Manufacturing and Engineering Blogs
Welcome to our Manufacturing and Engineering blog page!
Feel free to post comments and come back to share more experiences with our Manufacturing and Engineering graduates.
First project
Posted by Lucy on 19 Nov 07
Having been working for CTB for about 8 weeks I thought it was about time to get my experiences down on paper!
I'm part-way through my internship as a process engineer in Sheffield and loving every minute of it! When I first came into the business I wasn't sure I'd enjoy working on the shop floor, surrounded by humming machinery; but I've actually surprised myself and people are having to prise me out!
I'm working on a project that aims to extensively reduce of our production - this is no easy task! Over the past few weeks I've been working with operators on a machine that gives us the biggest down-time, and looking at ways to improve its performance. One of my favourite things about my job is that I not only get to work with project engineers, but also operators and fitters; it gives a really good insight into the whole picture of manufacturing. Part and parcel of having to work with lots of different people, is the understanding that you can't please everybody all of the time! But by talking to people and considering everyone's opinion, you can mediate situations so that projects can go ahead fairly smoothly.
After Christmas I may be starting a new project on palletisers, which, if it goes ahead, I'm really looking forward to being involved in. Hopefully the New Year will bring more challenges for me to get stuck in to!
1 year on
Posted by Grace on 04 Oct 07
I have now been with Cadbury for over a year and the new graduates have all started, so I thought I'd try and think what I've done in a year...
- 1 placement as a site process engineer (Marlbrook) - learning the pressures of a 24/7 factory and longer term projects (process design, costing and specifications).
- 3/4 of a placement as a development engineer (at Bournville, in Manufacturing Technical) - Including:
visiting factories to see how new products might be made (providing mass balances, heat balances, technical support, spotting potential issues)
learning over 500 acronyms, none of which I can ever recall when required
working with a universities and industrial partners on a waste reduction project
working with a local school on a design project
picking up tips and pointers for project management (good communication, clear timescales and assigned responsibilities- attention to detail is crucial!)
discovering that finance is still a black art!
Is it what I expected?- Yes and a whole lot more!
Best time: running a successful trial for process development, than I planned, organised and co-ordinated (with a little help!)
Worst time: sitting in an airport in Germany at 11pm on a Friday night after running a successful trial!
Night shift adjustments
Posted by Ben on 26 Sep 07
It is 3am and I am sitting in my office, calculating how long it will take me to pack six tonnes of Cadbury Mini Eggs before the morning. This is not your average job...
It has been a long time since my last blog entry and since then I have moved to our Somerdale factory in Bristol, where I am a shift manager for Mini Eggs production. I have spent a few months getting to know my team and understanding the process, so now I think that I am in the position where I can start to work on the areas for development in the department. It feels great to be participating in discussions on issues that have dogged the department for years, but have never been properly addressed. I am certainly beginning to see where I can leave a positive impact on Somerdale, even if it's only talking about some of the previously undiscovered problems that operators face daily.
Having never worked shifts before I joined Somerdale, working a 12-hour day and night rota, I am now fairly well adjusted to my new regime. Breakfast at 5am one shift and 5pm the next - it does get rather disorientating sometimes! At the very least, I don't have to feel guilty for still being fast asleep at 2pm!
Summer Madness
Posted by Grace on 23 Aug 07
My boss has been away (and everyone else) for the last 4 weeks. So I have been pretty much on my lonesome doing really geeky stuff like heat balances, mass balances (did I say I'm not really an engineer!), and even a finance training course on CD. I've also been sorting through the data from the monster trials I ran back in June, picking out trends and trying to explain differences- now all I have to do is write the report... it's good to finally document all the months of planning, organising and re-organising and most importantly to be seeing positive results. No doubt the minute everyone is back in the office it will be back to lots of meetings and action - then I go off on hols!
New Beginnings
Posted by Lowri on 30 Jul 07
A whole chapter of my life has now ended and an exciting, challenging one awaits me at the beginning of September as a new process engineering graduate.
My initial Cadbury Schweppes (CS) interview took place when I was in the throes of an extremely bad bout of flu. However I was delighted that despite all this I was selected to attend the assessment centre. The final year at university is inevitably stressful and putting your mind beyond deadlines and final exams to a future career certainly adds to these pressures. However I was pleasantly surprised with the CS recruitment process.
At the assessment centre, those involved were approachable, helpful and put us at our ease; the factory tour certainly helped to stimulate and increase my interest and enthusiasm for pursuing a career with CS. The second day of the assessment centre, although extremely tiring, was very thorough and well organised. I appreciated too the swift response following the selection process. CS is an historical company, well rooted in strong ethical values and I feel that of all the various companies' assessment centres I had been to, this came across quite clearly at the CS centre. In fact I think it was probably the impression I was given of the company during that time as well as hearing the experiences of current graduates that encouraged me to accept the offer of employment. Of course what really swung it in the end was the goody bag we were all presented with! It was a good job I had the foresight to bring an extra large overnight bag!
The start date is now drawing near and my precious last summer holiday is flying by. I have recently returned from Malaysia where I have been eagerly researching the presence of CS by sampling the whole range of their products. In fact it was probably CS chocolate which helped fuel my climb to the top of Mt Kinabalu! I noticed that the variety was quite different from that on offer here. Obviously the products are designed to appeal to a different population and climate.
I have recently learnt that I will be based in Birmingham for my first placement and so will shortly be starting my search for accommodation. I am looking forward, with a mixture of excitement and apprehension, to all that awaits me in my new career!
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