Unit 9 – Commercial Aspects of
Engineering Organisations Level 3 – [D/600/0259]

Aim and purpose

This unit aims to give learners knowledge of engineering planning, competitive commercial activities and the constraints placed upon engineering organisation.

Unit Introduction

Engineers are employed in a range of organisations where their knowledge and skills are used to solve business needs and contribute to commercial success.

The organisations that employ engineers need to understand the areas in which their engineering expertise is deployed. This knowledge can help them plan their business effectively to secure competitive advantage. Engineering organisations also need to conduct themselves in a professional way and need to have a strong customer focus. Protecting what they do, invent, make or service is equally important for longer-term
advantage and survival.

Companies need to operate their commercial activities in a competitive yet legal way. With infrastructure and engineering products and processes becoming increasingly complex, engineers need to integrate consideration of the environmental and social impacts with mainstream and commercial aspects of their work. It is therefore also important that organisations are able to deal with both local and national constraints and can demonstrate their commitment in these areas such as the gaining and use of kitemark systems.

This unit aims to place learners’ studies in the context of engineering business planning, competitive commercial activities and the constraints placed upon engineering related organisations. It involves developing an understanding of the areas in which specific businesses operate. The unit will also place the considerations of business planning and corporate expectations into a realistic context.

Any commercial process must generate sufficient income to sustain its operation. The income depends both on customer demand and on whether the products or services provided are able to make a profit or remain within budget. This unit will examine the commercial activities carried out by engineering organisations and the constraints that are placed on them inside a quality framework.

Learning outcomes
On completion of this unit a learner should:

1. Know about the business planning and corporate expectations of an engineering organisation
2. Know about competitive commercial activities
3. Know about local and national constraints
4. Know about the concepts of quality assurance and quality control.