made buckling test here!