Manufacturing Engineering Placement Review

Very much enjoyed. Worked on projects that added value to the company and helped develop relevant knowledge for the field I wish to enter after university. Great people to work with and great flexibility.

As a placement, I was pleasantly surprised with the responsibilities given to myself during placement and how reliant people within the company would be on me to ensure the assembly line is kept running, project deadlines are met etc.

The support within my role has been second-to-none. When I have been given problems to solve with complete flexibility - the engineers will always let you know if an idea is possible and if so; how to make it happen. If there is something that is really puzzling you or feel that you are not experienced enough to resolve an issue, the engineers always offer solutions and how to go about that solution. You will never hit a brick wall any project or problem.

I felt that the workload can be quite a burden most of the time. I worked over contracted hours for several consecutive weeks and got the feeling that the workload is simply too much to complete. However, I was not pressured about this by supervising staff as they understood the issue. The best I could do was prioritise and do what I could. Even doing this, I still received recognition for my efforts. However, I would not recommend the job role to somebody that feels pressured when is not on top of everything. However, boredom will never be an issue within the role.

I was given real responsibilities and an opportunity to prioritise my own work. I was given projects that were beneficial to both myself and the company and was very much relied on to quickly resolve issues that prevented engine production.

I have definitely become more organised and it has helped to develop the skills that I don't feel are acquired through a degree such as my business accruement and my ability to communicate within a cross-functional environment. It has also helped to build professionalism and my ability to consider health & safety within designs along with proactively identifying issues within ideas.

Great office to work in! Comfortable place to work along with some great characters to make the day go a little bit quicker.

The setting up itself was fairly smooth. A Facebook page was set up to help introduce students before starting placement hence, making living arrangements easier. All medicals, inductions and training were clearly instructed and followed through without issue. A bit of help with initial moving would have made it ideal as I started my placement in July which did not give me a lot of time to obtain moving expenses.

The company provided all required training that you would expect (health & safety, facilities etc.) along with relevant training (which for myself included USON and Lifter training). However, there was no official training for software used within the role. I was shown briefly how to use it during a hand over period but it was more a learn-as-you-do where I feel an actual training session would have been more beneficial.

There are many different graduate roles within the company each presenting lots of opportunities. Cummins offer a sponsorship scheme towards the end of placement in which I need to complete a project for my dissertation that will benefit Cummins. My supervisor has requested that I select a project to do this. I am awaiting confirmation from HR and other parties that I qualify for this. However, this is no guarantee of a job.

Cummins hire lots of placement students within lots of different roles. When the Facebook page was set up, it was very easy to organise events / nights out with other students. As there are several towns / cities surrounding Daventry such as Northampton, Coventry and Leamington; this gave a bit of variety in what there was to do out of work.

I lived in Northampton centre (2 minute walk into town) with 4 other placements. It cost £450 p.m. with all bills inc. The nightlife costs the same as most towns / cities etc.

Area of work - I had one night out in Daventry after a local beer festival and had a great laugh. However, it does only have one main place that everybody goes to (the Square) and all locals don't have too many good things to say about the place. Northampton - I chose to live in Northampton and the nightlife in Northampton can be quite good. It has a wide variety of pubs / clubs and have had some really good weekends there. Apparently it is the best place to go of the surrounding areas. As with most places, it is what you make of it but you are not limited by quantity or variety of places.

Cummins offer a Sports & Social club which I personally didn't sign up to. As part of work, Cummins like you to get involved in community action initiatives. So fair I have assisted in schools, hosted a Cummins stall at the Richo stadium as part of an Imagineering initiative, helped plant trees and worked at a food bank. In terms of sports, I have found an MMA academy that I train at most evenings so I am not struggling for things to do outside of work.