Week 13: The Full Model

This was a great week because I got to model another building. The last building I modeled was fun, but I got to do a lot more with this one. I started off by placing columns and beams in the building. Then I got to add walls, windows, and the roof. On the last model I only got to model the walls and windows, so actually getting to do the structural work was great. This was the only thing I got to do this week though because it was a bigger project for me.

I also did a great job on completing my goals this week. The first goal I completed was finishing the model that I was given. The next goal was finish the final touches on the fair which included setting up the gym on Thursday night, emailing teachers, visiting the schools, and much more. Oh and by the way, the fair went great, all the kids had fun and there were many great inventions! The third goal I completed was getting pictures of the fair. I got some of the gym with the kids looking at the inventions, a couple of the projects, and the winners of the fair. The fourth goal was to give my mentors their invitations to the presentation on the 19th, but I do not know if they are coming yet. The last goal I completed was to memorize the title slide. I think I have it memorized, but I guess we will see on the day of the presentation. All in all it was a great week!

Week 12: Endless Drawings

This wee was not as glorious as week 11 was, but it was still very informational. The tasks I was assigned was to look over shop drawings, which are drawings of precast or other materials. This will show you how each beam, column, etc. are supported. On Thursday I finished with drawing quickly and they didn't have anything else for me. Since I didn't have anything else to do I got to talk to my mentor for awhile and the topic we talked about was the golf league that they have at PEC during the summer. This was very interesting considering I love golf and PEC is a potential business that I would want to work for. My mentor said next week I should get to do more modeling since that is what I like to do.

This was a very good week for my goals. The first goal I completed was to finish another slide on my presentation. I was able to do this because I got some pictures of the modeling that I did last week, which was another goal (you can see this below and on last weeks post). A third goal I completed was come up with ideas for the 8th grade projects for Colwich. Next week will be very stressful since the fair is on Friday! The last goal I completed was to invite the 6th and 7th graders to the fair. I also sent them the permission slips so they can attend. The only goal I did not complete was to read another chapter in my book. This was difficult because I was very busy with other classes, but I hope to read some this weekend.

Week 11: Modeling

This week was a very interesting week and it was probably one of my favorite weeks. During my three days there I got to continue to work on the meat packing plant by modeling it. This is what I always thought engineers did and it was really fun to experience this. It was not very hard to complete this since I have had a class over using revit, so I felt right at home. After this week I have started to lean towards structural engineering, but I guess we will have to wait and see.

This week was an okay week for my goals. The first goal I completed this week was more slides on my presentation. I am almost finished, but I need to complete my semester project first. The second goal was to ask my mentor a few questions for my presentation. I found out he went to Oklahoma State and received an architectural engineering degree. The last goal I completed was to get a picture with my mentor. The picture is seen below. The two goals I did not complete was to read to page 120 in the book and I did not complete this because I have been busy reading other books. The other goal was to learn more structural engineering terms but I did not get the chance since I was working on the same project. Overall I feel like it was a successful week. Now it is time for Thanksgiving break!

 

Week 10: Structural Engineering

This week was a great week because I got to try something new, structural engineering. It has given me the opportunity to explore the engineering field, which is nice because I have had trouble deciding between electrical and structural engineering. On Tuesday I got to look through a set of drawings for the new Andover High School so I could see what structural engineers do. It was crazy how big this projects is. There were three sets of drawings for it and each of these were probably an inch thick. I also got to view a project on revit which showed me a 3-D drawing of a doctors office. This was cool to see what their drawings will turn into. On Wednesday I got to look through my mentors notes from college and learned terminology by looking at these notes. On Thursday I got to start a drawing on revit for a meat packing plant. My goal was to copy the drawing from AutoCAD to revit by taking measurements of the lines and transferring that information to revit. The picture of the building I completed is shown below. This was an educational week at PEC for me.

I completed a lot of my goals this week. The first goal I completed was learning the names of my new co-workers/mentors. Their names are Tyler, Wade, and Ryan (my mentor). The new terms I learned this week were girder, column, joist, gravity load, and lateral load. A girder run between the columns and a joist runs between the girders. A column supports a structure vertically. A gravity load is how much and structure can hold on a roof or floor and a lateral load is how much a structure can hold without tipping over. Snow would affect the gravity load and wind would affect the lateral load. I have also completed two more slides on my presentation. The last goal I completed was to read to page 57 in "7 Skills to Make Mills". The one goal I did not complete was to visit Colwich Elementary and measure out the gym for the tables for the science fair.

This is a drawing of a meat packing plant that I had to copy onto revit.

Week 9: Topeka Pump Station

This week was a fairly difficult week for me, but it was also a little more informative and exciting. The job I was assigned was to work on the Topeka Pump Station by creating the outline of the building. This was originally created on a PDF drawing, so it was not a drawing in AutoCAD. I got to go into AutoCAD and draw the building, but it was difficult because I did not know some of the dimensions. This kept me busy for Tuesday, Wednesday, and half of Thursday. On the second half Thursday I got to work on a lighting system again by showing if the light are going to be relocated or if it is already an existing light. I got this done with around ten minutes left, so I had time to check my work. There was also another exciting event this week. On Monday I got to visit the engineering department at Kansas State University, which is where I plan to spend my next four years!

This was not another successful week for my goals. The first thing I did this week was I talked to my mentor about trying structural or mechanical engineering. He got it arranged for me to start on structural engineering next week! This was very exciting because it gives we the opportunity to explore more of my interests. The second goal I completed was emailing the elementary teachers about our science fair, but they have not emailed back about how the projects are doing. This leads to not being able to figure out how many students are coming to the science fair. Another goal I did not complete was the Hess Pump Station because my mentor finished it for me. This was kind of disappointing but I got to work on something I have not done yet. The last goal I did not complete for this week was to complete two slides for my presentation; I hope to do this on Sunday though.

This is what a drawing in AutoCAD looks like, but a background
has different colors so it is easy to identify what each line is.

Week 8: More Markups

This week was another week filled with markups, which means it was another normal week. Markups are red marks on the drawings that need to be corrected. I have been doing this for most of the semester, but I am still enjoying this task. Another job that I was given was the Hess Pump Station again. The job was to place lights throughout the building. The Hess Pump Station was one of the first jobs I was given, so it was nice to be able to go back to it and complete the job.

This week was a pretty good week for my goals. The first goal I completed was reading to page 32 in the book the class is reading, Seven Skills to make Mills. This book seems very good so far as it has given me very good information, even though I have only learned one skill. The second goal I completed was for my presentation. I completed three of my slides on emaze, which is the website I am using for it. The third goal was to check in on the science fair projects. Ethan and I emailed the teachers of each of the schools, but unfortunately Andale and Colwich have not started yet. One of the goals I did not complete was to learn five new electrical terms. I did not complete this goal because I did similar tasks that I have recently completed. The second goal I did not complete was to figure out the number of projects we have for the science fair. We emailed the teachers about this as well, but they did not respond to us about the total number of projects their school will be presenting.

This is an example of a markup.

Week 7: N-Light System

This week was once again an easy week. My assigned work was to complete a N-light system for the Koch building. N-light systems are lighting systems that are controlled by a computer. A cat 6 wire is connected to the back of the computer and it is connected to the system. The job I had was to insert bar-code numbers for each light into AutoCAD. If I had to guess, I would say there was at least 75 lights. The second job I was assigned on Thursday was cleaning CAD backgrounds. The background is suppose to have certain colors for each the walls, furniture, doors, etc. The background I was given had the incorrect colors, so I had to change that.

I was very successful on my goals for this week. The first goal was to interview my mentor for the district newsletter. I also had to ask him 7-8 questions. I completed both of these by asking him seven questions about himself and his career. The next goal was to purchase gift cards for the invention fair prizes. I bought two $25 visa gift cards, two $15 iTunes gift cards, and two $10 amazon gift cards. I did not learn five new terms this week, but I did learn four. The terms I learned were N-light system, cat 6 wire, relay pack, and a ceiling mounted dual tech occupancy sensor. My last goal was to email the elementary school teachers about the number of projects they have. I did not get this goal completed this week. This was a very good week for me. I have learned a lot.

This is how an N-Light system works.

Week 6: Derby Lift Station

This week was another easy week, especially since I was only there for two days. On Tuesday school was cancelled, so I did not go to my internship. On Wednesday and Thursday I worked on the Derby Lift Station. I made corrections to markups that my mentor gave to me. One of the things I needed to correct was an underground wire. I needed to connect the wire from a power pole to a disconnect. I also learned how to use different layers for the equipment that I insert into the drawings. The layers are basically different colored line segments which makes it easier to see in the drawings.

This week was a successful week for my goals. I completed my judging criteria for my project. This will help decide who has the best projects. I also got some pictures for my presentation. The two pictures I took were with my mentor and a picture of a lead sheet (at bottom). A lead sheet gives you information about symbols in the actual drawings. It can also provide notes for the project if needed. The creative first slide I came up with was the number of days I was at my internship then I will extend on that. I would have completed my one-line diagram that I was working on last week but my mentor finished it. I did do some corrections on it though. My question this week was if he had a P.E. degree or only an electrical engineering degree. He said that he has a P.E. degree. This cover electrical, structural, and mechanical engineering.

This is a picture of a lead sheet.

Week 5: More AutoCAD

This was another easy week for me. This week I had three different projects, but I only had time to complete two. One of the complete projects was for Koch. I was suppose to clean up a project by deleting unwanted sheets. The other completed project was for the 37th street pump station. During this project I corrected lead sheets. Lead sheets are basically information sheets, they don't have a lot of drawings on them. It can tell you what a symbol means or it can have some general notes about the project. I also did this for my other project, but I did not complete all of the sheets. For this one I got to create a one-line diagram. This is a diagram showing how electricity is being ran to the building.

I did not achieve all of my goals for this week. This week went a little different then I thought it would, so I was not working on the correct project to complete my goals. The one goal I did complete was picking a date for the invention fair. It will be held on December 7th at Colwich Elementary School for the 8th graders of Colwich, St. Marks, and Andale. Two of my goals I could not complete because I was assigned to a different job. I did not complete the Ronald McDonald house because my mentor needed to complete it himself. I also did not learn new lighting terms because I did not work with any lighting. Another one of my goals was to ask my mentor if he had a degree for all engineering or if it was only electrical. I did not get an answer because I did not find a time to ask him. Hopefully I can find out next week. The last goal was to come up with criteria for judging. My partner Ethan and I have started, but we have not completed this. I am disappointed that I did not complete more goals this week.

Hesston Pump Station Project

This week was a fairly simple week. I continued to work on the Hess pump station by placing electrical equipment and mechanical equipment. By Thursday, I had this completed and began to work on a new project for the Ronald McDonald House. For this project I will be copying the lighting system from the first floor plans to the second floor plan. The rough part of the week was my health. I did not feel very good the whole week, but I pushed through and completed the tasks that were assigned to me.

Since I did not feel very good and I had a lot of work, which made me work slow, I failed to complete all of my goals. The first goal that I did meet was the completion of the Hess pump station. I had been working on this project for several days, but I finally finished it this week. Another goal I met was for my semester project. It was to schedule a meeting with Andale Elementary to talk about our invention fair. The question I asked my mentor this week was: what was the most difficult part about the engineering program? He responded with, "the math classes because most of them were taught by professors who did not speak English as their first language. It made learning concepts very difficult." The goals I failed to meet were learning five new electrical terms and schedule a date for the science fair. The five new electrical terms goal was not met because I worked on the same project from the previous week, so I was not exposed to new terms. The date for the science fair was not met because Ethan, my partner, and I did not get the chance to talk to each school about the day that works best for them. I hope I can achieve all five of my goals next week.

Week Three: Using Revit

This week was a very productive week. It started with learning the Revit program and all of the special equipment that the company has installed in the program themselves. I worked on placing mechanical equipment for the Hesston pump station into the correct places with the exact measurements, which I got from a drawing of the building. This kept me busy all week long, and I have still not completed this project. So the skills I have improved on for this week were working with Revit and understanding drawings. I also completed my goals for the week.

The goals for the week were easy to complete because they were questions for my mentor. The first question I asked him was what school did he attend and would he recommend that school? His answer was "Kansas State University and he highly recommends it for the engineering school". This is great because this is where I would like to attend and I have already been accepted. The second question was how long did he have to attend school? He said he went for "five years, but it has since been changed to a four year program". Then I asked him what was his initial career choice? He responded with "Architecture and Computer Science". I too considered Architecture for awhile. The next question was how did he find out about electrical engineering? The answer he gave to this question was "I initially wanted to study Architecture, but after understanding what the program was about and my love for math and science, I decided to switch to engineering". The last question was what advice would you give me? He answered "it is a great field because it is very broad... the need for electrical engineers is only going to grow".

Accomplishments From Week Two

The second week of my internship with PEC Engineering was great. My mentor kept me busy by explaining blueprints, going through the AutoCAD software, and giving me a demolition floor plan. Tuesday was the day my mentor went over the blueprints and AutoCAD. On Wednesday, he let me start working on my own by giving me a floor plan of Koch. My assignment was to insert receptacles where they needed to go. Then I would mark them as existing or needing demoed. This project also continued into Thursday. When I finished, I was given another set of blueprints for a pump station. The objective of this assignment was to write special notes on a set of drawings. For example, if a telephone pole needed to be moved, then I would write where it needed to be moved to.

I believe I had a very productive week, other than I did not meet all of my goals. I was close to learning five new electrical terms, but I only learned three. The terms I learned were receptacles, telecom data outlets, and a junction box. This was because these were the only electrical systems I worked with. My goal to work with revit was not met either because I did not work with this software. However, I did work with AutoCAD which is very similar. Another goal I did not meet was learning names of more of my coworkers. So far I have only worked with my team members, so I haven't had the chance to meet new people.

The goals that I did meet were learning what my team members do on a daily basis and starting a project without being told what to do. I learned my team usually work with drawings on the computer all day. They spend much of their time laying out electrical systems or editing previous drawing that they owner wanted to change. Thursday was the day I started a project without being told what to do. This was when I was working on the Koch floor plan. I got to my internship site and started this as soon as my computer started up. Hopefully next week I can meet more goals.

This is a picture of my desk.

The First Week

Week number one started off great. I completed all of my goals that I set for myself this week. I got to my internship location without using my GPS, I also know where to park because I asked, I know most of the layout but still don't know where everything is at, I learned the names of the team I will be working with, and I believe I made a great first impression.

The first day was a little overwhelming. Once I arrived at PEC, the first thing that my mentor did was show me around the building. It was very nice because the interior was recently remodeled. I was introduced to many people around the building, but the only names I could remember were the names of my mentors, the team I will be working with, and the receptionist. The second half of the day was spent setting up my computer and looking at blueprints. On my second day I looked at more blueprints, but this time the drawings were explained to me. I also got to work a little bit with revit, which is the program that all of the designs are drawn on. They actually gave me a project that was recently completed and let me mess around with the program.

During my two days at my internship I really enjoyed the work environment that I was in. Everyone was relaxed, very friendly, liked to joke around with each other, and the building was very nice. When I first arrived the nerves were getting to me, but once I got inside and met everyone I felt like I fit in. I was nervous because I didn't know what to expect, it was something that was outside of my comfort zone, and I didn't know how they would respond to me being there. Now that I have settled in, I am very excited to start learning what engineers do on a daily basis and can't wait to see what kind of projects they give me.

Introduction to Me

Hello, my name is Jeremy. Through this internship program at Andale High School, I will be interning at PEC Engineering for the fall semester. I plan on entering the engineering field, but this will help me narrow down the exact type. My mentors for the semester will be Dennis, head of the electrical division, and Dan, head of the facilities department.

The engineering field interests me because of the requirements and skills needed for this career. I have a strong understanding for math and science which will help me in the future. The construction field has always interested me and I believe I will fit in well. Many buildings would not have lasted without the help of an engineer.

The requirements and skills needed from an engineer are not an easy task. It will take hard work and dedication to succeed. This is why I will be attending Kansas State University next fall. My internship will also play a huge role in my career because it will give me a head start on the rest of my peers.

During this experience I hope to learn what an engineer does on a daily basis. More specifically, I would like to learn how to read blueprints, use engineering software on the computer, and design systems. Even though I am excited to learn new things, I am a little nervous. The thing that makes me nervous is not knowing what to expect. Also, I will be with new people and new surroundings. After a couple of days I should be ready to go for the rest of the semester.

A trait that I have that will set me apart from my competitors is my work ethic. I am very hard working and won’t stop until the task is completed correctly. My plan after college is still being determined, but I hope that this internship will help me decide and hopefully it will make me successful in the future.

PEC Engineering has been in business for over 50 years. They have around 275 employees between their seven location in Kansas, Oklahoma, and Colorado. This company has many different services to offer and I am thankful that I have the opportunity to Intern at PEC. I am ready to start this wonderful opportunity at PEC Engineering!