"The Essence of Design is Facing 'Risks'!" Our Mechanical Plant Design Leader Conducted an "Internship Class" at Hyogo Prefectural University's Faculty of Engineering, Department of Mechanical and Materials Science on Thursday, April 16th
Sanwa Engineering held an internship class at Hyogo Prefectural University's Faculty of Engineering. This initiative aims to strengthen recruitment of new graduates and convey the "joy of manufacturing" and the "importance of risk management in design" to students as part of their ongoing recruitment efforts.
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Sanwa Engineering Corporation (Headquarters: Akashi City, Hyogo Prefecture; Representative Director and President: Kazumasa Sada), which handles the design and construction of environmental preservation plants and insulator manufacturing plants, has been focusing on recruiting new graduates, second new graduates, and experienced professionals for about four years now, and has steadily achieved results.
The "Internship Class" at Hyogo Prefectural University's Faculty of Engineering, Department of Mechanical and Materials Science, was conducted as part of this effort. Furthermore, a strong desire to have as many mechanical and electrical engineering students as possible in the local Harima area experience "the fun and joy of manufacturing" also pushed for its implementation.
### Background of Implementation
Hyogo Prefectural University's Faculty of Engineering, Department of Mechanical and Materials Science, planned this "Internship Class" with the objectives of "providing experiential programs based on actual work to help students feel closer to manufacturing sites while learning" and "promoting understanding of the charm and role of local industries through collaboration with local companies, thereby encouraging career development rooted in the region."
Then, Sanwa Engineering received a request from Dainnen Human Plus Co., Ltd. (Headquarters: Himeji City), which operates "Harimacchi," a job information website for students wishing to work in the Harima area.
Sanwa Engineering designs and constructs large-scale environmental preservation plants and insulator manufacturing plants exceeding several hundred million yen, and while it felt quite difficult to provide students with an experience of the company's work within university research or practical training rooms, it strongly empathized with the planning objectives of Hyogo Prefectural University's Faculty of Engineering, Department of Mechanical and Materials Science mentioned above, and racked its brains to consider and implement a program that met those objectives.
### Overview of the "Internship Class"
The "Internship Class" at Hyogo Prefectural University's Faculty of Engineering, Department of Mechanical and Materials Science, involves 11 small and medium-sized manufacturers based in Hyogo Prefecture. It is held for third-year students for 1.5 hours (14:40-16:10) every Thursday over 13 weeks.
A comprehensive results presentation will be held on Thursday, July 16th.
### On the Day of the "Internship Class"
As of April 16th, new academic year course registrations had not yet been completed, so 7 students participated.
- **Greetings & Lecture**
After greetings from the company president, the company's design manager, a graduate of Hyogo Prefectural University's Faculty of Engineering, Department of Life Science, gave a lecture titled "What is Design?"
The content conveyed the "reality of a design job," explaining that the essence of "design" is to face "risks," and that designers must "decide" "what to discard" in response to these "risks."
- **Group Discussion**
After the lecture, students watched a short video of an insulator manufacturing plant, with a total construction cost exceeding 1 billion yen, in operation, along with its actual design drawings. They then discussed in groups, "Where are the risks, and what improvement plans can be considered?"
Questions actively came from the professor in charge of the "Internship Class," and discussions gradually emerged among the participating students. The "passion" of the president and the top design professionals, who spoke about the plant, also grew, and the students eagerly arrived at their respective conclusions within the limited remaining time.
- **Presentations & Summary**
After the discussion, representatives from two groups of students gave presentations.
The employees were surprised by the rather sharp content, as challenges that had actually been considered for risk and countermeasures were presented. They then explained how decisions were made and actions were taken on site for each presentation.
The class concluded with the president's summary: "All presentations were worth considering. In reality, it is necessary to design while balancing dilemmas such as operability for workers and cost, in addition to safety, and this is another one of the true pleasures."
### In the Post-Class Questionnaire...
In the post-event questionnaire for this "Internship Class," students gave ratings of "5" or "4" on a 5-point scale for almost all items.
The free comment section included feedback such as:
"I learned that design is not just about drawing production drawings using CAD, but also about meeting various constraints such as safety, cost, and delivery time."
"I learned that the job of design is to find compromises and decide which constraints to meet or abandon amidst various constraints such as safety, cost, delivery time, and standards."
"I want to apply what I learned this time and, whenever I see a machine, imagine what risk countermeasures are being taken and develop an awareness of risk assessment."
"I learned that it is necessary to consider all possibilities for people who actually operate machines, but this is also an element that troubles designers..."
The "Internship Class" at Hyogo Prefectural University's Faculty of Engineering, Department of Mechanical and Materials Science, was conducted as part of this effort. Furthermore, a strong desire to have as many mechanical and electrical engineering students as possible in the local Harima area experience "the fun and joy of manufacturing" also pushed for its implementation.
### Background of Implementation
Hyogo Prefectural University's Faculty of Engineering, Department of Mechanical and Materials Science, planned this "Internship Class" with the objectives of "providing experiential programs based on actual work to help students feel closer to manufacturing sites while learning" and "promoting understanding of the charm and role of local industries through collaboration with local companies, thereby encouraging career development rooted in the region."
Then, Sanwa Engineering received a request from Dainnen Human Plus Co., Ltd. (Headquarters: Himeji City), which operates "Harimacchi," a job information website for students wishing to work in the Harima area.
Sanwa Engineering designs and constructs large-scale environmental preservation plants and insulator manufacturing plants exceeding several hundred million yen, and while it felt quite difficult to provide students with an experience of the company's work within university research or practical training rooms, it strongly empathized with the planning objectives of Hyogo Prefectural University's Faculty of Engineering, Department of Mechanical and Materials Science mentioned above, and racked its brains to consider and implement a program that met those objectives.
### Overview of the "Internship Class"
The "Internship Class" at Hyogo Prefectural University's Faculty of Engineering, Department of Mechanical and Materials Science, involves 11 small and medium-sized manufacturers based in Hyogo Prefecture. It is held for third-year students for 1.5 hours (14:40-16:10) every Thursday over 13 weeks.
A comprehensive results presentation will be held on Thursday, July 16th.
### On the Day of the "Internship Class"
As of April 16th, new academic year course registrations had not yet been completed, so 7 students participated.
- **Greetings & Lecture**
After greetings from the company president, the company's design manager, a graduate of Hyogo Prefectural University's Faculty of Engineering, Department of Life Science, gave a lecture titled "What is Design?"
The content conveyed the "reality of a design job," explaining that the essence of "design" is to face "risks," and that designers must "decide" "what to discard" in response to these "risks."
- **Group Discussion**
After the lecture, students watched a short video of an insulator manufacturing plant, with a total construction cost exceeding 1 billion yen, in operation, along with its actual design drawings. They then discussed in groups, "Where are the risks, and what improvement plans can be considered?"
Questions actively came from the professor in charge of the "Internship Class," and discussions gradually emerged among the participating students. The "passion" of the president and the top design professionals, who spoke about the plant, also grew, and the students eagerly arrived at their respective conclusions within the limited remaining time.
- **Presentations & Summary**
After the discussion, representatives from two groups of students gave presentations.
The employees were surprised by the rather sharp content, as challenges that had actually been considered for risk and countermeasures were presented. They then explained how decisions were made and actions were taken on site for each presentation.
The class concluded with the president's summary: "All presentations were worth considering. In reality, it is necessary to design while balancing dilemmas such as operability for workers and cost, in addition to safety, and this is another one of the true pleasures."
### In the Post-Class Questionnaire...
In the post-event questionnaire for this "Internship Class," students gave ratings of "5" or "4" on a 5-point scale for almost all items.
The free comment section included feedback such as:
"I learned that design is not just about drawing production drawings using CAD, but also about meeting various constraints such as safety, cost, and delivery time."
"I learned that the job of design is to find compromises and decide which constraints to meet or abandon amidst various constraints such as safety, cost, delivery time, and standards."
"I want to apply what I learned this time and, whenever I see a machine, imagine what risk countermeasures are being taken and develop an awareness of risk assessment."
"I learned that it is necessary to consider all possibilities for people who actually operate machines, but this is also an element that troubles designers..."