IEM@ProjectNetworking

Within the scope of the Integrated Project in Industrial Management Engineering I, it was proposed that the members of the E-Thinking team divided themselves into groups of two, so that each pair could interview an engineer and industrial manager.

Bárbara and Lara had the honour to interview the current general director of Jordão Cooling Systems, a company that provides refrigeration equipment. This man graduated in Electrotechnics and Machines in the Industrial Institute of Porto, around 1975. After he graduated, he joined the job market, precisely in his father’s textile business. After a few years, he was invited to join the actual company where he still works, and it was in the 90’s that he had the opportunity to graduate in Industrial Management Engineering .

As a result of a last-minute change, the interview time wasn’t enough to ask all the questions that were supposed to be asked and the two members of the team have left the company facilities without an answer to the doubts that they had. However, Mr. Isidro Lobo showed up available and willing to help Bárbara and Lara and, therefore he answered all the doubts by e-mail.

Throughout the interview, Bárbara and Lara found out that an engineer work isn’t that simple. They realized that it is necessary to be very proactive and have lots of resilience. Assertiveness is fundamental in this profession to be able to overcome and recover from any problem that may appear. Moreover, in critical moments, when a team come across with a problem, an engineer must keep calm and be able to transmit tranquillity to the remaining members of the team in order to get over the obstacle.

Another purpose of this task was to understand better how the information run in a company and how they manage it. Jordão Cooling Systems is currently using Navision software to help manage the production. However, in August 22 this software is going to be replaced by S.A.P. In S.A.P, there are going to be done some calculus of the feedstock’s necessities and the purchases or orders. Is also going to be done the production planning and, for example, production non-conformities. All the management needs and the switch from Navision to S.A.P were defined by multidisciplinary team represented by almost all the departments in the company.

However, the access to this software is different for each worker. The production planning department, specifically the planning manager, the IT manager, and the production manager, are the only ones who have full access to the software. They are the ones who enter the data and have full power to consult all details. All sections have access to Navision, although for restricted queries of information only referring to a given section.

To sum up, both Lara and Bárbara can say that this interview was very important as it allowed them to clarify many doubts they had about what it really means to be an Industrial Management Engineer. They managed to understand that this area of study is crucial and essential in the daily routine of a company.

The idea that Industrial Management Engineering has a very considerable demand, whether it’s nationally or internationally, was reinforced. Mr. Isidro Lobo also claimed that sees more vantages than disadvantages in being a more wide-ranging engineer.

Maria and Catarina interviewed Maurício Ventura Branco de Sousa. He has a degree in Mechanical Engineering, by the Polytechnic Institute of Leiria and, afterwards, a post-graduation in Industrial Management Engineering by the University of Minho. This was done recently, with the intention of deepening the knowledge in this area, which was so interesting to him. He has been working for about 13 years at Bysteel, a company specialized in the conception, production and assembly of metallic structures. Currently, his activity in this company is related to Production Management.

What led him to enter this area was the fact that he likes to question everything and to solve problems, always trying to do more and better.

In this company, he started his work in a production sector of profile cutting, and later he moved to sectors that organized the whole process, of which the Production Management area is an example, where he is now. The team confess that this area immediately aroused their curiosity, which led them to think about the enormous importance of the industrial manager and the versatility of the profession.

Although the interview lasted about 50 minutes, the interviewee spent about an hour and twenty, taking into account that we had to explain the objectives of the interview and also photograph him.

Maria and Catarina consider that this interview allowed them to understand some essential tools for a good performance in our area, namely critical spirit, communication skills and teamwork. He also emphasized the relevance of knowing how to be - practical knowledge he acquired throughout his life - and knowing how to do - technical knowledge he obtained during university.

Given his professional background, they believe he was the right person for this interview, to share his experience in Industrial Engineering and Management.

This interview was a new experience for them both and a great opportunity to learn more about the application of the Industrial Management Engineering course in the working world.

Maria and Catarina do not think it was a difficult task, because the interview went smoothly and although they did not know the person in question, he was very understanding and organized.

Although it is related to a more restricted area that does not cover all the types of functions that he can perform, they believe that the competences that were mentioned are necessary for any sector related to our course.

Regarding the information system topic, they consider that it was fulfilled.

The company does not use any software to support production management. However, they have already asked an external company to develop a specific one that corresponds to all Bysteel's requirements.

At the moment, they only use Excel spreadsheets.

Catarina and Maria consider they have fulfilled all the topics of the script, since they carried out all the proposed questions and they were totally enlightened and satisfied with the content that was presented.

In the case of Isabel and Sara, this team interviewed via Zoom the Production Engineer Carolina Gonçalves. She is 24 years old and works in the company Amkor, a service provider company for the silico-motor industry and electronic components manufacturer, located in Mindelo. Carolina studied Industrial Management Engineering in Engineering Faculty at University of Porto, having finished the course in 2020 and starting in the labor market in the current company for about a year and a half.

At the beginning they confessed that they were a bit nervous about how it was going to be, but at the end they think it went well. The communication was simple and relaxed, which made the whole process easier. The interview lasted 50 minutes which was the necessary time.

In general, engineer Carolina answered all the questions, she was very receptive and interested in answering the questions as best as she could, considering her experience.

The information retained about the profession was that there really must be a lot of collaboration and good communication that must be assertive. Respect for everyone's opinions, regardless of age, gender or experience, is also important and these should be listened to.

The work is very much focused on day-to-day problems that require a short-term solution and there are not so often long-term projects, contrary to what one might think, since at the university all problems are theoretically possible. Furthermore, many times solutions and strategies to improve production efficiency are elaborated when, in reality, there may not be the necessary time to implement them (sometimes the production is already finishing when we were going to start implementing those strategies).

Sara and Isabel also noticed that creativity, critical sense and autonomy are highly valued in the resolution of the proposed problems.

In relation to the nformation systems, it was on of the most complicated topics to answer, since those who deal more with the software itself are the computer engineers. However, according to engineer Carolina, all the support software and computer tools are extremely used and fundamental for workers and for the company development. Some of them are responsible for the functioning of themachines used in the production process. Others, for data collection and analysis, such as MES (manufacturing engineering system), used in Industry 4.0 and in manufacturing to track and document the transformation of raw materials into finished products and Reports used for graphing and data analysis.

As already mentioned, engineer Carolina has only been in the job market for about a year and a half. However, the fact that it is a short period of time does not mean that it has not been enough to start to understand the routines of the company, what the work as an industrial management engineer (in the production area) requires, the behaviors that should be adopted for greater achievement and success both individually and as a team.

Isabel and Sara are aware that experience and knowledge are very important, and that time is undoubtedly a factor that influences them, but perspectives of the world's work from younger people are also important and have their value, because a begginer often notices details that those who have been in the area for a long time do not notice.

This team were satisfied with the interview. The engineer Carolina works in the production area, which is one of the possible outcomes of Industrial Management Engineering course. Therefore, it is always interesting to be informed about this aspect of the industry. In addition, it allowed them to become more enlightened and to have a more realistic notion about the day-to-day life of an engineer and the behavior that we should adopt in the world of work.

Afonso and Tiago interviewed the engineer Elisa Vieira. With regard to the script they used, they decided to follow the script previously provided by the teacher, making only a few adjustments in the introduction, in or to explain in more detail to the interviewee the purpose of the interview. Additionally, as this team had to conduct the interview virtually, they prepared a PowerPoint to facilitate the course of the interview and its understanding by the interviewee.

The process of finding a professional in this area to interview turned out to be easy, as they had acquaintances, namely, a researcher from Universidade do Minho, who led them to this engineer. Elisa Vieira started her professional life as a primary school teacher but later found out that her vocation was Industrial Management Engineering. So she ended up finishing her degree in 2017 and her master's degree in 2019, both attended at Lusíada University. After her Master's she was a scholarship student at the University of Minho for 3 years. Until today, she has worked in several companies that she told us about during the interview, and at the moment she is working as production director in the company LEIPER, for about 3 months.

This company was founded in 1986, having already more than 30 years of existence, and was instilled with the leadership and strategic vision to transform LEIPER into a reference company in the home textile and bedding industry. Later on, it ended up being recognized by its good management practices, being awarded the designation of SME LEADER by the Institute of Support to Small and Medium Industrial Enterprises.

Regarding the interview, it flowed in a pleasant and satisfactory way, the interviewee was not known, but her way of being facilitated the course of the interview without any embarrassing moments, and it was long enough.

One of the things that struck Tiago and Afonso most about the interview was that, in the engineer's opinion, what an engineer needs to be successful in this field is, above all, to be human. The main impressions they got were the humble and proactive attitude, together with the resilience and empathy that is necessary to have. What this means is that you have to be understanding towards others and be a good listener, because an industrial management engineer is basically the connection of several departments within the company. They also learned that a professional in this area is always learning from people who have more specific training, for the simple fact that student of Engineering and Industrial Management are taught a little bit of everything and sometimes they are not so good in a certain area.

Regarding the topic of information systems, Afonso and Tiago learned that this company in question uses ERPs and a software called "Primavera" that is ordered by the company, as support for production management. Furthermore, they were informed that, because it is a relatively small company, not everyone has the necessary training to know how to work with this software and, therefore, some employees still use Excel spreadsheets. Additionally, all employees have the same type of access.

Finally, overall they were very satisfied with the interview because in addition to having gained a broader and more detailed view of what the life of an Engineering and Industrial professional is like, they were also able to clarify all the doubts that arose through what was asked and what was answered throughout the interview.

So, this was a short summary of all the interviews carried out by the E-Thinking team.