Engineering in the Defence Industrial Environment

Course aim

This course is one element of a program which aims to teach a cognitive approach to its component subjects as well as a practical one. The course thus includes tuition in analytical and deductive skills, delivered within a practical context.
The practice of engineering in a defence procurement environment differs in many respects to that in a commercial environment. The aim of this course is to provide senior technical officers with an understanding of those differences and the issues raised by those differences in meeting the capability requirements of the Australian Defence Force.

Course content

Australian industry base. Businesses in the defence industry including aerospace, electronics, IT and communications, heavy engineering, vehicle and land systems, maritime, weapons and munitions and general support. Operating profile of the defence industry including sources of income, business drivers and customer base. Customer characteristics including government, large companies, SME and individuals. Financial strength of defence industry companies including the importance of their capital base. Business drivers such as dominant customer, bespoke systems, specialist products and consumer products. The regulatory environment and effect on method of operation and whether the business is quality and process centric or quality and product centric. Risk appetite, whether adverse, cautious or risk taker. Business model e.g. response to RFT vs. speculative product development. Nature of the workforce and the balance of professional, trade and process workers. Influence of safety considerations whether paramount, important or just a consideration. The influence of standards including Australian, US and other standards. The importance and influence of configuration management. The significance of ethical considerations in the defence industry. Compare the profile and business approach of the defence industry with other industries such as automotive, mining, civil aviation, energy, construction and chemical, Explore in detail the effect on the defence industry business model of RAN, RAAF and Army Technical Regulations, civil and military airworthiness requirements, mission critical systems, standards based system and product design, configuration management, safety management and a focus on quality and process.

Textbook(s)

Nil

Prerequisite(s)

Common to all relevant programs
Subject Area & Catalogue Number	Course Name
EEET 1021	Defence Culture
MATH 1062	Systems Mathematics

Corequisite(s)

Nil

Teaching method

Component	Duration
EXTERNAL, MAWSON LAKES, ONLINE (INTENSIVE)
Lecture	2 x 1.5 hours x 5 weeks
Tutorial	1 hour x 5 weeks
Practical (Assignment/practical (at University))	3 hours x 5 weeks
External (Assignment/practical (at work))	2.5 hours x 8
Directed Study	At least 80 hou x N/A

Note: These components may or may not be scheduled in every study period. Please refer to the timetable for further details.

Assessment

Individual paper, Individual presentation, Tutorial discussions

Fees

EFTSL*: 0.125
Commonwealth Supported program (Band 2)
To determine the fee for this course as part of a Commonwealth Supported program, go to:
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Fee-paying program for domestic and international students
International students and students undertaking this course as part of a postgraduate fee paying program must refer to the relevant program home page to determine the cost for undertaking this course.

Non-award enrolment
Non-award tuition fees are set by the university. To determine the cost of this course, go to:
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Not all courses are available on all of the above bases, and students must check to ensure that they are permitted to enrol in a particular course.

* Equivalent Full Time Study Load. Please note: all EFTSL values are published and calculated at ten decimal places. Values are displayed to three decimal places for ease of interpretation.