Saying I graduate in the spring of 2023 use to sound so far away, but now, it’s less than a year away. I was hoping to get some experience in the workplace before I graduated and Indium Corporation is a great place to do that. Everyone was very welcoming and helped me with any questions I had... and I had a lot. Being at their Business Park Drive facility is great exposure to the world of manufacturing and project management. I’m looking forward to the rest of my time here and hopefully getting this project approved and underway.

During my first week here, I had to learn about project management from my supervisor as well as learn about the manufacturing process to get a good knowledge-base to start working. So, I got to shadow some employees, and they were willing to answer all the questions I bombarded them with to help me better understand the process. Ultimately, my project should benefit them, so I hope it’s a win-win. Learning about how to effectively manage projects is also necessary; my supervisor Bernie helped me grasp some of the main concepts and gave me the right tools to learn as well. For example, he lent me “Strategic Project Management Made Simple," by Terry Schmidt which is a great book to reference and help me along the way, reinforcing what I’ve been taught.

The next big step for me is the midpoint presentation where I can focus on the key points of my project which is establishing a piece of equipment to help create a gate and qualify equipment used in production. I’ve been working on laying out a logical framework by establishing goals, outcomes, and how to measure and verify them. I’ve also created a new process layout to show how this new equipment is to be implemented. I’m now putting together the project cost and schedule to establish a scope. I can’t wait to see what comes next here at Indium Corporation, and I’ll post an update near the completion of my internship.

See you in a few weeks,

Jimi Faso