Instrument and Protective Systems Engineering Intern Review

I have thoroughly enjoyed my internship. This has been a result of several factors including the placement location, the social aspect with other interns, the friendly staff in the business, the communication via graduate team as well as the work itself.

I felt very valued by my colleagues, even those who I did not directly deal with. If I was emailing someone id never met for help or information they were all quick to respond and help as much as they could. Other staff members around the office were very keen to listen to what you were doing on the internship as well as give us presentations and talks out of their own spare time about the work they did within the company. The whole office made a significant effort to make all the interns feel welcomed and valued.

My manager had a leave me to get on with the work style approach and be available constantly to answer questions or point me in the right direction, we had a weekly meeting assigned to keep caught-up and review progress. This style was best for me and I felt pushed me to work to my capabilities as I was able to work independently with a large amount of support and guidance should I ask for it or need it. In instances where I didn't understand various things my manager would take the time to explain them to me as well as taking me on-site to visual observe and understand.

I was moderately busy through the internship, I participated in a lot of site visits and sat in on meetings during my time on top of the work I had been given. With some of the objectives I had been given they took longer to gather information from various sources so sometimes this meant there was a period of time I wasn't able to do anything until I got this information. The overall workload through the internship was a good amount and kept me busy during the 10 week period.

I was given a higher level of responsibility than I originally anticipated. I created around 15 proof test procedures for various trip switches and alarms as part of the preventative maintenance goal within the R&M team. These procedures had to be written to ensure the safety and reliability of the plant, for technicians to understand and within company and external guidelines which was an important task to do well. I was also to create a maintenance strategy for critical ESD valves for onshore assets which is a highly important responsibility as these valves are final layers of protection for incidents occurring. The work I did was actually going to be used by the company and had significant importance regarding the reliability of the assets.

The courses I have done within University on process control can only be understood a limited amount, until you are able to go out and experience them working in action. Being able to go see these operations and have them explained to me has been a huge help to understanding these concepts. I have gained confidence in completing calculations and understating various control systems that are used on plants all over the world.

The general atmosphere in the office was a very friendly one, everyone I have come across has been nothing but lovely, supporting and helpful. Everyone has a keen interest in who you are and what you do and where you come from. This made coming into work everyday very easy as you quickly settled in and felt part of the team. I sat in close proximity to my manager and surrounded by other interns which meant I was always able to reach out to chat or get support when needed.

The internship was set up well and had all the good support systems in place. The only thing I found that could do with improvement was the objectives set up, sometimes while waiting for information to complete some tasks you weren't able to move on with anything else and had little to do. Managers are fine to give you more work when you need but they do have their own work to be getting on with as well. The internship could have benefitted from ensuring more work and goals that are time appropriate were set up before the internship begins to save any wasted time in the middle.

We were constantly receiving talks and information from various sources in various departments of the business. There was a weekly lunch and learn usually led by members of various teams who were professionals in their area and even graduates. This allowed interns to understand the broad range of work that goes on within the company and how all of them fit together. There was a lot of site visits and trips to get a good understanding of how the asset worked as a whole. Online learning courses were available as well to complete when you had a spare time which provided a good depth of knowledge in a wide set of topics.

The company has a good graduate starting salary coupled with a starting bonus. You can invest in shares each month and make money from that as well as incentives and end of year bonuses. There are various perks within the company such as healthcare, fuel discount cards and re-imbursement for journeys.

When we first started the company put aside money for all the interns and their managers and mentors to have dinner and drinks in a local bar and also another social event nearer the end. All the interns were friendly and we often met up and made after work plans that managers and mentors often attended.

The cost of living and socialising is very reasonable in Glasgow and Falkirk area. Falkirk is cheaper to live in but not by much and the travel costs are also lower than other cities.

We worked in Falkirk where there isn't such a nightlife but all the interns tended to live in Glasgow or Edinburgh and commute in. Both of these have a great nightlife experience, both boasting fantastic restaurant and good pubs and clubs.

There were few opportunities to get involved in outside of work and could benefit from organising a few more.