Engineering Maintenance Management - Essay Example

Engineering Maintenance Management During my third year first semester of my third-year undergraduate degree, I completed the internship term in the aviation company, maintenance department. This midterm report was an opportunity to describe the work experience as well as reflecting on how the practical experience has contributed to my view of the aviation company and the role within it. My first four weeks were the most challenging period of my internship because of the vigorous activities that I had to learn concerning the company. I was working in an aviation company, engineering/maintenance section. The company is organized into the four main departments; Aviation Supply Chain, maintenance/engineering, Government and Defense Services, Structures and Systems, and Repair and Overhaul. The maintenance department where I was assigned is tasked with handling the whole aircraft maintenance for both the government fleet operators and the commercial airlines. The activities majorly done here include; painting services, airframe maintenance overhaul and inspection, line maintenance, structural repairs, airframe modifications, avionic installation and services, and interior and exterior engineering and refurbishment services. My supervisor was Mr. John, who is the senior engineer in charge of the maintenance/engineering department. Upon my admission into the company, the training/orientation processes involves the key areas such as office etiquette, the safety guidelines, office practices, introduction to the various heads of the departments, and among others. The company’s mission is to manufacture and supply the oil products and services that satisfies the needs of the customers, conduction of the business in safe, environmentally sustainable and economically optimum way, and in constant pursuit of operational excellence. The company’s objectives include; benefiting the shareholders, meeting the customer requirements, safeguarding the asset integrity, sustain the robust management system, delivering the structural cost reductions, and the provision of the continuous sustainable health, security, safety and environmental excellence (Baird, 1996). The organization structured into three levels; the top management that is composed of the CEOs and directors, the middle level that is composed of the line managers, supervisors and the heads of department and the lower level that is made of the technical workers/engineers. My duties and responsibilities as an engineering intern in the aviation company involved; the development of the cost estimates, progress status and the schedules, conducting the design evaluations, the economic evaluations and preparation of the technical reports, project work; plant outages, energy conservation, and the manufacturing equipment installations and among other duties and responsibilities that my supervisor may assign me. During the third week, I had an informal meeting with my supervisor with an aim of confirming whether the expectations had been met. During the first four weeks, I was assigned to the preparation of the schedules and the work progress, and helping in the maintenance of the aircraft's. One of the challenges that I faced is not enough work, and the tasks were not challenging. I approached this challenge by becoming proactive and scheduling the meeting with my supervisor to share my interests with him. Another challenge that I faced is lack of clear and enough directions concerning my duties and responsibilities. I approached this challenge by not being afraid to ask the questions, especially where I have not understood well. The other challenge is the lack of sufficient feedback. In order to deal with this challenge I was actively involved in seeking the feedback while also setting up the weekly meetings in order to let the supervisor know of the proceedings (Divine et al., 2007). Having a chance to attend the meetings and the other work related activities have been fundamental to me in observing the business operations of the company and the management in the different settings. Additionally, during the first four weeks I have had the chance to network with the management and other employees in the work related activities. So far, though I have faced the challenges, I am satisfied with the pace at which am learning. During this short period, I had the opportunity to contribute to the mission of the company. Part 2 Internship Portfolio Report This portfolio report is based on the training and internship experiences that I received from an aviation company. The entries in the portfolio reflect the core components of the model of the practice and represent the sample of my experiences as an engineering intern, maintenance department. This portfolio report is used as the collection of the thoughtfully selected exhibits and reflections of my individual experiences and abilities towards attainment of the established goals and objectives (Pintelon, & Gelders, 1992). Weekly Activity Reports Week Number One: Month...2015 through…, 2015 (40 hours) In my first week of the internship, I did participate in the tour of the departments, and I was introduced to the various personnel. Following the detailed orientation to the department’s internship programs, I received my special project assignment and then began the experience in the maintenance department. The second day of my internship I was assigned to the preparation of the schedules. My supervisor showed me the proper way to prepare the schedules. I also had the opportunity to observe the other engineers at work, and this was extremely educative to me. On Wednesday, I observed the follow-up activities including the installations. On Thursday, I attended the training program that was mostly about the safety guidelines and the use of the various equipment. During my last day of the week, I was assigned to the preparations of the technical reports. In summary, the week was majorly spent on familiarizing myself with the area and the departments. Since most of my work were minor, my supervisor could make a follow-up see how am progressing. Week Two (40 hours) On Monday, I was given e-tour of the different departments and facilities of the security. During the tour, the security officer discussed the functions and the security requirements of the various facilities. Later I attended the security briefing that was conducted by Peter Johns, who addressed the safeguarding classified data and the other company sensitive information. On Tuesday the same week I continued to familiarize myself with the security office, my duties and responsibilities and the people within my department. I spent the rest of the week on familiarizing myself with the preparation of the cost estimates. In summary, this was an informative and enjoyable week that I found the surveillance activities and the training to be very interesting. I hope that the next week will be educational and productive. Week Three (40 hours) During this week, I spent most of the time reviewing the departmental policies, rules, and the regulations. I also had the opportunity to follow the day after day of the electrical substation. During my stay in this maintenance department, I could see the recurrent problems that the engineers face on the technical, organizational and human aspect. During this period, engineer Edward was my teacher. I keenly followed the growth and planning of the construction steps that my supervisor organized, thanks to the program MS-Project. Additionally, I had the opportunity to learn the fundamental tools of the MS-Project. During this week, I was exposed to the new things and also realized the importance of working together as the team. Overview of the Professional Field of the Organization Through observing my supervisor, I learned that the communication and connection are important in the organization. The activities in the company are carried out in a professional manner whereby the employees have a mutual respect for one another. In the maintenance department I was working on, I realized that the employees help one another to achieve the organizational goals. I also realized that the employees stay organized and can maintain a balanced head that helps to make the events more enjoyable. Company’s Management Structure The company’s management structure is divided into top management level, middle level, and the subordinate level. The top management is composed of the CEOs, executives, directors and among others. The middle management level is composed of the branch managers, line managers, and the supervisors. Finally, the lower management is made up of the technical staff, and among others workers. I realized that the company uses the decentralized system of management in terms of decisions making. The non-hierarchical system that exist in the organization ensures that the employees can interact freely both at the formal and informal platforms (Niebel, 1994). Each department is headed by a manager that is in charge of all the activities that are carried out in that department. The head of the department reports to the manager on the daily proceedings of the work activities. The general manager is in charge of the organization and is responsible for making sensitive decisions that have a unanimous impact on the company. Company Structure Aims and Objectives of the Organization The organization’s aims and objectives include; benefiting the shareholders, meeting the customer requirements, safeguarding the asset integrity, sustain the robust management system, delivering the structural cost reductions, and the provision of the continuous sustainable health, security, safety and environmental excellence, and to facilitate the development of the environmental policies that are in line with the industry’s best practices. The goals and objectives of the maintenance department that I was working include; maximizing the operational or production throughout, provide the accurate equipment maintenance records, optimize the maintenance resources, collecting the necessary maintenance cost information, minimize the energy usage, and responsibility for safety, environmental and health compliance. Personal Objectives My personal objective were focused more on my own professional, personal and technical development. As an engineering intern, my first goal was to understand my supervisor’s needs while maintaining the constant dialog. This is because I must make sure meet or exceed the expectations. My second goal is to work on my personal development. This will be a chance for me to grow by asking a lot of questions, especially where I don’t understand. My third personal objective is to work on my communication. This will help me to learn how to speak in the public. Lastly, I endeavor to develop a good communication with my colleagues. Analysis and Conclusions Generally as an engineering intern in the aviation company, maintenance department, I have been able to accomplish the following; analyzing, building, configuring, testing, and maintaining the systems and products, creation of the written descriptions of the new products ideas, participation in the product ideation through the review of concepts, brainstorming sessions and among others, keeping the management abreast of the progress and the pending programs, and performing any other additional duties as assigned by my supervisor. Some of the strengths of the aviation company that I was undertaking the internship include; the price structure that is lower than its competitors, sustainable unit cost advantage, relatively large market share, strong brand recognition, and excellent financial performance. The weaknesses include; seasonality of the earnings, further cost cutting to maintain the price advantage, increasing complexity, and untrained personnel that do not understand the security methodologies. My recommendations will be majorly based on the security issues. The company should consider increasing the safety personnel that understands the security and safety partnership that forms the occupational point of view that can help in the reduction of the risk element at the company. The company should also understand that the technology that they have can contribute in assisting the 98% of the security needs, but the 2% may still require the fashion security skills (Dhillon, 2002). For instance, the biometric system can be very helpful. Other recommendations include; increasing the market share by targeting other areas, the training program on the security issues should regularly be undertaken, and among others. As an engineering intern at an aviation company, I was exposed to the variety of the perspectives, environments, and the methodologies. The unique training system of the company assigns the interns some tasks, and then give some time to experiment and see the progress. I learned that the test-driven development is majorly about the fine balance. When using the TDD, one must be selective in the things that they test, and what, not test, and when to test. I realized that the TDD is helpful in not only finding the gaps in your code, but also in revealing the gaps in the knowledge (Chen & Duan, 2014). Through the observing my colleagues and my supervisor, I have learned that the connection and communication are very fundamental. I have also learned that the planning ahead is very crucial to the creation of the successful events. Additionally, as an engineering intern in the maintenance section, I was able to use the software design analysis and the programming skills in the creation of the innovative automated systems. I was able to undertake the broad challenges on the daily basis in the design and the building of the intelligent systems. Generally as an engineering intern I have been able to grow both on a personal level and professional level. The experience that I have gained is crucial to me in developing my career path. Most importantly I have been able to develop confidence, in addition, to the communication and analytical skills that I think are valuable to developing a successful career path. Part 3 Internship Final Report The following final internship report describes the activities that I carried out during my engineering intern in an aviation company. The document contains the information about the organization and responsibilities that I performed throughout the internship period. More than the plain account of the events, the aim of this report is to reflect upon the experiences that I collected during the internship from the perspective of the engineering student. The aviation company that I was working on is the leading aviation company, having the experience of more than 40 years. The company’s expertise in the line maintenance, software design, avionic services and installation, interior and exterior engineering, structural repairs, and the refurbishment services. The company’s mission is to manufacture and supply the products and services that satisfies the needs of the customers, conducting the business in safe, environmentally sustainable and economically optimum way. Its stated objectives include; benefiting the shareholders, meeting the customer requirements, safeguarding the asset integrity, sustain robust management system, delivering the structural cost reductions, and the provision continuous sustainable health, security, safety, and the environmental excellence. In concrete, much of the company’s activities relate to the networking and the organization of the forums in order to address the issues and concerns that are related to the organization’s field of organization. As a creative and vibrant organization, the company is continuously in pursuit of the new opportunities in order to develop and expand further. Additionally, the company is committed to the diversity and equality policy seriously and it emphasizes on the protection and safety of the environment. The company has also energy efficient and eco-friendly features. These are; the rainwater harvesting, the recycling of the waste water, the use of the LED lights that is designed to optimize the natural light utilization. It is ISO 14001 and 18001 certified company that reflects on its dedication towards the nature and safety. Although the main and the most important responsibility to be taken care of was maintenance of the company’s machines, on the course of the internship I was involved on the other activities that are related not only the technical expertise, but also the fields of actions, progress and the activities. The echelon of the support from my supervisor was remarkable. He gave me the free hand to look for their loopholes in their practices and gave me the chance to feely look at their documents. He gave me guidance about the civil construction, the design and the materials and how they contribute to the sustainability. Because of his continuous support, I was able to enhance my knowledge about the nature of the work. Additionally, the supervisor allowed me to approach anyone anywhere as the whole team was also very supportive. Working under the maintenance department, the field involved dealing with the ergonomics and eco-friendly design of the machinery. It covers the following; cleanliness, the disposal of the wastes and effluents, temperature and ventilation, dust and fume, artificial humidification, lighting, overcrowding, latrines and urinals, spittoons, drinking water, fire safety, fencing of the machinery, safety of the buildings, and PPE. My main aim and objectives under the maintenance included; conducting the internal audits and the awareness activities, the hazard identifications, analysis and the mitigation measures, risk assessment, site inspection, data gathering and record keeping, maintenance of the machines and among others. However, the decisions that I have been making about my career have allowed me to look into the other responsibilities in this internship. I do enjoy myself in this career, but I still find it hard being in the office or being hands-on. I particularly enjoy the aspects of the office; working on the project, being organized, and seeing the finished product. Through observing my supervisor, I realized that connection and communication are key ingredients in the work. My supervisor seem to know anybody that walks in the door. Additionally, I have been able to learn that planning ahead in your work is the key in the creation of the successful events. I noticed that my supervisor and my other colleagues were well organized and that they keep calm and collective attitude. The engineering world can be very stressful, thereby keeping a balanced head is important in making the work more enjoyable even in the stressful period. Working with the design team gave me some clues on how the design and the phases and the different procedures in the design of any structure. Additionally, the architects helped me to know the various symbols of any drawing and room orientations. During the first four weeks I was assigned with the preparation of the schedules and the work progress, and helping in the maintenance of the aircrafts. One of the challenges that I faced is not enough work and the tasks were not challenging. I approached this challenge by becoming proactive and scheduling the meeting with my supervisor to share my interests with him. Another challenge that I faced is lack of clear and enough directions in regard to my duties and responsibilities. I approached this challenge by not being afraid to ask the questions especially where I have not understood well. The other challenge is the lack of sufficient feedback. In order to deal with this challenge I was actively involved in seeking the feedback while also setting up the weekly meetings in order to let the supervisor know of the proceedings. Although the main and responsibilities of the internship was the engineering section, over the course of the internship I was involved in the other activities that not only concern the technical aspects of engineering, but also other activities and projects. I was assigned the translation of some of the brochures and some materials for the upcoming events. Additionally, I was requested to make the analysis and consolidation of the results of the first survey on the co-generation activities. These additional tasks provided me with the new technical aspects of interest. In particular, the analysis of the reports was a very challenging task but also it was a good opportunity in learning the facts and implementation of the reporting and the corporate transparency. This required intensive research on the technical information in order to understand and critically assess the reports that were handed to me. The site work was the most vital task for me owing to the fact that the internship main aim lies on gaining the knowledge from the site such as handling of the workers, communication, management skills, technical skills, and among others. Within the internship period, I have been able to gain experience on the handling of the projects. Some of the work task that I have been executing at the site are; the supervision of the works, inspection of the works, checking the work based on the checklist, and testing materials. Generally, the site work reflects on the leadership experience that I have gained over the internship. During the internship, I learned that leadership is the process of influencing the individuals or the groups in accomplishing the organizational objectives. I have seen how the workers are controlled and organized in order to achieve the daily activities. I observed the methods of controlling the amount of the work done and the working time by each of the workers in order to have the work proceeds in accordance with the work plan. For the effective leadership, I have understood that the personal values such as confidence, devotion and effective communication are vital. Additionally, in order to be an excellent leader, the following should be fulfilled; technical proficient, making timely and sound decisions, keeping the workers informed, develop the sense of the responsibility among the workers, being organized, listening to the others, excellent communication skills, and ensuring that the tasks are understood, accomplished and well supervised (Bass & Stogdill, 1990). During the internship I also learned the concept of the work ethics. The concept of the work ethics can be summarized as the quality in one’s behavior towards the appreciating the process of the work flow (Edwards, 2010). During the internship period, I have managed to accomplish the job descriptions with the enthusiasm and high spirit in order to have a smooth flow of the activities both in the office and the field. I learned that the work ethics involves certain characteristics such as honesty, reliability, responsibility and the accountability. Punctuality is among the major issues that could be raised in connection to the work ethics. I tried to achieve this criteria through attending my work station on time in order to avoid the delay of the activities. Additionally, the behavior that one shows towards his/her colleagues and peers is also part of the work ethics. Personally, I have always given priority to the employers of the organization and respected my colleagues. Conclusions and Recommendations The internship acts as the bridge between the theoretical knowledge and the practical knowledge in the field of the engineering (Thompson et al., 2008). I think the responsibilities of the hosting organization is to shape and teach the students during the internship period. My hosting company was an aviation company and it has helped me in acquiring the different knowledge in the different positions. This program played a key role in enlightening me that the field work enables one to acquire high level of the confidence in dealing with the problems that can arise in the engineering section. Since I took my internship session in the aviation company, maintenance department, I got the opportunity to work in the different areas of the maintenance. Overall, the internship program laid the sound foundation for me to start my career. I am proud that I am able to contribute towards the nation building through the internship program. I will be extremely sensible to scale the practice up and to replicate in the other disciplines as well. I think that the internship was very beneficial to me due to the fact that I learnt a lot and it made me discover the work in the real world. Recommendations for the Company I realized that most of the site work needs the careful attention and the successive supervision of the works but in some situations the work goes improperly owing to the different causes. Therefore, I suggest that the supervisors and the site engineers take the careful look at the work that is executed on the site. Other recommendation in regard to the maintenance department and the other departments that I worked include; testing of the materials before being delivered to the site, use of the thicker eucalyptus false work so as to avoid the bulging of the concrete, the bar staggering around the support needs the special attention or redesigning, use of the PPE in the designated areas and thorough training of the security personnel. References Baird, B. N. (1996). The internship, practicum, and field placement handbook: A guide for the helping professions. Prentice-Hall, Inc. Bass, B. M., & Stogdill, R. M. (1990). Handbook of leadership (Vol. 11). New York: Free Press. Chen, W. F., & Duan, L. (Eds.). (2014). Bridge Engineering Handbook: Construction and Maintenance. CRC press. Dhillon, B. S. (2002). Engineering maintenance: a modern approach. CRC Press. Divine, R. L., Linrud, J. K., Miller, R. H., & Wilson, J. H. (2007). Required internship programs in marketing: Benefits, challenges and determinants of fit. Marketing Education Review, 17(2), 45. Edwards, K. J. (2010). Engineering Internship Final Report (Doctoral dissertation, School of Engineering and Energy, Murdoch University). Niebel, B. W. (1994). Engineering maintenance management. CRC Press. Pintelon, L. M., & Gelders, L. F. (1992). Maintenance management decision making. European Journal of Operational Research, 58(3), 301-317. Thompson, A. A., Strickland, A. J., Gamble, J. E., & Zeng'an Gao. (2008). Crafting and executing strategy: The quest for competitive advantage: Concepts and cases (Vol. 19). McGraw-Hill/Irwin. Read More