My internship at Indium Corporation has taught me a lot about the professional world, specifically in quality engineering and manufacturing processes. This is mostly thanks to my supervisor, Kevin Blatt, who has gone to great lengths to make sure I understand the multifaceted nature of operations and having me work on important projects relevant to those operations. Through these opportunities, I have been able to recognize not only the importance of my role to the company but also the long-term applications of the projects I contribute to.
My job as part of the quality management team plays a vital role in getting our products out the door and making sure they meet customer’s requirements. The quality team handles a variety of different responsibilities, from manufacturing processes that create the actual products, to key communication required to establish mutual goals and maintain good relationships with suppliers and customers.
My first week here was far from boring. After orientation, I was at our Rome factory for two days to observe all the processes that happen on the factory floor and in the R49 factory cell. I spent the final two days of the week at my primary location, one of our Utica locations, doing the same on the factory floor and in the VF49 cell here. Together, these few days gave me a fundamental understanding of the manufacturing processes that occur to get our preforms ready for customer use.
This understanding may seem basic, but it is indeed one of the most important, as one of my main projects involved assisting in the experimentation and qualification of new and more efficient manufacturing processes. Before working on replacing or improving the processes currently in place, I needed to attain enough knowledge about them and their applications to determine if new ones were necessary to increase our capacity.
The potential to increase capacity raises more significant questions about larger-scale changes to the structure of relevant areas of the factory. If certain factory cells are only structured to handle a lower capacity, then that structure might need to change to accommodate our higher capacity for materials once the new process is qualified and ready for use.
On the factory floor, different teams work on different products for a diversity of customers with different objectives and areas of manufacturing. One way I help facilitate the implementation of a new manufacturing process is assisting with communication between these different manufacturing teams and ultimately speeding up the process.
As part of my position in quality engineering, my responsibility also involves analyzing defects in parts the company uses and collaborating with suppliers and customers to eliminate those defects. This requires a fundamental understanding of the working relationships between Indium Corporation and other companies, as well as how to identify and handle issues both internally and externally.
In general, my understanding of operations has not only improved by witnessing and working on them first-hand, but also by attending meetings where I gained important information surrounding them. This has given me great insight into how engineering experts and other professionals communicate, think, and problem-solve when faced with issues relevant to different aspects of operations.
My experience so far at Indium Corporation has greatly contributed to my development as a new professional. With my cross-functional knowledge of what the company does, I can better fulfill the obligations of my current role, as well as apply it to any future roles in my professional career.