Complex Quality Engineer - Undergradute Review

I worked in a department called Complex Quality within the manufacturing plant at Solihull. The department was responsible for solving complex and persistent manufacturing faults that were not easily explained by operator/process error or poor quality supply parts. Although my degree is more mechanical systems rather than manufacturing processes, I thoroughly enjoyed spending my summer there and would recommend it to anyone in the same line of study as me.

Due to the complex problem solving nature of the department and my lack of experience in manufacturing industry, it was hard to get up to speed and contribute fully in the 12 weeks I spent there. However, my colleagues would sometimes ask my opinion and take my ideas on board when working on their own projects.

I would have a weekly hour-long meeting with my supervisor about my projects in addition to being able to approach him at his desk at any time for any questions I might have. Him, and his supervisor, would ensure I stayed on track and approached my projects in the right way to achieve completion by the end of the 12 weeks. Everyone in the office and within the wider business was also friendly and willing to help me.

I was never struggling for something to do, even during the 2 week plant shutdown. The project given to me had both a simple problem and a more complex element to solve meaning that I was able to partly complete it within the 12 weeks and understand the difficult nature of their work. I was also able to visit many other departments and sites within the business.

My project seemed to utilise the problem solving templates and approach that the department used but without having an understanding of how to go about implementing a change in manufacturing processes and who to talk to, it was difficult to make an impact, with these people working on seemingly far important things. However, I was given a good amount of freedom on how to approach things and more responsibility of my own work at the placement progressed.

The placement has made me far more proactive in my university studies. I have since taken on the class rep duty as the placement has given me the confidence to try to enforce change when certain processes aren't working as well as they could be. I have also gained a greater understanding of how statistics are used in the manufacturing world and I have developed a structured approach to problem solving.

The atmosphere was well balanced. People were friendly and would stop briefly to chat without it being a distracting places to work.

The placement was very well organised. I spent the first week learning more about the business in terms of history, worldwide impact, environmental responsibilities, product range etc. from the many online learning modules they have on their internal network. All undergraduates were required to complete a setlist of these. I was then introduced to what I would be working on and shown around the site to familiarise myself with the relevant parts of the business, and given further training modules to do specific to what I would be working on. Before I left, I was given a feedback session on how I had performed.

My supervisor was happy to send me to different sites and departments for the day for my own learning experience. This included sites at Halewood, Castle Bromwich, Gaydon and the Engine Manufacturing Centre. I was also able to attend events such as the LG tech show and spent an afternoon on the Land Rover Experience. With the permission of my supervisor, I spent two days on training courses to advance the knowledge I gained from the online learning modules. I felt like I was already a permanent employee in which they were investing time and money.

I would happily return to Jaguar Land Rover as a graduate, the scheme for which allows you to choose which areas of the business you see in order to gain more experience and discover what direction you'd like to go with your engineering career. The company has expanded massively in the last five year and it seems like a very exciting time to be an employee with completely new product lines arriving year on year. The company also sees interns as a future investment so if you impress during your placement, you're likely to be made an offer to return as a gradutae.

There were a huge number of students working there (about 120 on 12 week placements) with most of us staying in student halls in Coventry as recommended by Human Resources. There were plenty of nights out and other activities organised by ourselves such as Go-Karting and weekly 5-aside football. Living in halls again was also great fun with something always going on and people there to speak to.

The student halls cost about £80 per week. Plenty of students brought their cars but most people lift shared which kept travel costs down. There were all the usual supermarkets in the area and everything needed was within walking distance as we were reasonably close to the city centre. Nights out didn't seem to cost too much either !!

Good. There were plenty of pubs and smaller clubs in the city centre but we usually just drank at the student halls before heading to Kasbah. There were also a few trips to Leamington Spa, but I don't really remember those.

Yes. Although there was nothing really organised by Jaguar Land Rover, there was enough of us to organise activities between ourselves. About 30 of us played 5-aside every Wednesday with a big tournament organised for the last week. I also went Go Karting and visited various places with friends at the weekends. With a Pure Gym in the centre of Coventry as well as all the shops and pubs, we were never stuck for something to do.