ODL Co-Op 3
Jonathan
Experience Information
Employer: ODL
Job Title: Continuous Improvement Engineer
Major: Mechanical Engineering
Received Credit: Yes
Paid: Yes
Abroad: No
Description of the Organization
ODL is a global company with facilities in China, UK, Canada, Mexico and the US. ODL manufactures building products centered around windows/doors. ODL products include blinds between glass, add on blinds, decorative glass, frames, retractable screen doors, and products of the like. ODL has a legacy for innovation and hopes to uphold this reputation in the years to come.
Description of the Tasks/Projects Completed
The semester I was assigned primarily to the following projects 1. Add on Blind Implementation-In previous rotations I designed several improvements to our Add on Blind. Since I was at school, the capital has been approved to implement these changes. This semester I have been in charge of implementing the project. This has involved leading a small team, working with our CAD designer to update drawings, developing a project timeline, and completing necessary tolerance stacks for new components. 2. Glass Supermarket Layout-As part of an exposure to Manufacturing engineering, I have worked with several manufacturing engineers to optimize and rearrange the layout which we store our glass in on the floor. 3. IGCC Certification Drawings-Currently, we produce units for IGCC certification from hand written notes on pieces of scratch paper. In the interest of making this process repeatable and simple, I have worked to produce a legitimate set of drawings for three different insulated glass units so that the engineer in charge of certification can simply order the units for certification, rather than chase down all the right people and parts on the floor. 4. Operating Efforts improvements-In the interest of lowering the operating efforts of one of our blind products I have focused on making design improvements and testing to lower the operating efforts of the blind.
Skills/Knowledge Gained Through The Experience
I gained specific field skills in engineering at a real company. The truth is that what they teach you in the classroom and what you do in the field are two different things. I greatly valued learning how things are actually done in the field.
Favorite Part of the Experience
My favorite part of this experience was seeing a project become reality. As a Co-Op it's easy to feel like you work doesn't really matter. However, when I had the opportunity to actually contribute to real products, it was highly satisfying.
How the Experience Influenced Future Career Goals
This experience has given me a good feel for what a career in engineering might look like. The experience has given me an idea for what I do/don't like, what my strengths are, and what I might like to do in the engineering field.