LO3 Develop effective leadership, individual and group communication skills

Technical Education Centre for Online Learning

Assessment Brief (Theme – Reliability)

Programme Title:	BTEC Level 5 Higher National Diploma Engineering RQF General / Mechanical / Electrical & Electronic/ Manufacturing Pathways	Programme No:	L5E: HMH-B5/B7/B9/C2
Unit Number and Title:	H35: Professional engineering management	Edexcel Unit Code:	F/651/0809
Coursework Title:	Leadership and the Professional Engineer	Coursework Number:	E5002A2
Date downloaded*		Duration (weeks)	2 form + 3 sum.
Student Name		Assessor	N Rainey

No	Assessment learning outcomes covered	Formative) Submission	Grade / Date Achieved
			Summative Submission	Resubmission
		Y/N?
03	Develop effective leadership, individual and group communication skills
04	Develop personal commitment to professional standards and obligations to society, the engineering profession and the environment
Scenario: You have been appointed as a new Engineer for a manufacturing company, responsible for product development and manufacturing in the transport sector. The company’s aim is to improve its competitive edge through reliability.
Evidence you must produce for this assignment: Written report with appropriate calculations.
Sources of information: Unit H35 course notes sections 3 and 4. HND Engineering Core textbook vol 2 – HN Global - https://learning.highernationals.com/ SG Walesh (2012) Professional Practice of Engineering To look at specific engineering sectors and case studies
Submission guidelines: Formative submission: Based on guidance from Pearson; formative feedback will indicate if your work is ‘on track’ and suitable for summative submission. Formative submission is details can be found in your HN learner handbook. The minimum requirement to obtain formative feedback shall be the submission of work within the duration period indicated above, otherwise the submission will be treated as summative feedback. (No copy of the assessment will be returned for this stage). *The duration period starts from the date of your download from Moodle. Summative submission: Your assessor recommends that you now consider the formative feedback (if provided) as a way to best shape your work in preparation for your summative submission, which is normally 3 weeks after formative feedback has been provided. Resubmission: The assessment board (at the discretion of the assessor) will permit only one opportunity to resubmit your summative submission if required, within 3 weeks of summative submission feedback. Note in this case the assessment grade will be capped at a maximum of pass grade if successful.

Coursework Internal Verifier : Sign

(G Tweed)

Date (revision)

14/5/26 (r2026a)

Assessment Record Sheet

1. Learner to fill in on Formative submission:

Ref.	Evidence submitted (e.g. written report, calculation, file name).	Ref.		Evidence submitted (e.g. written report, calculation, file name).
Please carefully read the submission guideline 1, and you can also add additional comments here.
Learner Declaration on formative submission I certify that the evidence submitted for this assignment is my own. I have clearly referenced any sources used in the work. I understand that false declaration is a form of malpractice.			Learner Signature.		Date.

1. Assessor to fill in on Formative submission:

Formative feedback:
Has an extension to the deadline been approved by the Assessor due to extenuating circumstances?
Assessor Declaration on formative submission I certify that the evidence submitted for this assignment is the learner’s own. If it is not their own work, then this is clearly explained and detailed in the feedback and comments above	Assessor Signature.		Date.

2. Learner to fill in on Summative submission:

Ref.	Evidence submitted (e.g. written report, calculation, file name).	Ref.		Evidence submitted (e.g. written report, calculation, file name).
Please carefully read the submission guideline2, and you can also add additional comments here.
Learner Declaration on summative submission I certify that the evidence submitted for this assignment is my own. I have clearly referenced any sources used in the work. I understand that false declaration is a form of malpractice.			Learner Signature.		Date.

2. Assessor to fill in on Summative submission:

Ref.	Assessor comment on task(s)	Ref.		Assessor comment on task(s)
General feedback:
Assessor Declaration on summative submission I certify that the evidence submitted for this assignment is the learner’s own. If it is not their own work, then this is clearly explained and detailed in the feedback and comments above			Assessor Signature.		Date.

3. Learner to fill in on Resubmission:

Ref.	Evidence submitted (e.g. written report, calculation, file name).	Ref.		Evidence submitted (e.g. written report, calculation, file name).
Please carefully read the submission guideline 3, and you can also add additional comments here
Learner Declaration on resubmission I certify that the evidence submitted for this assignment is my own. I have clearly referenced any sources used in the work. I understand that false declaration is a form of malpractice.			Learner Signature.		Date.

3. Assessor to fill in on Resubmission:

Ref.	Assessor comment on task(s)	Ref.		Assessor comment on task(s)
General feedback:
Does the learner need to attempt an assessment Retake? Y/N					Date of Retake:
Assessor Declaration on resubmission I certify that the evidence submitted for this assignment is the learner’s own. If it is not their own work, then this is clearly explained and detailed in the feedback and comments above			Assessor Signature.				Date.

Sample Type: (First or resubmission)

Samples IV Signature:

Date:

Assessment Submission Guidelines:

Please follow the instructions listed on Moodle ensuring you avoid plagiarism and include cited referencing as per your HN referencing guide where appropriate. Assessment procedures are also detailed in HN learner handbook. As your study is on-line and is not classroom based, it is recommended that you submit a formative copy of your work after completing at least ‘part a’ of each activity, which will receive formative feedback advice but will not be graded.

Using the formative feedback provided, you can then proceed to submit your assessment for summative feedback and grading.  Part b fully develops the learning outcome and can be submitted at formative or summative stage.

Theme: The 2025/26 Pearson-set theme for use with Unit 35 -Professional Engineering Management is: Reliability (see copy on Moodle)

Reliability in engineering and manufacturing refers to the process of designing, operating, and maintaining systems, products, or processes so that they consistently function under defined conditions over their intended lifecycle—from concept and production to operation and decommissioning. It is a core engineering principle that reflects a product’s or system’s ability to perform without failure over time, and is especially vital in environments where downtime, defects, or hazards can result in substantial cost, safety issues, or environmental harm.

The theme will enable students to examine: (a) Investigate failure modes and their impact (b) Explore how predictive and preventive maintenance strategies enhance reliability and reduce downtime. (c) Examine how professional engineers apply design tolerances, material selection, and quality controls to ensure system reliability. (d) Justify the inclusion of safety margins, fail-safe mechanisms, or process redundancies in high-risk environments. (e) Analyse historical case studies of engineering or manufacturing failure to identify causes and lessons learned. (f) Investigate tools and techniques such as FMEA, MTBF, and statistical process control (SPC) used to assess reliability in practice. (g) Critique how organisations balance cost, performance, and risk in reliability based decision making. (h) Reflect on how engineers collaborate across disciplines— including design, production, maintenance, and quality assurance—to enhance the overall reliability and resilience of systems. 

All answers must be your own work

Learning Outcomes and Assessment Criteria

LO3 Develop effective leadership, individual and group communication skills

P5 Describe the steps for effective persuasion and negotiation

P6 Explain the steps for managing effective group meetings

P7 Outline the steps to deliver an effective presentation 

M3 Evaluate leadership styles and effective communication skills using specific examples in an organisational context 

D3 Critically evaluate effective ways for the coaching and mentoring of disillusioned colleagues or of a poorly performing team

LO4 Develop personal commitment to professional standards and obligations to society, the engineering profession and the environment

P8 Discuss the context of social responsibility for scientists and engineers

P9 Explore the ways in which an engineer can engage in continuing professional development

M4 Summarise the engineering profession ethical standards and patterns of behaviour

D4 Evaluate and provide justifications on why it is necessary to be active and up to date with the engineering profession’s new developments and discoveries

Part 1a) – leadership and communication skills

Your company requires you to create a team for the project you detailed in your previous assessment (H35A1 activity 2). Keeping in mind the Pearson set theme, complete the following.

1. Develop and describe the steps for effective persuasion and negotiation techniques to gain their support, commitment, and enthusiasm for the project.
2. To ensure that the project stays on schedule and meets it objectives, everyone needs to know what is required from them therefore explain the steps for managing effective group meetings. Include a sample agenda.
3. Management also wants you to keep them informed on project progress through a short weekly presentation. Outline the steps required to deliver an effective presentation to senior management. Include sample PowerPoint presentation images.

Guidance 1a: Clearly layout your explanation with examples (ideally including reliability issues) of a meeting agenda and presentation (around 1500 words).

Part 1b)

1. Evaluate leadership styles and effective communication skills using specific examples in an organisational context, ideally from a project similar to the one above (ideally use operational or energy efficiency examples). 

2. Using theory and examples, critically evaluate effective ways for the coaching and mentoring of disillusioned colleagues or of a poorly performing team, ideally from a project similar to the one above.

Guidance 1b: Provide images of the examples including reliability and cite reference your work of around 1200 words to support your justification comments. 

Part 2a) - Personal commitment to professional standards and obligations

The majority of engineers work for businesses, whose primary motivation is often profit and corporate stockholders, rather than societal impacts. Luckily, this has begun to change based on movement toward corporate social responsibility (CSR) and realisations that companies can thrive economically while considering social and environmental impacts.

1. Examine and discuss the context of social responsibility for scientists and engineers when working on a project that can affect society or local communities; particularly their environment, and operational or energy efficiency. Support your discussion with examples from the electrical, mechanical or manufacturing engineering sectors
   • Those who demonstrate that they are conscious about their personal development are likely to be seen as highly motivated and engaged. Their openness to learning also suggests they are flexible, adaptable and will bring a continuous improvement ethos to the workplace.
2. With examples, demonstrate the ways in which an engineer can engage in continuing professional development including planning, implementation, recording and reviewing steps.

Guidance 2a: Guidance: Clearly layout your explanation with examples of reliability, social responsibility and professional development. Use examples ideally from your own experience or from cited referenced case studies to support your discussion (around 1200 words).

Part 2b)

1. Summarise the engineering profession ethical standards and patterns of behaviour by referring to examples or case studies, and individual engineers who adhered to these standards, even against pressure by their company or others.

2. Evaluate and provide justifications on why it is necessary to be active and up to date with the Engineering profession’s new developments and discoveries, in particular those relevant to the Pearson set theme.

Guidance 2b: Clearly layout and cite reference your work with supporting evidence/examples including reliability from the 21^st century (around 1200 words)