manufacturing industrial placement Review

my daily tasks include using data from the manufacturing execution system to create live dashboards to monitor production times for assemblies and trialling these dashboards on various areas across the site, researching factory of the future ideas and assisting in the trialling and implementing of new technology into the existing production environment and redeveloping areas of the factory that are currently being underutilised I have daily meetings with supervisor to discuss progress and help resolve any issues or problems I am currently having on the projects I am working on

I have received a lot of training which has allowed me to develop my existing CAD, design, workflow and management skills. As well as developing pre-existing skills I have learned many new ones such as how to operate 3d printers, utilise continuous improvement techniques and use bi and spc software. The supervisors make sure that you further develop these skills by practically applying them in your projects. My time here has also allowed me to improve my soft skills such as networking, negotiating time management. I regular present results from my projects to team leaders which has allowed me to improve my presentation skills greatly.

The responsibility I was given varied from project to project. Some projects like the live dashboard creation and creating cell layouts I was solely responsible for listening to request and feedback from customers and creating visuals and measure to fulfil those requests. For most other tasks I was usually given responsibly over certain parts of the project e.g. planning new technology trials and ordering the equipment whilst generally assisting in others in different parts of the project. some times I wasn't given that much responsibility or made to do menial tasks on projects but these were usually on very short tern projects and required little time to complete

I had daily meeting with my supervisor to discuss my progress and help sort out any issues I was having on my projects. These would get cancelled occasionally but I could usually catch-up with him sometime later in the day. I also had weekly meetings with my placement supervisor to make sure I wasn't being over or under worker and that the work I was doing was relevant to the skills I wanted to develop. There were also monthly industrial placement meetings with other placement students to discuss what we were all working on and find out more information about the grad scheme and other initiatives in the company we could get involved in.

on the whole the company culture was good. Having flexible working hours was great as I could start days earlier or later than normal depending on how tired I felt in the morning. Most people were happy to help you with requests although occasionally you would encounter some people unwilling to help you much. The atmosphere in the office was generally friendly and welcoming from all areas across the site. They would occasionally get free food or drinks on special occasions which helped lift morale as well.

Overall I enjoyed the placement. It was really cool being able to walk around the site and see people working on and building various different products and technologies. On the whole the work I was given was enjoyable and challenging but rarely overwhelming or too stressful. Occasionally I was given tasks that were quite menial and dull but these would usually last for only a few hours or so. Having to work from home was a challenge at points during the pandemic as it was very easy to feel isolate from the site but the regular meetings and work i was given helped to feel involved and valued during the placement

Yes

My main piece of advice is to enjoy your time here and make sure you use all the opportunities you have to develop your skills Make the most of your time here by being willing to help out whenever and whenever possible and people will appreciate the time and effort you put in. Make the most of all the training programs and material they have available and don't be afraid to ask for help if you are unsure of anything. It is also a great time to develop a lot of your own personal skills, make lots of connections and expand your network.