Mechanical engineering placement Review

I really enjoyed my year placement with Tata Steel shotton, I was able to use the knowledge I learnt at university to practical effect. And the amount I learnt here was unreliable, there is such a wealth of knowledge on site it was really interesting working with such a diverse range of people.

From the start I was given my own projects and my input felt valued. Everyone was really happen to take the time to explain different things to me. Out on the manufacturing line the workers were happy to share the knowledge they had gained over the last 50 years and everyone was happy to tell a few stories.

The managers know it is a big site with over 800 people working here, so they understood it was important to give a lot of guidance because there was so much information to take in initially. A lot of the work that is done here is not taught at university so they understood that a lot of guidance was required.

My role was specifically to do with solving engineering problems on the line. So most days it was all hands on deck because any down time on the line means a loss of production which means a loss of money. But there were weeks when there weren't any mechanical problems on the line and it was less busy then.

I was given responsibility of CAR forms (corrective action reports) which is about designing out problems to give a guarantee it won't happen again. I was trusted to do these on my own and then get them signed off by my line manager. I had to go out myself and investigate problems and try and design a solution to them.

Communication was a vital skill which I was able to develop on site, because when you investigate a problem on the manufacturing line, the first thing to do is ask the production team what happened and what did they do about it. This is one of the most important skills which can be taken into life ahead.

The office had a fairly relaxed easy going atmosphere and was an enjoyable place to work. But most of the time the office was empty because the different engineering people were out on the line. The site on the whole is a very good place to work with the other workers who'd worked other places saying the same thing.

The site was very well set up for placements. I was able to work in the different departments to get a taste of the different work done on site. I was also allowed the choice of what I worked on, meaning I could always do work relevant to my degree or things that I found interesting.

I had lots of different courses while I was on site, from the safety courses at the start to problem solving courses as I continued. The problem solving courses were a way of developing my abilities to find a root cause to mechanical problems, so that I had the best chance of designing them out.

I have been invited back to work as a graduate following the completion of my degree. There is also the opportunity of being sponsored for the final year of university, although the sponsorship is poor compared to other companies, as it is only a small amount of money compared to them paying the tuition fees.

The social scene wasn't great, because the site was so large there wasn't much opportunity to meet the other students.

Cost of living was cheap, but chester was fairly expensive place to go out.

Chester has pretty standard nightline, nothing too special compared to Sheffield.

No there weren't any work place activities to get involved in.