So what is it like to be working in a company that feels and acts like a family? When I started my first two Co-op work terms, I started out with a small group atmosphere: being an SFU research student as well as working for a small design and manufacturing company in Richmond. Working with small groups provided tools, skills and experience to learn and apply to everyday life; whether enhancing school knowledge, upgrading technical experience or adding new skills to my resume.

Starting my last and final Co-op at Creation Technologies really changed my experience as I never worked in a massive company before. Creation Technologies is a company where we manufacture printed circuit board assemblies as well as offer services for top-level assembly and aftermarket services.  Creation is known for being culturally active, meaning we think and act as a team as well as being a “family”. Creation Technologies celebrates pretty much all big cultural festivities, namely Diwali and Chinese New Year.

As a student learner and co-worker during my days of Co-op, I have asked myself a few questions many possibly ponder about or don’t think about.

Manufacturing? Yeah, I’ve heard of it!

When I worked at my second Co-op job, I learned about the notion of “$1/minute” (which still applies to all manufacturing areas). Working at DCD made me focus more on designing and not much in the manufacturing sense. I thought about what to design, what do I use to make this product or what do I put on this product to optimize the functionality. How about ergonomically, how would someone use this device? These are some common examples of questions when designing for people who are using the product for everyday life. I learned about processes and managing issues through the different processing teams at Creation. If an engineer is designing a product, it’s best to not only focus on functional design but also the cost of manufacturing. An engineer’s best term out on the field! Understanding how the product will be manufactured will save on costs and problems can be caught early on before the manufacturing takes place.

Project Management

The idea of staggered conflict can be thought of as the “snowball” effect. Consider a scenario: You are involved in a massive project, the project is moving along smoothly and then an error is made. If this is not dealt with soon, when the project reaches the midpoint and relies on that mistake that you’ve made, then there will be lead times to the project. The problem may not only affect one portion of a team but also could affect another team. This is a great example of critically planning your design properly and efficiently.

Coming to work for Creation offered the opportunity to learn new skills for the future as well as providing a great foundation as a career.  Aside from the experience and skills that I have obtained, I felt like I was really integrated working here which made me think that I just graduated from school.  It’s a cohesive company I would like to come back to after I graduate from University.