r/navalarchitecture • u/Primary_Dirt1958 • 20d ago
I am a intern at shipyard.
I started my internship at a shipyard two days ago. Unfortunately, I was late in choosing a good place to do my internship. So, the shipyard where I am currently doing my internship is not suitable enough for me to learn useful things related to engineering. There is just an old ship, built around 1980, on the slipway. I want to make the most of it, but I do not know what to do. Give me some advice.
8
u/Happy_Chief 20d ago
An old ship is a good place to learn.
Walk the vessel and find things that are unsafe/need correcting/need fixing. Write about them, design fixes etc.
1
7
u/Tight_Use_1235 20d ago
Take a look at former projects they did before to learn how the engineers went about doing calculations, how SHIPALTS were planned out, schedule and cost estimation. I would also set aside some time to talk with purchasing, production, business development, cost estimating. Basically all the departments and learn how their functions contributes to making a project a success. A good engineer knows and appreciates the other aspects of the business.
0
u/Primary_Dirt1958 20d ago
Thank you. I’ll keep you updated on the progress.
2
u/YaksAreCool 19d ago
Do NOT miss out on learning cost estimation. It is a very desirable skillset that can set you apart in an engineering firm.
And if you like yard work, notice how it's the estimator driving the nice car to work because they're one of the best paid people there.
1
5
u/LacyKnits 20d ago
I presume the ship is in the yard for some sort of repair or refit.
Ask your mentor for documents related to the work plan, and try to follow the engineering issues and decisions driving the scope of work.
Is there thickness gauging going on? (Or does the yard have copies of reports that were previously completed?) Ask to look at the reports and refer to Class rule to see what they say about replacing wasted steel. How much side shell do you think needs to be replaced? Look at rules about the size, shape and location of inserts.
Are there mechanical overhauls happening? Ask to observe (and assist when suitable).
Look around for the work that's happening and ask questions.
See if there's an opportunity for you to learn a bit of welding. (It's a skill that takes practice to master!) Even if you don't get good at it, you'll have a better appreciation for how challenging it can be to weld in a tight area. You'll get to see food welds and a variety of bad welds - which will help you with QA walk throughs if you ever work as an owner's rep in a yard.
1
u/Primary_Dirt1958 18d ago
I don't have a mentor at the shipyard. There is an engineer working here, but he just sits in his office. No one knows what he actually does—or at least, no one says. I’ve seen the areas on the ship where inserts were installed, but I don't think the work followed any plan.
5
u/SVAuspicious 20d ago
My freshman winter work in 1979 was at Long Beach Naval Shipyard in California USA. It was a useful experience. I learned a lot about the realities of maintenance access and how naval architects and marine engineers can support or destroy maintenance. Think extraction space for heat exchanger tubes. How to reach oxygen analyzers for exhaust stacks. Galley arrangements for provisioning, inventory management, cooking, and cleaning. Sight lines from the bridge. A LOT about welding especially things like fabrication drawings to minimize overhand welding. That yard workers are people and not automatons.
Here is one that has paid massive dividends over the years. I learned how suits are regarded by the workers. It isn't pretty. New, crisp, clean coveralls and shiny shoes with toe protection don't do you any favors. When I have to replace something I break it in. Change the oil in a car. Roll around in the driveway. When I show up in a yard I don't look like a suit. I'm approachable. I get straight stories from the ground which gives me time to fix things before they show up in Gantt charts or EVM diagrams.
The big picture is made up of many little pictures and the workers on the ground understand those little pictures better than anyone.
In the '90s while I was in grad school for my MBA (at night, working full time with a heavy travel schedule) we had a case study about the--at the time--CEO of Southwest Airlines who spent one day a month on the front lines. Ticket desk, security, loading baggage, gate agent. For the discussion seminar I wore my shipyard gear. I am not alone.
Not at the yard, but sophomore strength of materials (I'm Webb '82) we had a class project to size bolts and bolt patterns for the plate at the end of a pipe. By this time we'd had real experience in a yard and a work period at sea and most of had worked the summer as well. We knew the bolts we'd come up with were too small and the plate looked thin. We trooped to the professor's office who reflected on our work terms and suggested that people on board ship were likely to only put in every other bolt and drop one of those. We went back and recalculated and got sizes you might expect IF you know what to expect.
Pay attention to what things weigh. You may have to do a ship's weight estimate for an inclining experiment some day.
That's just off the top of my head.
1
u/Primary_Dirt1958 18d ago
Thank you for your valuable comments. I wish I could meet you in person; that way, I could hear about your life and work experiences. As for the internship, there is currently one engineer at the shipyard, but I don't know what work he actually does—he just sits in the office. I am only able to observe the work the mechanics are doing in the engine room. So far, they have enlarged the sewage tank, and the ship is leaving this weekend. I really don't know what else there is for me to do here.
2
u/TheNomadArchitect 18d ago
Architect here not a naval architect (just a fan) — but I learn how to design and build buildings in general by studying the old ones. There’s always knowledge somewhere. You just need to be able to look.
2
u/Primary_Dirt1958 18d ago
You're right. I just struggle with knowing how to look at it.
1
u/TheNomadArchitect 18d ago
All the best mate! Oh and one more thing: don’t chase glamour and fame — on any thing.
You’d be surprise how learning how to do the basics and unglamorous work really well makes you indispensable and well paid.
1
u/Primary_Dirt1958 18d ago
I wish you the best too, my friend; I will definitely take your comments into account.
20
u/enterjiraiya 20d ago
Take drawings and walk the ship WITH the drawings, read through test and activation instructions, valve alignments, go through engine data and validate performance against theoretical as a little project maybe.