Basic Engineering Economics - a PDH Online Course for Engineers

Basic Engineering Economics

Course Outline

This four-hour online course gives the working engineer an overview of the economics methods employed in effective engineering decisions as related to the designing, planning and implementation of successful projects. It emphasizes the practical benefits of the applications of such tools as Time Value of Money calculations, Depreciation, Replacement Analysis, Benefit to Cost Ratios, Break-even Analysis, and Life Cycle Cost.

This course includes a multiple-choice quiz at the end, which is designed to enhance the understanding of the course materials.

Learning Objective

The objective of this course is to give the working engineer an overview of the economics methods employed in effective engineering decisions as related to the designing, planning and implementation of successful projects. This course is valuable to engineers, architects and other related professions as well as students in these disciplines.

At the conclusion of this course, the student will:

Be able to make intelligent comparisons of project alternatives during the planning and implementation phases.
Be able to determine the total cost of a project over its entire life and make more informed decisions during the design phase of projects.
Be able to make intelligent comparisons of project alternatives during the planning and implementation phases.
Be able to determine the total cost of a project over its entire life and make more informed decisions during the design phase of projects.
Determine the Future Value of a payment made in the present.
Determine the Present Value of a payment to be made in the future.
Determine the Future Value of a series of periodic payments.
Determine what periodic payment is necessary to achieve a future financial goal.
Determine what interest rate is required on an investment to achieve a future sum.
Determine the Annual Worth of proposed alternatives.
Determine when a production line becomes profitable.
Determine the book value of an asset for any given year.
Determine the best time to replace an aging asset.
Determine the best method of Depreciation to use to minimize tax liability.

Course Introduction and Course Content

The introduction and the course content are in a PDF file (56 KB) Basic Engineering Economics. You need to open or download this document to study this course.

Course Summary

Engineers and other professionals must not have technical tunnel vision when approaching real world projects. Everything involves making intelligent decisions and designs based on factors both technical and economic. This course provides the professional with the tools to take a complete look at the technical and monetary effects of design decisions or alternatives. The applications of the principals presented here will produce a more rounded and complete project designer with a better chance of meeting both technical and budgetary requirements on assigned tasks.

Related Publications

For additional information related to this subject, please refer to the following books on the subject:

Engineering Economics, Fourth Edition by James Riggs, David Bedworth and Sabah Randhawa. February 1996, McGraw-Hill Publishing.

Contemporary Engineering Economics, Third Edition by Chan S. Park, 2002, Prentice Hall

Once you finish studying the above course content, you need to take a quiz to obtain the PDH credits.

DISCLAIMER: The materials contained in the online course are not intended as a representation or warranty on the part of PDHonline.com or any other person/organization named herein. The materials are for general information only. They are not a substitute for competent professional advice. Application of this information to a specific project should be reviewed by a registered professional engineer. Anyone making use of the information set forth herein does so at their own risk and assumes any and all resulting liability arising therefrom.