Engineering Internship Experience - Report Example

Grade 19th April Engineering Internship Report Introduction It takes creativity to shepherd a theoretical device into a practical reality. This is why mechanical engineers go through internship. The experience entails research, design, developing, building and testing various devices. The internship enables the engineering student to perform duties that require knowledge in basic engineering principles and techniques of; engineering planning, equipment and materials used in engineering operations, specialized subjects in the fields of engineering (mathematics, statistics, mechanics, power, physics, chemistry) and strength of materials. One is required to apply the engineering principles to practical engineering problems: to use engineering equipment and tools, to make, read and interpret engineering drawings and specifications, to express ideas clearly and concisely, to relate abstract ideas to actual needs and adopt an effective course of action and to establish and maintain effective working relationships with others. I was privileged to work for an electric oven company during the internship and learnt a great deal as detailed in this report. Internship Responsibilities and Duties The main focus during the internship period was in the engineering department, where the design and fabrication of electric ovens takes place. The following are some of the functions i performed with help, during the internship ( in the workshop): Assisting with development of engineering schedules, budgets and projects assigned. Learning and becoming proficient in the operating system of the company Assisting with quality assurance of products Assure accuracy and completeness of all drawings, files, engineering records, prints and tasks of assigned products. Assist with research, development, testing and proper design maintenance of the products in the company. Assists with development and maintenance of manuals for assigned products. Maintain high professionalism in attitudes and communication with fellow employees and customers. Maintain a clean and professional work area environment. Communication Aspect During the internship placement, i got to spend most of my time in the workshop area where fabrication of the ovens takes place. However, I also got a chance to spend some time in the other departments of the company including the sales and marketing department, administration, the Human resource department, research and development department and the procurement department. Other skills are important as well. An engineer must know how to communicate effectively, how to work well with others, how to learn new things and how to define and solve problems. Therefore, the technical knowledge is only a part of the education (albeit a very important part) that must be complimented by other skills. When in this departments, I got to interact with all kinds of people and from the interactions, I acquired/sharpened my social, communication, teamwork and working under pressure skills that are helpful in my future career life. In each department, I got to understand the reason for its existence and in detail what it is meant to perform for the company. Under the supervision of an experienced staff member of the company, I was assigned for tasks and responsibilities that I had to carry out through to completion. These included basic designs and drawings in the workshops. Being handy and offering assistance where possible was on my job description as well therefore, communication with other employees is inevitable Basically, for one to be successful in being a mechanical engineer or in any profession for that matter, communication and sharing ideas with others in the organization is vital. The way this was brought out during the internship is through the endless meetings I initiated with my superiors. This I did to help not only me, but the other new interns that needed help with understanding the operations of the company. The meetings helped us know more about our tasks and responsibilities and hence efficiency in the same. Secondly, I made sure that whatever I did not understand during my tasks, I sought help from the experienced personnel. This enabled me carry out the tasks better and improve with each passing day. The result of this is, my superiors built trust and confidence around me and gave me more complex tasks to carry out on my own. This served the purpose to expand my application of engineering fundamentals and understand it better. Lastly, I made an effort to follow through what the expert engineers were doing with oven designs and fabrication, and using the engineering knowledge gained in the classroom, I was able to point out a mistake one of the engineers made with the Stephan Boltzman equation, one of the heat transfer equations. The engineer appreciated this contribution very much that I got an award for it. Knowledge about all the other departments was acquired through constant asking of questions and being interested in what happens there. For instance, I now know how to write professional E mails to clients, sell products, prepare quotations, invoices, purchase orders and market products. All these skills are important in shaping an engineer because at the end of the day, whatever products I make, I must sell them to clients. Advanced Engineering Knowledge Application Engineering is an activity that is essential to meeting the needs of people, economic development and the provision of services to the society. This involves purposeful application of mathematical and natural sciences and a body of engineering knowledge, technology and techniques. It seeks to produce solutions whose effects are predicted to the greatest degree possible in often uncertain contexts. On the other hand however, engineering activity has potential adverse consequences. It therefore must be carried out responsibly and ethically, using available resources efficiently, be economic, safeguard health and safety, be environmentally sound and sustainable and generally manage risks throughout the entire lifecycle of a system. (International Engineering Alliance 1) During my internship, I was, as earlier said majorly in the workshop area where design and product development of the electric ovens was taking place. This is a complete set of activities needed to bring new devices and technologies into the marketplace. These activities span of the entire product cycle, from the identification of a market opportunity or need, through design, testing and end of useful life. The work of a mechanical engineer includes everything from understanding the voice of the customer to finding new ways of processing materials to improve product performance and tracking new product flow through a distribution network. A central component of this area is the design and construction of ovens for the customer. An oven requires the coming together of mechanical, electrical and electromechanical knowledge. Design, manufacturing and product development skills are all required here. For instance during the design of an electric oven, the important engineering fundamentals include heat transfer knowledge i.e. conduction, convection and radiation. Heat transfer is the main principle in the operation of an oven where during baking or warming of food, heat is transferred from the steam or air in the oven to the food. In some instances, all the three modes of heat transfer happen simultaneously in one oven but many other times only one or two modes take place. An electrical oven basically consists of a housing unit, thermostat, blower, interlock switches, light indicator, rotor and the heating element. There are two classifications of the housing unit, namely: the mechanical unit (food baking and food preservation) and the electrical unit (source through which electrical power is supplied). Purpose of the parts Thermostat: Heat regulation Blower: Draw heat from the surrounding Interlock switches: Interruption of production of wave energy when oven door is opened and to prevent any microwave output until the door is firmly closed. Light indicator: To know the working condition of an oven Rotor: Rotates the flat dish inside for maximum heat distribution. Material selection is important during design because of such issues like rust. Mild steel is commonly used because it is affordable, rust resistant, durable, it has insulating properties and is available in large quantities.( Adegbola et al 4-5) Apart from mechanical engineering knowledge, as said earlier, mechanical engineers work together with other engineers to produce products. This was very notable during the internship as electrical engineering is very important during oven design. The knowledge of basic electronics e.g. circuit theory plays an important in oven design. I got to understand this during the internship. The following diagram shows the instrumentation element of an oven, what happens when there is a display during warming of food. Diagram 1.1 . Instrumentation Diagram for an electric oven ( Adegbola et al 4-5) Local Engineering Knowledge Application As earlier mentioned, albeit I was interested to learn about the performance of the other departments in the company, I was at the workshop most of the time learning and understanding the mechanical engineering aspect of an electric oven. Mechanical engineers are very important people as they convert ideas into real products and systems e.g. tools, engines and machines. It is such a broad engineering discipline compared to other engineering disciplines. One comparison between a mechanical engineer and an electrical engineer is for example, while an electrical engineer might design the electronics and circuitry of a microwave, a mechanical engineer would be busy specifying the geometries and materials of all the oven parts and how all the parts will be assembled. The three main areas of mechanical engineers are: Machine design Energy production, energy consumption and energy efficiency Manufacturing Oven Design This was strongly brought out during the internship as the knowledge gained in class, as I started to realize was being useful during the design and fabrication of the ovens. For instance the theory of solids, strength of materials, dynamics of machines, heat transfer, thermodynamics, engineering mathematics, laboratory work, welding and machine design, just to mention a few was very practical during oven design. Basically the principle of operation is the process of heat transfer by all the three modes talked about earlier. All the equations of conduction, convection and radiation derived in class become very useful practically during the design and fabrication of the ovens. This is covered in detail in the previous section. Energy Factor The energy factors to consider during design and fabrication of any cooking appliance are as follows: food preparation productivity, ease of operation, first cost, and heat generation in the kitchen and the energy source used. Don’t forget, energy only accounts for 3 to 5 % of a food service establishment’s total costs. So, while one fuel may be less expensive in a Btu to Btu comparison, the best choice in the cooking equipment is the one that minimizes the total operating costs. Features that reduce labour costs or result in higher food product yield will nearly always outweigh any energy considerations. The advantages and disadvantages of electric ovens compared to gas ovens are as follows: Electric units are more efficient so they add less heat to the kitchen. They require less maintenance, less ventilation and are portable The disadvantage however is that electricity is more expensive than gas or propane. The performance guidelines for any oven include: a) Energy efficiency Threshold for maximum energy input required in kcal or kj/kg of food item cooked Thresholds of CO emission allowable IAQ and ambient temperature standard for the cooking space b) Safety Safety from fire Safety from burns and scaling Safety from contamination of food through the energy system(e.g. smoke and soot passing into the food. c) User Friendliness Cooking time Ignition time The classwork units on energy including thermodynamics are very useful in determining the kind of ovens that are produced in the company. They decided to branch into the electric oven because of the less total operational costs and environmental friendliness. Therefore, it is my responsibility, as a mechanical engineer to ensure all of the above at all times. I am expected to always understand energy implications on any project I undertake and it’s wise to do energy balances before embarking on such tasks. Manufacturing The manufacturing bit was absent because in an electric company, most of the work in design, not manufacturing. This would come out strongly in an industry where there is conversion of raw materials to end products. Key skills acquired from the Experience As earlier mentioned, I had to interact with others during my internship and this included all the members of staff from all the departments of the company. I learnt a lot from each of the people I met that will give me what I need when I set out to conquer the workplace. The following is a list of the skills I ran with from the internship: i. Teamwork: This, as I found is a very important skill if an objective is to be met. Whether one likes everyone in the team or not, when it comes to work, the differences are put aside and focus is put on working towards finding solutions. This calls for maturity in handling issues and unity with every staff. ii. Organizational skills: When there is organization of affairs of a company, it is easy to produce results. Hence, there were numerous meetings that addressed this during the internship. Every department had to report to their heads on how organized they were, regarding their work on a weekly basis. This kept everyone on their toes, which in turn led to the success of the company. iii. Time management and meeting deadlines: I greatly learnt a lot on this skill. The employees in the company, with less supervision, minimized time wastage on what is not work-related and spent more time ensuring their department was on top of the list when it comes to efficiency and competency. Every minute is important during the working hours and everyone ensured they are doing what is required of them without fail. Obviously, there are a few cases of time mismanagement from some of the employees but I choose to go with the positive ones. iv. Your opinion matters: This is particularly true for the fresh minds like me, who are still in college, are just out of college. There is a lot to bring to the workplace and I learnt this during the internship period. People were not afraid to share their opinions on how to provide solutions while working. I got really inspired by them and opened up my mind to letting ideas and opinions that are stuck in my mind to come out and be useful. v. Respect and patience for others: Human beings love to be respected. They work best in an environment where their rights and beliefs are not infringed and in a place where they feel they matter and belong. The company ensured this happens for every individual. When people work best, this is reflected in the sales which equal the success of the company. There is a meeting we had one of the days which was to recognize productive employees and reward them. Earlier on during the fabrication of one of the ovens, the team I was under made a mistake with one of the equations and I pointed out the mistake which they appreciated, During the meeting, I was surprised to hear my name being called out as one of the individuals to receive a present. This really motivated me and made me realize the importance of not holding back to ideas and opinions. In future, when I start the employment journey, I intend to pay attention to people because they shape one to become who they are. I plan to take each other seriously and to always consult more where I don’t have enough understanding. Conclusion Importance of skills learnt The knowledge of electric ovens has widened my technical capacity on the same. Whenever there is a problem with an oven whether at home or in my working environment, I will know how to deal with it. Being a part of the team that does a lot of mechanical and electrical engineering stuff for the company and learning the relevance of classwork to real life, made me appreciate my course better. I now realize the importance of every element of the class units, some which did not particularly make sense in the beginning e.g. circuit theory. I thought that is purely for electrical engineers and that I have nothing to do with it at all. I have reached the conclusion that an engineer needs to be all rounded and get a few lessons from other engineering disciplines. Not only do I now know how to apply the knowledge on the design of an electric oven but general application of basic engineering theories e.g. assembly drawing, solid mechanics, mechanics of machine, welding, heat transfer and thermo dynamics. These are theories that are used on a day-to day basis in companies to come up with solutions. It is in my plan to keep the class knowledge and make sure it is of use during my professional life as a mechanical engineer, especially with my big dreams of becoming an engineer in an automobile company or a manufacturing company. This is key in making sure I am competent and bring out the relevance of having gone through the curriculum. The mechanical problems posed by machines all over are problems that can easily fixed by mechanical engineers if only they keep the engineering fundamentals on their fingertips at all times. For this reason, I plan to go through my class notes from time to time to re freshen myself of these fundamentals. Interaction with the people has shed so much light on the skills I require to work well in a team of other people from various disciplines. This is going to be useful in my professional life because this is what ensures I shine throughout it. I have not been very good with some of the skills including impatience with my classmates during class or discussion groups. I tend to get ahead of myself without letting them express what they truly feel inside of them. In the company, everyone’s opinion mattered and this is particularly true for every organization or institution. I plan to apply the skills in the remaining time as a student. To listen and take seriously every one, be patient with them, help those who need help, be more organized, apply the time management principles I learnt and ask my professors questions often. I noticed as well that there is a lot of responsibility and expectations put on engineers, or rather employees in the workplace. So much is expected of them and failure to delivery of it, leads to incompetence with serious consequences. I discovered that this reality can only be acquired in a workplace setting not in college. As much as the universities try to prepare the graduates for the work place real situation by doing such units like industrial management, final year projects etc., the challenges in the workplace are not as those in the classroom and internships highlight this in a big way. Next Internship Placement For my next internship, I would like to be placed in an automotive company. The reason is because I have such passion for cars. I have always thought of applying the unit learnt in a classroom setting in a practical one. The theory of engines and assembly of cars is one I have been fascinated about. In addition, I would love to know how to repair mechanical car issues. An automotive engineer is dedicated to an automobile company and that include cars, motorcycles, trucks and buses and each of their engineering subsystems. They design products in whatever the vehicles can cover, do research and development to solve automobile engineering issues and are into production that covers planning and designing of automobile parts. The roles include the following: Evaluating machine designs done by automotive engineers to ensure safety, efficiency and reliabilities of vehicles Calculation of required car cooling systems Studying the conducting crash absorbing devices Dimensioning the mechanical parts of cars Calculation of the needed power for cars Designing steering devices and anything that involves pneumatics, hydraulics and energy saving of the automobiles. Mechanical engineers work hand in hand with automotive engineers to develop frames, engines, gears, braking system and other components to make them come up perfect. They must ensure that every component will be designed to meet the right specifications before finalizing the end product. The above units in class e.g. bearings, engines, braking systems are courses I identified with a lot and so I would love to be a part of the engineering team that realizes the end product. The second option of an internship placement would be in a big manufacturing company that has mass production and involves changing of a raw material into useful products for instance sugar factories, flour mills, beer companies and vegetable oil production companies. The reason is due to the fact that there is a lot of mechanical engineering knowledge being applied throughout the production processes. The unit operations like drying, reactors, evaporators, crystallizers, vibrating screens and distillation columns all have mechanical parts that require mechanical engineers to design and maintain. I would also love to apply such engineering knowledge as thermodynamics, fluid mechanics, engineering mathematics, solid mechanics, mechanics of machines and industrial processes in solving engineering problems that arise in the plant. There is a lot that I can do as a mechanical engineer to solve the issues because of the vast knowledge gained in class concerning manufacturing. Apart from the production and the mechanical engineering bits that exist in a manufacturing company, there is the environmental bit that still falls under the mechanical engineering department. Industries have a lot of pollution from various unit operations or generally operations around the factory say boilers that can be detrimental to the environment. I believe it is my task as a mechanical engineer to ensure this does not happen. I would love to be a part of the team that curbs pollution by devising ways of doing it. Workplace Culture This is the behavior of people working in an organization. This includes such things as; norms, working language, systems, symbols, beliefs, organization values and habits. In addition, it is the pattern of the above mentioned that are passed on to new employees that changes the way they see, think and feel about the organization. Workplace cultures are very important because they have three compelling attributes: They consistently produce outstanding results They attract, motivate and retain top talent They successfully adapt to changing conditions Gerry Johnson (196) identified the elements that can be used to describe or influence organizational culture: Control Systems: The monitoring processes of what is going on Organizational structures: Reporting lines, hierarchies and the work workflows through business. Power structures: Who makes the decisions, how widely spread is power and on what is power based? The paradigm: What the organization is about, what it does, its mission, its values Symbols: Organizational logos and designs, parking spaces and executive washrooms. Rituals and routines: Management meetings, board reports Stories and myths: Build up about people and events( Gerry 75) According to Gerry, the two main reasons why cultures develop is external adaptation and internal integration. External adaptation suggests that cultures develop and persist because they help an organization to survive and flourish. Internal integration is important because social structured are required for an organization to exist. The culture is not something I was shocked about as its almost similar to the university institution where there are ways of doing going about certain things that is particular to a certain college, its different faculties and even the different sub divisions within the faculties. Notably, each group develops its own culture and one realizes this when they interact with others not in the group. This situation is one that can change the perceptions of students towards their lecturers of staff members and vice versa. The effects on students are equal to those in the workplace, albeit milder. To be professional in such a toxic place one needs to do the following: Be at peace with everyone Stay away from the gossip groups Stick to your goals: Don’t let them be eroded with time by the negative talk. Be principled and disciplined. Be hard working at your job description. Keep your principles. Future Plans I would love to work in an environment like the workshop where I was placed during the internship. I am passionate about design and fabrication of ideas into real stuff. I find AUTOCAD drawing very interesting as well so that is an area I would love to explore as well. Hence, any challenge to work in a company that designs things from the mind, to paper to real products, is what I would love to take up. An automobile company is what I would like to work for due to the reasons mentioned. I would love to also take part in the manufacturing bit of a product since there are so many units covered in class regarding this. These include: Industrial processes, industrial safety, unit operations, industrial management and fluid mechanics. The units are very applicable in a manufacturing company which converts a raw material into useful end products. The raw material would have to pass through a series of processes in order to reach the final stage where the theoretical knowledge comes in. For instance, if I was in charge of the steam plant in a certain company, I would have to possess knowledge about boilers, raw water treatment and steam generation. I would appreciate such an experience as it brings out the class work to the real-life practical situations. Finally, in order to fit in to the culture of a company, I would point out my strengths and the skills acquired during the internships when applying for the job. This will ensure the recruiter realize that I will know how to fit in just fine. The experience taught me that and I look forward to my future career life. Works Cited Adegbola Adegbeji, Abiodum Omar and Olaluwa S. Design, Construction and Performance Evaluation of Low Cost Electrical Baking Oven. Earth System Models. 3.11 (2012); 12-55. International Engineering Alliance. Graduate Attributes and Professional Competencies, Version 3, June 2013. Johnson, Gerry. “Rethinking incrementalism”, Strategic Management Journal, 9.3 (2000); 188-197 Vision Economics. What is workplace Culture and why does it matter? 2011. Web, 19 April, 2014 Read More