Industrial Experience Harb Engineering and Contracting Company - Report Example

Report on Harb Engineering and Contracting Company Name Institution Report on Harb Engineering and Contracting Company Scope The report entails the description about the Harb Company and the experiences I encountered while working three for a period of twelve weeks. It discloses relevant information about the company: what it does and where the company is located. In addition, it explores the certification of the company and indicate that the services that if offers are essential for development. The report appears in sections with the first part entailing the scope of the company. In the section, I explain about the nature of the company and the activities that t carries out. I also explain the duties and roles that the company assigned to me during the short stint. The next section looks at the various challenges that I encountered while working at the company and how I arrived at the solutions. The section describes all the issues that emerged at the workplace and the differences between the experiences at the place versus what I learnt at the university. Lastly, there is a section about duties and responsibilities of an engineer. In the section, I discuss the roles of the engineer in the society in relation to my duties at the Harb Company. At the same section, I contrast the university learning and the working environment and provide recommendations on what the institutions of learning should do to improve the profession. Project Overview The Beirut based company operates several engineering and contracting operations within the country and outside. The company focuses on telecommunication, designing and construction of bridges and their maintenance, road construction and maintenance, water tanks, factories, designing and building of houses and other structures. Since its inception, the company adheres to the engineering rules and regulations encoded in the legal structures of Lebanon. Records indicate that Harb Company conducts both public and private projects. The company has several light and heavy construction equipments used during various operations. Significantly, the company relies on trained engineers and interns to execute its duties. Inevitably, the company regulates the recruits to ensure that it does not compromise the quality of services it offers. Consequently, this has ensured that the company meets the required standards at work and has elevated its status to a high level that attracts many clients. In addition, the company is certified by the Engineering Board of Lebanon (Weichert 34). The company entrusted me with the duty of designing and valuing of bridges. The demanding duty ensured that I became informed with the expectations of a designer and valuer at all times. Besides the two duties, I was also entrusted with the responsibility of conducting consultation concerning the various types of bridges and recommending the one that I considered appropriate for a particular project. I worked in coordination with other engineers who offered other services in other engineering works. There were experts seeking contracts in the public and private sectors. I worked closely with the engineers who were in charge of conducting the clients since they introduced me to them in order to discuss the particulars of the construction exercise. In all instances, my arguments were basically theoretical because the first step was to convince the clients that the company had the ability to perform the expected engineering work. Therefore, I had to familiarise myself with the terminologies, explanations and artistry to make the clients understand the impending operation. The bridges that the company dealt with included the beam or truss, arch, suspension and cantilever bridges (Whitney, 13). My duty included explaining the differences between the types and recommending one depending on the nature of the mentioned location. At the same time, I was supposed to give a comparison on the costs in order for the client to contribute in decision making. Consequently, I had to look for sources into the correct amount of each construction materials prior to meeting with the clients. In some cases, it emerged that the clients had little knowledge concerning the engineering work and would give conflicting arguments that often prolonged the time I took to justify the figure that the company had arrived at concerning their choice of the type of bridge. In other cases, some clients gave non-professional suggestions demanding the use of a combination of various designs that could not work. Consequently, the experience introduced me to the social aspect of humanity on how interaction with other professionals was necessary. Following the experiences I encountered in the company, I recommend that the university should train on all areas of study including consultation and economic aspects in the engineering work. Bridges in Pictures Truss Bridge Arch Bridge Suspension bridge Cantilever bridge Problems Encountered and solutions While working at Harb Company, I experienced a number of challenges that I was forced to seek solutions in diverse ways. First, the company assumed that the college had equipped me with all the skills required at work. The managers entrusted me with the two responsibilities and the engineer who worked at the area was assigned a different role instead of acting as my supervisor (Wearne 112). As a result, I had difficulties trying to conform to the requirements of my duties. The situation was worse because the supposed supervisor was located far from my office and his duties were often field-based. Second, it was hard to relate what I learnt in the institution and what was required at work. The college training based its studies more on the preparation for work rather than introducing students to fieldwork. Therefore, while I was at the company, I realized that what the clients talked about in the field had a difference with what I had learnt. For instance, while I talked in details about various types of bridges according to the studies I learnt while at the university, the clients had devised a unique way of explaining the constructed bridges. To solve the challenge, I reported the matter to the management and they assigned a supervisor to me. Third, there was often a cross purpose communication due to the variation in language use especially on the terminologies used to refer to various operations in bridge construction (Bos and Smout 45). I discovered that when I was talking about the beam or truss, arch, suspension and cantilever bridges, the clients could stare at me in bewilderment because the terms were strange to them. They knew about the bridges but since they were not professionals in the construction, they had simple terms which were also hard to understand. Fourth, there was a complexity of explaining why a particular type of bridge is convenient for a specific place (Gorman, Mehalik, M and Werhane 102). I had to explain the type of soil or rock in the site and the length of the bridge in relation to the type of bridge and its conveniences. Professionally, the type of the bridge relates to the kind of soil or rock that is in the site of the construction. For example, I had to convince the customers that for porous soil, especially in an area associated with landslides, the best type was Beam Bridge because pressure is exerted directly to the ground rather than sideways. In response to the problem, I sought records on the past constructions and used to substantiate my explanations. Fifth, clients from the public sector sought to company to construct a bridge based on its aesthetic appeal instead of the functional nature of the structure (Menn and Gauvreau 58). The political leaders dictated that they wanted a particular type of bridge because it was appealing to the electorates. Usually, the issue became problematic because the politicians wanted the company to guarantee that the bridge was long lasting and to bear the burden if it collapses. Arguably, the company required that I explain that the type of bridge that the company could guarantee its standards. Sixth, there were times when the contract awarding sector wanted a justification for the variation in the cost of the construction, especially when the chosen type of bridge had a higher cost than another (Johnston, S. F., Gostelow, J. P. and King 65). The clients could argue that the company was devising ways of soliciting high funds. Therefore, I had to show them the rates that the company uses based on the type of the bridge recommended by professionals. Moreover, there was a problem with handling old clients who had dealt with the company in the past (Gopi 32). They had doubts that I did not have the professional experience they expected from the company. They argued that they were supposed to meet with the engineers who have served for various years in the company. The perception was discouraging but I explained that I had gone through an interview in the company and emerged the best. I also explained that they should judge the quality of the company through the services it offers in the field more that the appearance of a person. There were supervisors monitoring my execution of duties. Furthermore, I argued that the services that the company offered were of high standard because adequate preparations and precautions informed every stage of work. Last, it was problematic to create time to meet with the clients and also visit the sites of construction. Due to the increasing number of clients, the time became limited and there was a need to balance between different clients in order to meet their demands. To solve the problem, I requested my supervisor to assist me when the duties became too demanding. Roles and Responsibilities of an Engineer There are distinctive differences between what the university teaches and the experiences at the workplace. In the university, the teaching relies on theories where learners receive knowledge through documentation by scholars (Gopi 39). I discovered that the lectures assumed that the learners will adapt easily to what they have learned. For example, the designing of the bridges that I undertook required that I visit the site in order before the activity. By visiting the area, I took precise measures of the length of the bridge and the width before drafting the design in a paper. In the workplace also, there were no lecturers to guide me, instead, there were other professionals focusing on their duties. The close monitoring that I had in the university came to an end since I was required to become independent. In the society, there are various expected roles and duties of an engineer. Since engineers form part of the members of the society, they have to contribute in various spheres in order for the people to feel their impact. Depending on the type of engineering work, the professionals contribute in many positive transformations in the society. Generally, the role of engineers leans towards the technological aspect. However, there are many responsibilities of engineers that include research, design, development and construction. The engineers look for the arithmetic and scientific principles together with other concepts of experimentation to develop an inductive reasoning. The engineers as researchers work with other institutions in finding new ways of tackling issues in the society. Due to the uniqueness of individual engineers, the professionals develop suggested solutions that enable them to discuss the best option for a particular purpose. For example, while working at the company, I relied on the research results of the past concerning the efficiency of the different types of bridges. The research showed the varied effectiveness of each type. Upon completion of research, the engineers apply their skills on development of a project. For example, my duty relied on the research that the previous experts conducted about bridge construction. Before the development, I had to design the bridges in order to ensure that the company acquired the right building materials in time. The design also ensured that the construction became precise and successful. Upon completing the design, the engineers begin to construct the structure, in my case, the bridge. The construction relies on the design developed in the previous stage. The roles of the engineers are strictly professional and no other persons conduct such special duties because it demands accuracy. In the contemporary society, universities have trained experts to ensure that they eliminate disasters related to substandard structures that collapse. Notably, the engineers monitor structures put in place in the past. They check the old structures and estimate their safety. Harb had experts that conducted monitoring in the previously completed projects to ensure that they keep updated on the safety of the structures. In the bridge construction section, the engineers in charge of monitoring counterchecked my designs and approve as they waited the construction to begin. Later, they monitor the structure against odd changes that might result in accidents. Apart from the above mentioned professional roles and duties, the engineers nurture talents and innovations by encouraging upcoming engineers to devise new ways of promoting development in the technological sector. The engineers who have become experts act as custodians of information when students join their places of work. For example, the company assigned me to a supervisor who had many years of experience at work. The supervisor nurtured my skills and encouraged to develop creativity in the domain. Through the interaction with the supervisor at the Harb Company, I began to adapt to a work setting. I learnt that the society entrusts engineer with a responsibility of constructing and maintaining infrastructure such as bridges, roads and houses among other projects. At the workplace, I learnt that an engineer have social, financial and research skills (Briscoe 81). The social skills enable the engineer to interact with clients and other members of the society. The university should introduce communication skills to enhance the attribute of socialization on engineers. On the other hand, there is need to have financial skills because the projects involve budgeting that the engineers should understand. I realized at the Harb Company that I lacked financial skills and found it hard to explain the cost of the project. In addition, research skills are crucial because the engineer has to find necessary information regarding projects, places and other relevant details. For example, while explaining about the types of bridges, I was not able to trace the specific sites where the company had carried out the projects. BIBLIOGRAPHYTop of Form Top of Form Top of Form Top of Form Top of Form Bottom of Form Bottom of Form Bottom of Form Top of Form Bottom of Form Bottom of Form Bottom of Form Bos, A., & Smout, I. K. (2001). The role of engineers in the demand responsive approach: a case study from South Africa. [Loughborough], Water, Engineering and Development Centre, Loughborough University. Briscoe, D. (2004). Bridge Building and how they Work. Capstone (Amsterdam) Gopi, S. (2010). Basic Civil Engineering. Pearson Education (India) Gorman, M. E., Mehalik, M. M., & Werhane, P. H. (2000). Ethical and environmental challenges to engineering. Englewood Cliffs, N.J., Prentice-Hall. Johnston, S. F., Gostelow, J. P., & King, W. J. (2000). Engineering and society: challenges of professional practice. Upper Saddle River, NJ [u.a.], Prentice Hall. Menn, C., & Gauvreau, P. (2010). Prestressed concrete bridges. Basel [Switzerland], Birkhäuser Verlag. Van, E. (2000). Technology and Engineering. Juta and Company (Lebanon) Wearne, S. (2009). Civil Engineering Contracts: An Introduction to Construction Contracts and the ICE Model Form of Contract. Basel [Switzerland], Birkhäuser Verlag. Weichert, D. (2001). Educating the engineer for the 21st century: proceedings of the 3. Workshop on Global Engineering Education ; [GEE 3, Aachen, 18 - 20 October 2000]. Dordrecht [u.a.], Kluwer. Whitney, C. S. (2003). Bridges of the world: their design and construction. Mineola, NY, Dover Publications. Read More