The project I was involved with had several phases. It was done at ST Engineering in collaboration with the Continuous Improvement Team and Lead Manufacturing Engineers. I was an intern under the Continuous Improvement Team. The goal of the project, C919 kit carts, was to design and implement kit carts for the C919 program. Because of an increase in manufacturing expected in the next few years, the program needed kit carts to accommodate for the high flow of assemblies in the manufacturing process. The kit carts would allow for quicker cycle times, less defects, and a quicker pulling process in the stockrooms.
The tasks I had each day would vary since the project had multiple phases ranging from evaluating the scope of the project, creating groupings, and creating a statement of work (SOW). At the beginning of the project I was part of the process involving scoping what the project entails. This meant determining how we were going to kit the parts, which assemblies are getting kit carts, and the design requirements for safe transportation of parts. Then I had several days grouping the parts into example kit carts in CATIA, a CAM software. I also had a few days were I wrote an SOW. An SOW is like a contract listing expectations from kit manufacturers and requesting a quote from them.
By performing hands-on work in this project through my direct involvement, I applied scientific concepts and skill learned from my classes. For example, I applied the process for working a project that I learned in ENES100 to my practicum project. ENES100 is a class that teaches you how to work in a group on a large scale project with budgets, deadlines, and expectations. In my project, the goal was to have these kit carts rolled out by Spring of 2024 or earlier to accommodate for the increase in production. We were also given a budget to work with. The skills from ENES100 transferred over well to my project and gave me a lead as to how to direct it. I also took my experience in ENAE200 with the CAD software to assist me when learning the new software CATIA used in my project. In my practicum I gained useful experience with project management, Excel, and CATIA. I believe that these three skills are most used in the industry. It is important to be able to lead a team, collaborate as a team, use excel to model budgets and organize information, and design using software like CATIA.
Through my experiences, I have learned that I am a natural leader and often given the role of team leader in group projects. I delved deeper into the professional side of how to do projects in the aerospace industry at a manufacturing plant. This encompassed getting budgets, scoping a project, and justifying every action done such that it is clear that the project is in the best interest of the company. I would not have done anything differently in terms of choosing different coursework or experiences to prepare me. The project was unique and required skills that no course or experience can teach except that project. It was interesting to see how much my major coursework transferred over. From what I could tell, almost none of it transferred over. Because of my experience at ST Engineering I have continued to work for them and am returning for their Summer 2024 internship under the Assembly Manufacturing Team. This is the team that I worked with on this project and because of my outstanding performance, they have given me the opportunity to be a part of their team this summer.
As mentioned before, this practicum did require the collaboration of several team members. My team was very good and was on top of the work. I played a bit of team leader and member depending on the task at hand. The feeling of being a member on a team was new since I am almost always the leader of a group. I would recommend this opportunity to future SGC students. Many of the skills gained from this experience are not taught in school and are useful to have when applying for jobs in the future. Companies value experience more than academics because it shows commitment and your ability to work at a standard accepted by other companies.