Report On Hosting Placement At Jacobs Engineering Company

Introduction

This report will discuss the placement that was undertaken at Jacobs Engineering, Blackrock, from June 2018 to January 2019. During my placement I was in the Process Department, working alongside three senior process engineers who were working on the equipment section for the new Eli Lilly Biotech Facility. This position meant being heavily involved in activities such as; sifting through Vendor Turnover Packages, Conducting Factory Acceptance Tests, and working on Equipment Datasheets. As a result of being exposed to these sort of tasks, I learned how to format Vendor documentation, walk through P&IDs for skids, carry out the necessary checks on equipment before it can be approved to be shipped to sire, and to check the datasheets of equipment against the information provided by the vendor.

I also did a series of Line List Checks. This involved looking at specific lines on P&IDs, checking which system they belonged to, and then verifying that the correct system number was on the excel file that provided various information about all of the lines.

While working at Jacobs for 7 months I got a sense of the work culture and the main goal; To be the world’s premier design firm which can deliver innovative solutions that provide superior value to clients. Safety is paramount within Jacobs; the company strives to drive statistics ‘BeyondZero’ by expecting their people to go beyond following rules and procedures, and to look for ways to recognize and mitigate tasks, both on and off the job. Enterprise Jacobs Engineering is one of the world’s largest providers of technical, professional, and construction services, that strives to deliver advanced solutions for a more connected, sustainable world. With over 54,000 employees in more than 230 offices, located across The Americas, Europe, the Middle East, India, Australia, Africa, and Asia, Jacobs provides its services to industrial, commercial, and government clients in multiple industries. With more than 90 percent of the work done at Jacobs being repeat business, it is clear that the main focus of the firm is on building long-term client relationships. For example, I was working on an Eli Lilly project; they were extending their Biotech facility and the existing Biotech facility had already been designed by Jacobs Engineering. Services include;

1. Scientific and Speciality Consulting
2. All aspects of engineering
3. Architecture
4. Construction
5. Program & Construction Management
6. Operations & Maintenance.

Jacobs headquarters is in Dallas, Texas, and shares are traded on the New York stock exchange under the symbol JEC.

The company lives by simple values; Profitable growth is an imperative, people are the heart of our business, performance excellence is its commitment, and clients are valued partners. Jacobs Engineering is passionate about safety and sustainability. It’s corporate approach to sustainability is simple; planning beyond today for a better future for everyone. The sustainability program within the company is known as PlanBeyond, and this helps employees focus on looking beyond the company and look at how Jacobs contributes as a global corporate citizen. Jacobs goal is to be recognized as a company that pushes the boundaries of sustainability. I dealt with a lot of folders and documentation during my work, and I did my best to create the least amount of waste as possible when printing and photocopying. It is certain that Jacobs will always chose the sustainable approach when designing for clients, and in 2016 they saved 54.2 million metric tons of Carbon Dioxide for their clients.

BeyondZero is the safety program that has been implemented into Jacobs Engineering. The company expects its people to go beyond following the rules, procedures, and processes, in an effort to drive statistics beyond zero. Employees are encouraged to recognize and mitigate risks, both on and off the job. A culture of caring has been created within the company which makes it impossible to tolerate unsafe conditions and behaviors, due to the genuine concern that people have for each other’s wellbeing. The company also extends BeyondZero to everyone they encounter, including; business partners, clients, families, and neighbors. One has to go through a ‘BeyondZero’ introduction seminar and it really helps people change their attitude towards safety. The people hosting the talk give real examples of how ensuring people and themselves are safe is a big part of their lives. Multiple programs support the culture: Safety & Observation Reporting, Travel Planning & Security, Mental Health Matters. While I was in Jacobs multiple safety campaigns were ran, a topic was chosen and the BeyondZero team sent out information, tips, and statistics to encourage everybody to be safer in this area. Campaigns includes; Keeping safe during the warm weather including the dangers of drowning, keeping your belongings safe while at work, the dangers of distracted driving, and safety while cycling.

I feel that my attitude towards safety has changed as a result; I am now more aware of dangers, and if I see something that I deem as unsafe I will speak up, even if it’s something as simple as asking a colleague to hold the hand rail while walking down the stairs. I always completed work to a high standard to please the client, I was very conscious of the environment when working, and I was always looking out for my colleagues and ensuring I never did anything to affect their safety.

Communication

Communication is of high importance at Jacobs. A lot of the projects here are being worked on by more than one office, for example, the Cork office works closely with the Cincinnati office for many projects, therefore having good lines of communication is imperative for the success of any venture. Being a good communicator involves being able to transfer information to others in a clear and concise manner, and the company provided both written and oral means of doing this.

Microsoft Outlook is the email service used by Jacobs employees, and email is definitely the most popular form of communication. Outlook has a feature known as a ‘Scheduling Assistant’, this helps people when organizing meetings as it finds a time when everyone required is free. Skype for Business is also integrated into Outlook which allows colleagues to easily set up Skype Calls to speak with people in different offices.

The ‘Jacobs Service Desk’ is a convenient program that allows employees request either assistance or equipment from the IT department. A simple form is filled in whereby the IT team can decipher exactly what you need, and the request is then dealt with promptly. This system ensure that the IT needs of employees are dealt with efficiently. Within offices, people often call to each other’s desks, arrange to meet in one of the meeting rooms, or call each other on the phone. The phone book is updated monthly and emailed out to everyone making phone contact a very reliable method. JPI stands for Jacobs Project Information, and is used internally to share information and documents relating to projects. New-starts are provided training for this system.

Safety & Observation

Reports, the newsletter, the Jacobs Connect page, and blogs, are other communication means within Jacobs. Professional Practice & Commitment to High Standards Jacobs Engineering are very concerned about the quality of the services that they provide and have an effective quality management system in place which each new employee is introduced to through a presentation. The company believe the following are necessary to achieve quality:

1. Standards must be developed & improved on a continual basis.
2. Behaviors must change.
3. Employees must take ownership & be caring.
4. The company must choose to deliver a quality product rather than compliance.

Jacobs Quality Management System is an integrated system and it is applicable to all areas of the company including; Project Management, Operations Management, Design, Engineering, Procurement, Contract Administration, Construction, Quality Control, HSE and Quality Assurance. It was developed to meet with Jacobs Global requirements and is certified by Lloyds Register.

These are rules that each employee must follow to ensure consistent work throughout the company. For example, when I was looking at P&IDs, if something needed to be added I would use a red pen, a blue pen was used for deleting something, and a green pen was used to add comments.

Jacobs Systems to Ensure Project Success (JSTEPS)

This is a seven-staged structured process for managing projects. It identifies who is responsible and the sequence of work. Each stage has defined activities and requirements. The process manager has a large 2-year calendar on the wall of his office which he uses to track the different activities of a project, including; the concept design, the detail design, construction, and commissioning.

Jacobs Value Enhancing Practices (JVEPS)

These are 23 “best practices” that have been identified by an Independent Project Analysis, a Construction Industry Institute and/or Jacobs itself. The JVEP’s that are to be implemented on a particular project are selected by certain bodies within Jacobs.

To summarize, Jacobs Engineering urge employees to focus on their customers, deliver superior value in their role, know, follow and use appropriate processes tools, and always continue to improve performance.

Personal Development and Initiative

Personal development is highly encouraged at Jacobs Engineering. All employees are presented with opportunities to better themselves.

Regarding placement experience, interns at the company are presented with a structured plan, which can be used as a sort of ‘checklist’ to ensure that they gain enough experience in all the different areas and gain some valuable exposure to the industry. My manager was adamant that I A fantastic graduate development program is in place within the company, it has 4 main objectives:

1. To recruit, develop and retain talented Graduates
2. To expose Graduates to a broad range of work experiences
3. To assist Graduates in acquiring a valuable set of skills, and a good understanding of the business
4. To actively support Graduates to obtain relevant professional accreditation, e.g., Chartership.

Newly qualified engineers are partnered with senior personnel and begin working on live projects immediately. Throughout the two-year program, graduates are required to track their technical and professional development which provides them with an opportunity to demonstrate that they have gained competencies expected of a skilled professional in their discipline. (Jacobs, 2018)Jacobs actively encourages attainment of Chartership status with your professional institute using the following incentive; after one year’s qualifying service as a permanent staff, one is entitled to a one-time €1,200 taxable bonus, paid in the year after the attainment is achieved, while employed by the company.

Personal Development plan templates are provided on the Jacobs homepage, which employees can use to track the development of their career. While at Jacobs Engineering, I, as well as everyone else, received an email about employees meeting with their manager to reflect on their performance over the year. These gives an opportunity to people to identify their strengths and weaknesses and allows them to pinpoint areas that they need to work on to ensure they are a well-rounded professional.

Jacobs employees are also often invited to talks and seminars given by other companies to extend their knowledge on certain subjects.

Problem Solving Methodology

Many problems with undefined outcomes are encountered when working in an engineering environment. These problems usually require strategic and critical thinking to solve them. When conducting a Factory Acceptance Test at a vendor workshop, one of the PCV’s (Pressure Control Valve), failed to work. The engineers present had a quick brainstorming session to try and identify possible reasons for the fault, and then tried to address these problems. Unfortunately, this did not work, it was agreed by everyone that the best option was to send the PCV back to the company that supplied it, so that it could be fixed. This is an informal example of problem solving but is one that is used often during Factory Acceptance Tests. The engineers will do their best to solve a problem but will not waste time if they realize fixing the problem is out of their reach. This happens quite a lot when dealing with the equipment side of things.

If other problems were found during a Factory Acceptance Test, a ‘Punch List’ is created. This list is then given to the vendor, who builds the equipment, and as they solve these, the problems are erased from the list. This allows everyone to keep track of these issues and ensure they are dealt with.

If a problem arises with calculations, people usually just ask a colleague to repeat it again. The design thinking methodology is often used during the design stage of projects at Jacobs.

Teamwork

The projects that are worked on by Jacobs are very large and usually require a great amount of personnel to complete them. Many projects are split between two offices. For example, the Eli Lilly project that I was working on was split between the Cork office and the Cincinnati office. The equipment for the facility was first designed in the Cincinnati office, and then the design was sent to Cork, where the engineers that I am working with are currently overseeing the building of the equipment. Both offices are great at working together; effectively discussing and dealing with problems, sharing information, and making decisions together.

Teamwork between different departments is also very important for each project. In particular, the process engineering department work very closely with the piping department as both departments rely on each other to progress with their work. Colleagues keep the lines of communication open at all times, they respect each other, and they are understanding of each other. This allows them to work effectively as a team.

All of the work that I completed at Jacobs Engineering required me to work closely with my colleagues. In particular, I worked closely with four process engineers who were working on different aspects of the same project. I believe that I quickly became an important team member, assisting whichever colleague had a heavy work load. They would give me a portion of their work that needed completing, I would focus on that which would give them time to focus on another aspect. I often completed tasks that they would otherwise have to do, and they would then check it to make sure it was correct, which essentially saved a great amount of time. When conducting P&ID Line Checks for one engineer, we decided to split the lines to be checked between myself and another colleague, and work together to get the job completed quickly.

From working at Jacobs, I have learned that good communication is the best way for a team to succeed.

Application of learning in the workplace

Over the course of my placement many applications of prior learning were used. For example, I had to locate the lines that were pressure tested on P&IDs using isometric drawings. Most of these drawings had instrumentation on them, and because I had previously completed a ‘Control & Instrumentation’ module I found it very easy to locate the different pieces of instrumentation on the P&IDs which in turn made finding the lines much quicker. I found the ‘Innovation, Creativity & Teamwork’ module that I took in first year to be very useful as I often had to rely on other people to get tasks done, and it helped me in effectively communicating with my team members to get things completed.

I once had to contact a vendor to update a datasheet for a heat exchanger, it was clear from looking at the values that something was wrong, and because I had completed the modules; ‘Transfer Processes’ and ‘Advanced Transfer Processes’, I had a good enough understanding of heat transfer to be able to explain to the vendor what was wrong with the datasheet and what needed to be fixed.My primary job was formatting equipment documentation, and I luckily had a background in this area after completing the module ‘Equipment Design’ in the second year of my course. This made it easy for me to understand the terminology associated with the equipment, and understand the documentation associated with the equipment in general.

Microsoft Excel is used heavily in this office. One of my first tasks as an intern was to standardize and format calculations. Because I had completed ‘Engineering Computing’ in second year, I was very familiar with Excel and I knew how to set up the spreadsheets in such a way that they did most of the work for you.

On certain days I accompanied an engineer to a Factory Acceptance Test. This meant that I was ‘onsite’ as such. I was in an environment where machines and tools were being operates, and water was being pumped. I was thankful that I had studied ‘Chemical Process Safety’ last year, as this made it easier for me to identify any immediate dangers, and act as safely as possible to ensure no one got hurt. Unfortunately, there was also limitations to my education. Because I didn’t have much practical experience before starting at Jacobs, I sometimes found it difficult to understand the equipment that I was organizing documentation for as I had never seen the equipment in real life, or watched it functioning. Even though the instrumentation I learned in college proved to be very helpful, I felt that a better of understanding of P&IDs would have been very useful before coming into Jacobs, P&IDs are the most important form of document within the process department and being able to read and understand them is highly important.

One thing I noticed after working at Jacobs was how reliant students are on calculators when in college. Many of the senior engineers completed short calculations in their head, when at Factory Acceptance Tests I was taking measurements of skids and found it strange having to do sums in my head rather than with a calculator. Reflection and Conclusion During the course of my work placement, I feel like I got an abundant amount of opportunities to learn new skills, develop ones I already possessed, and experience many different areas of engineering.

Firstly, I learned many technical skills; I am now able to use excel for calculations much more efficiently, I can now read P&IDs and understand the process from looking at them, I know how a Factory Acceptance Test is to be carried out, I know how to check and edit datasheets, and I know how to format equipment documentation.

I also learned some other technical skills outside of engineering, I now know how to use Outlook to arrange meetings & Skype calls and I know how to transfer large files via email. I have also developed greatly as a person while working at Jacobs Engineering. My communication skills have dramatically improved; as an intern you are often given tasks you don’t at first understand, therefore being able to approach people and ask for help is absolutely essential. Over the summer I entered an entirely new environment with new people, many of which were older than me, and it was important for me to introduce myself to people and chat with them in an effort to find common ground to bond over. I also feel like my work ethic and time management skills have improved since stating placement. As an intern I was given tasks by many of my colleagues, and being able to prioritize, manage the workload, and complete the work efficiently was the key to keeping everybody happy.

Overall, I think that working at Jacobs Engineering has had a very positive impact on me as a person; the experience I have gained here will not just help me be a good engineer, I have also acquired skills that I will need in other areas of my life.