Joshua Morcos, a mechanical engineering major, worked a co-op assignment with Altec in their fabrication area—”Fab” for short. He shares his experience working with the company.
Fab is the very beginning of the manufacturing process. We make all the parts that are used downstream to assemble a utility truck body. Our task was to ensure that parts were accurate to the engineering drawing and within tolerance.
I was in charge of implementing safety and efficiency improvements as deemed necessary. I worked to ensure all machine operators were well equipped to run their respective machines. I led a project related to a material quality issue that ensured the correct type of steel was used in certain applications. I created a digital report in SQL that displayed to supervisors what the Fab department was working on and jobs that we have incoming. I also led a project testing a new type of adhesive used to adhere metal together. I learned about writing SQL code and creating SSRS reports, as well as general manufacturing processes, and more about tolerances and interpreting a drawing.