CONTROL

 It’s a managerial function that monitors

deviations from plans, comparing and correcting
performance to prevent future deviations.
 From an engineering view, control focuses on
ensuring that processes, projects, and systems
meet predetermined objectives, standards, and
expectations.
 I.e. it involves monitoring the progress of a
construction project to ensure it is on schedule
and within budget while meeting design
specifications.
CONT…..
 This function plays a critical role in managing
resources, maintaining quality, optimizing
performance, and ensuring safety and
compliance in engineering operations.
 Managers need to monitor and evaluate if
– Their organization’s strategy and structure are
working as managers intended
– How they could be improved and
– How they might be changed if they are not working
CONT….
Control does not mean reacting to
events after they have occurred
It also means keeping an
organization on track and anticipating
events that might occur
Effective controls ensure that
activities are completed in ways that
lead to attainment of goals
 IMPORTANCE OF CONTROL
- Adapting to environmental change
- Limiting the Accumulation of error
- Coping with organizational complexity through feedback
- Minimizing costs
- Increasing efficiency
- Increasing Quality
- Raising the level of innovation
- Increasing responsiveness to customers
- Protecting the organization, its assets and workforce
- Achieving organizational goals
- Providing information and feedback on employee performance
and minimize chances of potential problems
 IMPORTANCE OF CONTROL IN
ENGINEERING
Safety: Ensures safety in design,
production, and operation phases.
Efficiency: Optimizes resources and
processes, reducing costs and time
wastage.
Reliability: Ensures that engineering
outcomes are consistent and dependable.
CONT……
 Sustainability: Promotes practices that align
with environmental and economic sustainability.
 Innovation: Facilitates feedback-driven
innovation and adaptation to new challenges.
 By systematically applying the control function,
engineers can ensure that their projects and
systems meet technical, economic, and societal
requirements while adapting to dynamic
challenges.
CONTROL PROCESS STEPS
1. Establish standards of performance, goals, or
targets against which performance is evaluated.

2. Measure actual performance

3. Compare actual performance

against chosen standards

4. Evaluate results and take corrective action

when the standard is not being achieved.
 THE CONTROL PROCESS
 Establish performance standards:
Goals or targets against which
performance is to be evaluated.
 They can either be qualitative or
quantitative e.g. productivity and
quality
• Standards must be consistent with
strategy, for a low cost strategy,
standards should focus closely on cost.
• Managers at each level need to set their
own standards.
CONT..
 Measure Actual Performance: To
determine variation from
standards.
 Approaches used by managers to
measure and report actual
performance include:
• Personal observations, statistical
reports, oral and written reports
respectively
CONT….

ICT is vital in measuring performance

as they monitor people and operations
as they occur and store data to be used
later
Computerized systems of all kinds give
managers the up to the minute
information needed to make sound
decisions
CONT….
Compare actual performance against the
standards.
Managers must decide if performance actually
deviates; is it within the acceptable range or not
and what is causing the variance
Often, several problems combine creating low
performance or poor quality etc.
Evaluate results and take managerial corrective
action.
Managers can decide to do nothing, correct the
actual performance, or revise the standard
• Perhaps the standards have been set too high.
• Workers may need additional training, or equipment.
This step is often hard since the environment is
constantly changing.
 CONTROL TYPES
 Feed Forward/Preventive Controls: It is the
most desirable type of control. Used in the
input stage of the process to prevent
defects/deviations from standards
• E.g. Managers anticipate problems before they arise by
giving rigorous specifications to suppliers to avoid inferior
quality
 Concurrent: Gives immediate feedback on how
inputs are converted into outputs.
• Allows managers to correct problems as they
arise e.g. Direct supervision/MBWA
 Feedback: Provides after the fact, information
managers can use in the future.
 Customer reaction to products are used to take
corrective action in the future.
 Three Types of Control

Conversion
Conversion
Inputs
Inputs Outputs
Outputs
Process
Process

Feed Concurrent
Concurrent Feedback
Feedback
Feedforward
forward
Control Control
Control Control
Control
Control (manage
(anticipate
(anticipate (manageproblems
problems (manage
(manageproblems
problems
problems) as
asthey
theyoccur)
occur) after
afterthey
theyoccur)
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problems)
 CONTROL SYSTEMS
 Feedforward, concurrent, and feedback controls
should be viewed as part of an overall control
system
 Able managers integrate suitable control
combinations to enforce standards, ensure
elements function smoothly with one another
and resources used effectively and efficiently
 Contemporary firms are emphasizing
feedforward and concurrent controls
 CONTROL SYSTEMS
 Formal, target-setting,
monitoring, evaluation and
feedback systems, to provide
managers with information to
determine:
– If strategy and structure are
working effectively and
efficiently.
ORGANIZATIONAL CONTROL
SYSTEMS
Financial Measures or performance
Output Goals
Control Operating budgets , Balance Scorecard,
Benchmarking

Direct supervision
Behavior
Management by Objective (MBO)
Control Rules & Standard Operating Procedures

Values
Culture or Clan
Norms
Control Socialization
1. OUTPUT CONTROL SYSTEMS
Managers need to develop a system of
output control by choosing the goals,
output performance standards or
targets that they think will best
measure efficiency, quality, innovation
etc.
The mechanisms managers use to
assess output performance are:
– Financial Controls: They are objective
and allow comparison to other firms
e.g. profit ratios, return on Investment
(ROI), liquidity ratios etc.
CONT…..
 Organizational Goals: after corporate financial
goals are set, each division is given specific goals
that must be met to attain the overall goals.
 Goals and thus output controls, will be set for
each area of the firm.
– Goals should be specific & challenging to achieve.
– Goal setting is a management skill developed over
time.
 Operating budgets: a blueprint showing how
managers can use resources.
 Managers are evaluated by how well they meet
goals and stay in budget.
– Each division is often evaluated on its own budgets
for cost, revenue or profit.
CONT……
 Output Control Problems
 Managers must create output standards that
motivate at all levels.
• Be careful of creating short-term goals that
motivate managers to forget the future.
• It is easy to cut costs by dropping R&D now but
it leads to future disaster.
– If standards are too high, workers may follow
unethical behavior to attain them.
2. BEHAVIOR CONTROL SYSTEMS
 Managers must motivate and shape employee
behavior to meet organizational goals.
• Direct Supervision: Managers who directly manage
workers and can teach, reward, and correct.
• Very expensive since only a few workers can be
managed by 1 manager.
• Can demotivate workers who desire more
autonomy.
• Hard to do in complex job settings.
CONT…..
• Management by Objectives (MBO): Evaluates
workers by attainment of specific objectives.
• Goals are set at each level of the firm.

• Goal setting is participatory with manager AND

worker.
• Reviews held looking at progress toward goals.

– Pay raises and promotions are tied to goal

attainment.
• Teams are also measured in this way with

goals and performance measured for the team.

CONT……
• Bureaucratic control - Control through a system of
rules and standard operating procedures (SOPs) that
shape the behavior of divisions, functions, and
individuals.
• Rules and SOPs tell the worker what to do.
• Standardized actions so outcomes are predictable.
• Still need output control to correct mistakes.

– Problems of Bureaucratic Control:

• Rules easier to make than delete. Leads to “red
tape”
• Firm can become too standardized and not flexible.
• Best used for routine problems.
3. ORGANIZATIONAL CULTURE & CLAN
CONTROL
– Organizational culture is a collection of values, norms,
& behavior shared by workers that control the way
workers interact with each other.
– Clan Control: Control through the development of an
internal system of values and norms.
• Both culture and clan control accept the norms and values as
their own and then work within them e.g. dress styles,
work hours, pride in work.
• These methods provide control where output and
behavioral control does not work.
• Strong culture and clan control help worker to
focus on the organization and enhance its
performance.
CONT……
• Organizational values and norms inform workers
about what goals they should peruse and how
they should behave to reach these goals.
• Some organizations work hard to create a

culture that encourages and rewards risk

taking e.g. Safaricom, google, face book seek
innovation.
• Others, create an environment of caution e.g.

Oil refineries, nuclear power plants must focus

on caution.
 QUALITIES OF A GOOD CONTROL
SYSTEM IN AN ENGINEERING FIRM
 Clear and measurable objectives - Control systems
must align with well-defined goals e.g. setting
performance benchmarks for energy efficiency in the
design of a green building.
 Accurate and reliable - Decisions based on inaccurate
data can lead to costly mistakes or project delays e.g.
regular calibration of sensors in industrial automation
systems to ensure data accuracy.
 Real-time monitoring - Timely data enables quick
identification and resolution of issues, reducing risks
and downtime e.g. using SCADA systems for real-time
monitoring and control in manufacturing processes.
CONT……
 Flexible and adaptable – Since projects often
face unforeseen challenges, effective controls
must be flexible to changes without
compromising objectives e.g. revising project
plans in response to supply chain disruptions or
changing client requirements.
 Integration with engineering processes – An
Effective control must seamlessly integrate with
design, production, and maintenance processes
e.g. Incorporating quality checks at every stage
of the product lifecycle in a manufacturing firm.
CONT…..
 Efficient – A control system should ensure
there’s optimal resource utilization to reduce
waste and costs e.g. it should contain lean
manufacturing principles to minimize material
and energy wastage.
 Compliant and safe orientation - Adherence to
legal, environmental, and safety regulations is
critical in engineering e.g. regular audits to
ensure compliance with OSHA standards in
construction projects.
CONT……
 Feedback and continuous improvement - An
effective control function learns from past
performance to enhance future processes e.g.
conducting post-project reviews to identify
areas for improvement in project management.
 Cost-effective- The control system should
provide value by improving processes without
excessive costs e.g. Implementing cost-effective
quality control measures that do not
compromise product standards.
 CONCLUSION
 The control function ensures that processes,
resources, and outputs align with organizational
goals, industry standards, and client expectations.
 It is a systematic approach to monitoring, evaluating,
and correcting activities to achieve efficiency, quality,
safety, and sustainability
 Thus, an effective control function emphasizes
accuracy, flexibility, transparency, and sustainability,
ensuring the successful execution of engineering
projects while fostering innovation and adapting to
challenges.