What I liked
I really liked working with my hands, training my soft skills, and seeing my work be immediately used. One of the main projects I worked on was creating and updating assembly processes for the new OI Analytical production area. Many of these procedures either were just a single or set of engineering drawings or a short list of notes connected to the drawings. My task was to transfer those procedures into a new, much more user friendly and easier to follow online guide-style website, by taking hundreds of pictures and explaining every part being added. I was given the freedom to rearrange steps and find the best ways and tools to complete the assemblies. I also worked with operation staff and engineers to create the guides and then also helped train staff in assembling the things I had written guides for. I learned and practiced many skills, such as soldering, assembling tubing systems, and training others. I also liked the casual environment and having a general set of tasks to complete. Overall, I really enjoyed it and learned and practiced many new skills.
Second Term: In my first term, I wrote procedures for items that needed updates, in order of the most important ones. As I worked through the priority list, I saw that I was able to and had enough time make a guide for every single buildable item in a process area. I was able to complete this in my second term. So, for our operators in that area, every common item is now digital. I made a variety of guides, including repair kits, part assembly, tubing, and machine testing. I continued to learn new skills and train the operators in following the new procedures. In my last weeks, we finalized the release procedure and I began to set up my guides for release. I verified they were all standardized and worked with manufacturing and quality to get them officially released. With the guides now releasing, manufacturing can start collecting data with them, including timing and specific job assignments. I also helped lay the foundation for future process engineers by having a large set of standard guides for them to refer to, setting an example of how a completely digital process area would look and function.
