ENEX13001 - Industrial Control and Automation

General Information

Unit Synopsis

This unit aims to provide you with a comprehensive understanding of the key principles and concepts of industrial control and automation. The unit will focus on the essential components of automation systems. You will also gain practical expertise in programming Programmable Logic Controllers (PLCs) using ladder logic and other programming languages. This unit will offer hands-on, project-based learning opportunities that will enable you to apply your theoretical knowledge in practical settings. In this unit, you will learn to configure sensors, actuators, and control equipment to solve industrial problems. You will assess multiple options and choose the best combination of components for your design. Additionally, you will create, evaluate, and simulate an automation solution to a given industry issue using industry-standard components, software, and PLCs. This unit aligns with the United Nations Sustainable Development Goal 9: "Industry, Innovation, and Infrastructure" by fostering innovative and sustainable industrialisation using industrial automation solutions.

Details

Level Undergraduate
Unit Level 3
Credit Points 6
Student Contribution Band SCA Band 2
Fraction of Full-Time Student Load 0.125
Pre-requisites or Co-requisites
Prerequisites: ENEX12002 Introductory Electronics OR (ENEE13018 Analogue Electronics & ENEE13020 Digital Electronics).

Important note: Students enrolled in a subsequent unit who failed their pre-requisite unit, should drop the subsequent unit before the census date or within 10 working days of Fail grade notification. Students who do not drop the unit in this timeframe cannot later drop the unit without academic and financial liability. See details in the Assessment Policy and Procedure (Higher Education Coursework).

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Residential School Compulsory Residential School
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Unit Availabilities from Term 2 - 2026

Term 2 - 2026 Profile
Mackay
Mixed Mode

Attendance Requirements

All on-campus students are expected to attend scheduled classes - in some units, these classes are identified as a mandatory (pass/fail) component and attendance is compulsory. International students, on a student visa, must maintain a full time study load and meet both attendance and academic progress requirements in each study period (satisfactory attendance for International students is defined as maintaining at least an 80% attendance record).

Assessment Overview

Recommended Student Time Commitment

Each 6-credit Undergraduate unit at CQUniversity requires an overall time commitment of an average of 12.5 hours of study per week, making a total of 150 hours for the unit.

Assessment Tasks

This information will not be available until 8 weeks before term.
To see assessment details from an earlier availability, please search via a previous term.

This is a graded unit: your overall grade will be calculated from the marks or grades for each assessment task, based on the relative weightings shown in the table above. You must obtain an overall mark for the unit of at least 50%, or an overall grade of ‘pass’ in order to pass the unit. If any ‘pass/fail’ tasks are shown in the table above they must also be completed successfully (‘pass’ grade). You must also meet any minimum mark requirements specified for a particular assessment task, as detailed in the ‘assessment task’ section (note that in some instances, the minimum mark for a task may be greater than 50%).

Consult the University's Grades and Results Policy for more details of interim results and final grades

Past Exams

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Previous Feedback

Term 2 - 2025 : The overall satisfaction for students in the last offering of this course was 100.00% (`Agree` and `Strongly Agree` responses), based on a 13.33% response rate.

Feedback, Recommendations and Responses

Every unit is reviewed for enhancement each year. At the most recent review, the following staff and student feedback items were identified and recommendations were made.

Source: Student Unit Evaluation Survey
Feedback
The useful feedback on assessments was insufficient.
Recommendation
More useful feedback on all assessments should be provided.
Action Taken
More useful feedback was provided; however, feedback for the online quizzes in Moodle was not visible to students, as later correspondence revealed.
Source: Student Unit Evaluation Survey
Feedback
The response rate for unit evaluation survey is low.
Recommendation
Students should be encouraged to submit unit evaluation survey.
Action Taken
Students were encouraged to complete unit evaluation survey.
Source: Student Unit Evaluation Survey
Feedback
Preparation of demonstrations in advance would enhance their overall effectiveness and professionalism.
Recommendation
Instead of conducting live demonstrations, demo videos of Factory I/O and PLC simulations should be prepared in advance and uploaded to Moodle prior to the classes and workshops.
Action Taken
In Progress
Source: Unit Evaluation Data
Feedback
The useful feedback on assessments needs improvement.
Recommendation
The lack of visibility of Moodle comments and feedback for Online Quiz I and II should be addressed.
Action Taken
In Progress
Source: Unit Evaluation Data
Feedback
Unit requirements are not clear.
Recommendation
The sections in Lecture 1 covering unit requirements should be further improved.
Action Taken
In Progress
Unit learning Outcomes
This information will not be available until 8 weeks before term.
To see Learning Outcomes from an earlier availability, please search via a previous term.