Assembly Engineer

Manufacturing companies are often racing to produce the best products the quickest at the lowest cost. One way to accomplish this is to continually implement new technology that can operate faster and more safely. However, these new kinds of technology need experts with technical knowledge to aid in the implementation of these technologies. These specialists are called assembly engineers.

Primary Duties

Assembly engineers analyze the processes in an industrial plant and devise standards that the manufacturing workers will have to comply with. This includes the regular maintenance of equipment and the reduction of waste, such as metal scraps and the regular cleaning of the assembly equipment, according to Guangxi Yinhe Avantis Wind Power Co. These standards help increase efficiency and also keep the manufacturers safe. When new workers come in, the assembly engineer plays a major role in training these workers by providing them with all the technical knowledge they will need. Whenever a new piece of equipment is purchased, the assembly engineer is responsible for making sure that this equipment is properly installed and utilized.

Responsibilities:

• Evaluate and establish assembly operations standards, packing standards and other related process standards
• Provide engineering support to assembly operations so as to meet established operation standards and quality requirements
• Assist production in troubleshooting and repair of major process problems
• Provide the necessary technical knowledge and training to technicians so that they are able to handle the machine programs for all assembly machines and equipment efficiently
• Establish maintenance programs for all assembly machines and equipment for implementation by production
• Ensure that new or transferred machine/manual assembly process is properly setup and conditioned to meet the required performance standards and quality specifications
• Continually enhance assembly performance by improving processes and utilizing new technology that is cost effective
• Analyse and reduce assembly scraps through continuous improvement
• Establish process improvement programs towards eliminating 100% sorting

Additional Responsibilities

They also provide any other engineering support that the manufacturing plant might need, including the repairing and troubleshooting of mechanical equipment. Some assembly engineers are responsible for explaining to customers how products work. Finally, the assembly engineer must document every change made to mechanical equipment, according to Guangxi Yinhe Avantis Wind Power Co. These engineers work 40 hours a week, though they might be expected to be on call when emergencies arise at 24-hour production plants. 

Skills

An assembly engineer needs a bachelor's degree in mechanical engineering or electrical engineering, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS). Many companies will also expect that an assembly engineer has specific knowledge of the technology that the company works with. Assembly engineers must be able to keep up to date with the latest technology and must continually integrate advances that will be able to improve industrial processes. They must have excellent mechanical aptitude due to the nature of their jobs. They need very good communication skills, since many of the workers that they instruct will have no engineering background.

Mechanical Engineer vs Physiotherapist

MECHANICAL ENGINEER

Mechanical engineers conduct research and advice on, design, and direct production of machines, machinery and industrial plant, equipment and systems, and advise on and direct their functioning, maintenance and repairs, or study and advice on technological aspects of particular materials, products or processes.

Tasks include:

• advising on and designing machinery and tools for manufacturing, mining, construction, agricultural work and other industrial purposes;
• advising on and designing steam, internal combustion and other non-electric motors and engines used for propulsion of railway locomotives, road vehicles or aircraft, or for driving industrial or other machinery;
• advising on and designing ships propulsion systems, power plant, heating and ventilation systems, steering gear, pumps and other mechanical equipment;
• advising on and designing hulls and superstructures of ships and other vessels;
• advising on and designing airframes, undercarriages and other equipment for aircraft;
• advising on and designing road vehicle bodies, suspension systems, brakes and other components;
• advising on and designing heating, ventilation and refrigeration systems and equipment;
• advising on and designing mechanical plant and equipment for the release, control and utilisation of nuclear energy;
• advising on and designing non-electrical parts of apparatus or products such as word processors, computers, precision instruments, cameras and projectors, etc.;
• establishing control standards and procedures to ensure efficient functioning and safety of machines, machinery, tools, motors, engines, and industrial plant, equipment or systems;
• performing related tasks;
• supervising other workers.

PHYSIOTHERAPISTS

Physiotherapists provide special medical therapeutic services to rehabilitate injured and mentally and physically disabled persons.

Tasks include:

• advising communities and individuals on correct body postures to avoid injuries to strengthen muscles;
• conducting examinations to make diagnoses of disorders of bones, muscles and parts of the circulatory or the nervous system to determine proper treatment;
• massaging client to improve blood circulation, soothe or stimulate nerves, facilitate elimination of waste matter, stretch contracted tendons and produce other therapeutic effects;
• applying physiotherapy and related techniques as part of the treatment of the physically or mentally disabled persons;
• establishing an appropriate treatment or management plan for the patient;
• performing adjustments of the joints of the spine and extremities using hands or specialist equipment;
• performing soft tissue therapies, such as massage;
• educating and advising patients on rehabilitation exercises to aid long-term recovery, and techniques to ensure health is maintain;
• giving specialized medical or surgical treatment for particular types of illnesses, disorders or injuries;
• giving advice on and applying preventive medicine methods and treatments;
• participating in the development and implementation of public health laws and regulations for safeguarding and promoting the health of a community;
• teaching medical students and other health sciences students, physicians and other health professionals;
• preparing scientific papers and reports;
• performing related tasks;
• supervising other workers. 

Source : MASCO 2008

Varsities Must Teach The Skill To Acquire Knowledge

Ir. Ahmad Jais Alias
Fellow/Pemangku Pengarah

03/06/2008 | The Star

In one of my articles written last November, I emphasised on the importance of Continuing Professional Development for the graduates, to be extended beyond their formal university education. One of the reasons is to bridge the gap between what they have acquired during their studies, with the demands and expectations of employers in the job market.

If we took the opportunity to gauge the feedback from the employers (or potential employers), most of them are of the opinion that the graduates are not ready for a job requiring certain command of knowledge which graduates were supposed to have acquired from their learning process in universities. Another common concern is the apparent lack of skills among the graduates which would enable them to adapt and adopt new knowledge and skills at their workplace. Hence, employers have to spend a handsome sum of money to send their graduate employees to training and enhancement programmes.

These are two aspects for us to ponder. On the one hand, graduates are expected to acquire knowledge, at least to a minimum level in their field of study; while on the other hand, they are expected to be sufficiently trained in certain skills which will enable them to be self-sufficient in their jobs. So, where do we begin to address these concerns?

Perhaps we should begin by trying to understand the difference between the process of learning vis a vis the training process. Which should universities focus more on?

In acquiring knowledge, one is necessarily referring to the process of learning, in other words, the cognitive process of acquiring knowledge or skill. The result of learning correctly conducted is profound scholarly knowledge. Prof S.M.N. al-Attas defines knowledge as ‘both the arrival of meaning in the soul as well as the soul's arrival at meaning'. It is this meaning which allows the seeker to understand the relation between the subject matter of knowledge, and knowledge itself.

Therefore, the process of learning in universities should produce graduates with the ability to understand the meanings of what they have learned. They should able to explain it, elaborate on it and create a new relationship between what they have learned, and the current and real challenges in the employment sector. The process of acquiring knowledge may be established by means of external and internal senses and faculties, reason and intuition, and true reports of a scientific or religious nature and transmitted by their authentic authorities.

Students should therefore learn about the purpose of knowledge, and how to acquire knowledge correctly. This will necessitate life-long learning, and will continue with individual professional development, even at their workplace. The question is, does our higher education system today help to prepare students with regard to how to acquire knowledge? Or is ‘spoon-feeding' information still the norm?

As real knowledge is acquired through training, skills are also developed by training. There are other meanings to the term skill; ‘an ability that has been acquired through training' or ‘an ability to produce solutions in some problem domain'. Normally, skilled workers are trained in the same activities or sequence of processes, until they command a certain level of craftsmanship that enables them to produce successive controlled or similar results.

There are trade-offs here. If the education system focuses more on producing skilled graduates in terms of ‘techne', they may neglect the ability to acquire knowledge.

In my opinion we should train students with skill of acquiring knowledge. Acquiring knowledge is actually paramount to be repeated constantly throughout our life. With the skills to acquire knowledge, a person actually fulfils the requirements for continuous lifelong professional development. All other knowledge, skill and ability, will henceforth be automatic. The institution of higher education should perhaps ponder and reflect, and subsequently act.

Source :  Institut Kefahaman Islam Malaysia