Genesis Seating Co-op Experience
Leif
Experience Information
Employer: Genesis Seating
Job Title: Engineering Intern
Major: Mechanical Engineering
Received Credit: Yes
Paid: Yes
Abroad: No
Description of the Organization
Genesis Seating is an assembly plant for office and small amounts of lounge chairs for major seating companies. They work for companies like Herman Miller, Haworth, and Steel Case. Their main function is to assemble the chairs from supplied parts. They do a very small amount of actual chair design, most of that is left to Herman Miller, ect.
Description of the Tasks/Projects Completed
My main task at Genesis Seating was to design and create assembly fixtures and part carts. I would be given a problem that the floor workers are experiencing and would have to come up with a way to solve that problem. Most of this just entailed designing a fixture that would hold the part being worked on in a certain orientation. I was also task with doing time studies. This is a way for Genesis Seating to make sure what they quoted a company for labor cost was correct. I would simply watch the work assemble a chair and record the time it took he/her.
Skills/Knowledge Gained Through The Experience
I learned many things at Genesis Seating. I learned a whole lot about how chairs are assembled and how much work actually goes into one chair. I also learned skills that apply to engineering directly. I learned new things in SolidWorks, a 3D design software. This included correct procedure for creating a part and then the correct way to create a schematic so that I, or anybody, could make that part. I also learned machining skills like: welding, milling, metal lathe work, and metal finishing work.
Favorite Part of the Experience
My favorite part of working at Genesis Seating was the hands-on experience I received. I loved working in the metal shop fabricating the fixtures and carts I designed on the computer. Not only are those skills useful to engineers, they are also useful in one's personal life. I also enjoyed relationship building between team members. I gained a lot of new friends not only in the office but also on the plant floor.
How the Experience Influenced Future Career Goals
This experience has shown me that I not only want to be do design work, I want to also be involved in the building part. I loved working with my hands and seeing something go from a computer screen to on the plant floor. I hope to not lose touch with either side of this process.