Quality Technologist Review

I really enjoyed the different working environment that I was exposed to during my placement. While working in the Quality department, I was assigned to various projects and had the opportunities to work with colleagues from different divisions. However, it will be more ideal if I underwent the Lean Six Sigma training that was provided to the O2 graduate engineers.

At the beginning of my placement, I was not given a large amount of responsibilities as I was role shadowing and assisting one of the quality engineer at the product stream. However, after discussing with my supervisor, I was assigned to get involve in projects from various product streams and also covered for one of the quality engineer during his absence. I felt really contented that my efforts had been appreciated by my colleagues regardless of which divisions they were from.

During my placement year, my supervisor was extremely helpful and considerate as I was doing my placement while completing my university academics at the same time. He had been very understanding and supportive to ensure that I had enough time to manage both my academic and work requirements. Throughout the year, we had a monthly review meeting where he make sure that I am getting all the help from the quality department, as well as any concern that I may have regarding the projects that I was working on. I would not have been able to complete this year in the same manner without his support at every step and his willingness to have a discussion about any of my work at any time.

In the beginning, I was a bit concern with the amount of workload that I was given as I was not given any fixed role or responsibilities on a daily basis. My workload depended on the progress of the project as well as the unexpected quality issues that occurred on a particular product, where I was required to assist the quality technician for the inspection. But gradually, I was involved with more quality improvement projects and sometimes given the full responsibilities to be in charge of a certain quality issue, I began to find a better balance between my work while meeting my academic requirement.

The responsibilities that I was given gradually increased as I progressed through the year. From role-shadowing, assisting quality technicians to being able to manage my own quality improvement projects, it was clear that the more exposure I had to different divisions and product streams, the more responsibilities I was given. These responsibilities were also the fastest route for me to understand the processes involved in a particular product stream. Therefore I think it is an important factor to get the future placement students to get involved with a wide variety of projects, divisions and product streams.

As SAP was launched during my placement, I underwent the standard online courses and software training for a quality engineer. These knowledge may not have a major application for my degree studies, however, it can be useful for my future career workplace that may also be using SAP software. As mentioned previously, I was not given the Lean Six Sigma training during my placement. It was towards the end of my placement that I was given minor exposure in the project management strategies and different analysis techniques stated in Six Sigma. I believe these skills and knowledge will be really useful for my studies and future career.

As my role was responsible to assist quality engineers from various product streams, I was often required to relocate my office for easier communication and greater convenience. Each office had its own cultures and it was really nice to be able to interact with people from different divisions and product streams.

For the first two weeks of my placement, I was not given a laptop as there seemed to be some delay in the order. As I was first placement student in the quality department, there was no previous placement work structures or handover for me. Therefore, the first few weeks involved a lot of role-shadowing and supporting quality inspections which can be fairly repetitive. However, as the year went by, I was involved with more projects and my supervisor also provide sufficient guidance to ensure that I was meeting my requirement both at work and university. There was no fixed work structure or role that I was assigned to, but this flexibility also managed to provide a wider exposure for me to various product streams in the plant.

It was really unfortunate that I was not able to undergo the Six Sigma training at the beginning of my placement. I believe it will be really helpful and applicable for the various quality improvement projects that I was involved in. As I was often required to carry out analyses of various quality results, I managed to enhance my excel and minitab skills from the help and guidance provided by different colleagues throughout the year.

The O2 graduate program is really appealing and beneficial to fresh graduate. During the placement, I was given the opportunities to interact with several MOC who talked about their experience in 3M. Many of them had been working in the company for a long time and were involved in various different positions before ending up with the current job that they enjoyed the most. This aspect really strikes my interest and I will like to adapt this value in my future career path.

As there was only two placement students based in Newton Aycliffe, I did not have the opportunities to interact with placement students from other sites. However, during the induction, site visits and various training organised by 3M, I had a great time getting to know students from different background and culture.

The living expenses in Darlington was fairly reasonable. I was able to enjoy my year without any financial issues while covering for my university expenses. The electric bills can be fairly high during winter but in overall, water and electricity bills were within budget. As I travelled to work by bus, my travel cost was considerably high compare to living in Newton Aycliffe itself.

As Darlington is a small town, it was fairly silent during the weekday. There were several pub/restaurants around the town hall area which was within the walkable distance from my place. It can get pretty busy during the weekend, however I was not heavily involved with the nightlife in Darlington.

As I enjoy the comfort from home, so I often stayed at home outside of work. However, I normally went to the gym on a daily basis and was able to get involved with various activities in the sport centre. From time to time, I travelled down to Manchester to meet up with my university friends.