Applying SE Methods Achieves Project Success to Evaluate Hammer and Fixed Cutter Grinders Using Multiple Varieties and Moistures of Biomass Feedstock for Ethanol Production

Applying basic systems engineering (SE) tools to the mission analysis phases of a 2.5-million dollar biomass pre-processing project for the U.S. Department of Energy directly assisted the project principal investigator understand the complexity and identify the gaps of a moving-target project and capture the undefined technical/functional requirements and deliverables from the project team and industrial partners. A creative application of various SE tools by non-aerospace systems engineers developed an innovative “big picture” product that combined aspects of mission analysis with a project functional flow block diagram, providing immediate understanding of the depth and breath of the biomass preprocessing effort for all team members, customers, and industrial partners. The “big picture” diagram became the blue print to write the project test plan, and provided direction to bring the project back on track and achieve project success.