Summer Work Placement - Marbas Engineering
To gain my summer work placement during the summer of 2022 I completed my year 3 plan prior to the end of year 2 allowing me to understand and develop a way of completing the placement task that is detailed in my Negotiated learning task 1.
After contacting numerous companies in order to attempt to gain a placement I finally found an opening with Marbas engineering. Whilst completing my Year 3 plan I was able to create a set of skills I wanted to test and further by taking this placement. I also outlined skills I wanted to gain by using new variations of software and looking at new areas of industry that I have previously not ventured into.
My placement began on June 13th and instead of the initial planned 2 days per week that would last the entirety of June (4 weeks) I was offered an opportunity to complete a full summer of work that would end September 30th. During my summer placement I worked 5 days a week for a 4-month period. Getting consistent work experience in a new industry allowed me to fully immerse myself in the style of jobs I would be required to complete after my university term finishes. I was able to look at both small and larger scale projects. Working full time for this length of period has allowed me to remove the need to complete a client-based project within in the summer. This project was replaced with full time work within the engineering industry. Prior to working for Marbas engineering I had previous knowledge of working within the structural steel construction sector. However, once I had completed my initial time period at Marbas I had acquainted myself with a variety of engineering sectors including civil engineering in both residential settings and commercial along with maritime engineering.
To complete my learning objectives from my NLT1 summer work placement I had decided to focus on the following areas; Gain an understanding of tasks that I have previously not been challenged with, learn new types of designing software, work with people outside of my area of knowledge to gather information about the project I will be working on and experience how a new industry operates and runs.
I felt completing these points was imperative to conducting a positive work placement venture that would allow me to progress to the next level of my academic career and future within the engineering industry.
My first project at Marbas involved the opening and stripping of dwg drawings to ensure that only what we required as a company was included. This meant I had to quickly develop the knowledge of what was important to my new area of work. The main areas I had to ensure were shown on the drawing and in the correct line style and colour were external and internal walls on new or existing accommodation builds. I then also had to create and insert a grid referencing system to allow sections and elevations to be created for the model. This task was completed solely in 2D Auto CAD and allowed me to use my current skillset alongside a new area of knowledge.
Whilst completing this smaller task I was given the opportunity to complete a larger scale project. This project was based in Plymouth and required me to solely create every drawing that was issued from Marbas. All subject specific areas of construction such as wick drains and the Redi-Rock gravity wall were specified by myself. This project was a maritime engineering project, the client required us to regain land by creating a revetted slope further offshore than the existing concrete retaining walls thus creating a larger area of land for boat storage and vehicle access.
Wick drains were to be installed prior to any infill taking place to ensure and ground water could be removed in the fastest possible manor thus decreasing the settlement period of the infill that was to be used to create the larger land area. Wick drains work by piling a thin permeable plastic-like tube into the floor in a series of triangles. When a load is periodically applied to the surface material water is squeezed from beneath the surface into the drains and is removed by having it travel up the tube under pressure to the surface which has been covered with a non-permeable membrane to ensure the water cannot be reabsorbed by the ground.
Following this there was a large 25x43m slipway that had to be lined either side with L shape precast concrete retaining walls. This was to retain the infill that has been has been added either side of the slipway.
Further to the large areas of land reclamation which had a required infill volume of 485,000m cubed, there were three large concrete tanks that were to be constructed to allow for the loading and unloading of underwater vessels from ships. These tanks would also have the need to be cleaned and then tested. This meant these tanks would need a large observation room that was built to ensure the testing could be carried out and viewed. These tanks were to be constructed on large circular piles that were driven into the ground. After the piles had been driven, we would then be able to create a metal frame to ensure the concrete walls could be installed into the cavities. After construction the metal frame would be left in position to further support the loads applied to the concrete basin. A 10-ton pillar jib crane was also specified to be installed with a piled foundation to ensure stability. This was to be installed in the vicinity of the three tanks to allow for movement of loads between docked ships and the newly reclaimed land.
Completing projects like these allowed me to sufficiently cover the points I had raised within my NLT 1 form as previously mentioned.
Completing the first point of my four-point learning objective plan was accomplished by consistently asking questions for any areas I felt unsure about to ensure I was completing tasks to the best of my ability and in compliance with industry standards. I was also allowed to effectively shadow and watch other employees complete tasks that I would be required to complete after the initial weeks of my employment. Once I felt confident, I was able to move onto my own projects within the company.
My second learning objective point was achieved by completing tasks given to me by my co-workers that allowed me to use new software that I had not previously used. This was also completed by taking tasks that had been given to myself whilst at work and further investigating the required software after work had been completed.
To achieve my third learning objective which was to create external communication channels with people from outside of the Marbas business giving me further insights into other lines of work. This has been completed throughout each project that was passed to me. I have spoken to numerous engineers, clients and architects regarding a variety of projects that I have completed and all forms of communication were completed in a timely and professional manner with where both parties gave and received the required relevant information.
My final learning objective for my negotiated learning task 1 (NLT 1) work placement was to experience how a new industry operates. This was successfully completed throughout my placement that was extended to the end of September giving me a longer period to understand my role within the team I was now a part of.
After revisiting my strengths, weaknesses, opportunity and threats analysis (SWOT) analysis that I had completed prior to my placement I found I had correctly identified the relevant areas for my strengths and weaknesses. The largest strength I found I used within my placement was the ability to confidently assess and interpret detailed drawing models and sheets allowing me to understand the projects that were passed to me in a quick manner. This therefore allowed me to begin working on projects in a much faster timescale than I had anticipated.
Moving forward towards my client project for semester 1 in my third year I am to complete further projects for Marbas engineering after securing full time employment after my work placement period. This will allow me to hopefully be able to complete multiple client projects for them during the whole semester allowing me to further expand my experience in different sectors. By completing multiple projects that focus on different areas of engineering I am able to completely diversify my knowledge.