Graduate case studies
Even though many of our graduates will have progressed in their careers since completing a case study, they are still of interest to students who wish to gain an understanding of the world of work.
As a mechanical design engineer, my main responsibilities are to design the mechanical systems required within a building. Systems are designed to meet building users' comfort requirements and any regulations.
As a mechanical design engineer I'm responsible for designing all of the mechanical systems as part of the project I am working on.
This includes:
Fresh air ventilation system: All buildings require some form of fresh air ventilation to maintain a comfortable level of oxygen within the buildings for its users.
Cooling & heating: All buildings require systems to ensure occupied rooms stay within certain temperature ranges to maintain comfort of its users.
Plumbing: Plumbing systems need to be designed to serve all bathrooms, kitchen areas etc.
Drainage: We need to design the drainage systems to ensure they work efficiently.
During a typical day, I am involved in a range of activities. As projects are normally live, there is constant communication between the building services engineers and the rest of the project team such as the main building contractor, architects, structural engineers, building control, end user. Therefore, there are a large amount of e-mails and phone calls daily, as well as site meetings every week or two.
Ideally, time is spent within the office working on actual design. The process normally involves the following:
1) Looking at specifications to determine the requirements
2) Using software such as Hevacomp to lay out proposed ventilation, water, heating designs. Ensuring an efficient design to minimise system resistance.
3) Calculating system requirements such as flow rates and pressure drops using the software
4) Selecting plant to meet the system and project requirements. This involves a lot of research and correspondence with suppliers
5) The proposed layouts are then drawn up in CAD. Traditionally this was done in 2D using industry standard AutoCAD. Fairly recently, 3D modelling known as BIM has taken over the construction industry. As a company we use AutoCAD's Revit product to draw up our systems for most projects.
6) Once our designs are complete, together with the architects and structural engineers, we compile our 3D models which illustrate what the finished building will look like. This allows us to walk around and foresee any construction problems before the engineers start working on site.
I really enjoy this job as the day to day work is very varied. My job allows me to liaise with many different people daily, and every day I seem to be doing a different task. So far I haven't had the chance to get bored.
Time management. There are constant e-mails and phone calls as you are regularly in contact with multiple people. You have to be ready to stop doing one task and begin another at a moment notice. However, you are also responsible for your own time, so you need to be confident in saying no to peoples' requests if it affects your own work and deadlines.
This area of work appealed to me as it allows me to be work on different types of buildings using a range of technology. There is great satisfaction in seeing the end product which I have helped create.
The theory I learnt at university allows me to easily learn about new technology and systems and how they work. However, I have mostly learnt how to do my job through on the job training, which essentially means you are thrown in at the deep end and expected to float. There isn't really a way to learn how to do this job from a book.
June 2013: Graduated
March 2014 - March 2016: Designed data centres. It was similar to my current role, however, more specialised to designing data centres. This included cooling systems, electrical systems and monitoring.
March 2016 - June 2016: I went travelling around South East Asia
October 2016 - Now: Current role at Derry Building Services
In the next few years I see myself as a Senior Mechanical Engineer, therefore being responsible for multiple mechanical design engineers.
Do your research. Work out whether you want to work for a consultancy within the building services industry such as Arup or White Young Green. Or a contractor such as Derry Building Services. Both have their pros and cons.
Last updated: 23 Jun 2017