AIST Steel Intern Scholarship

Michael J. Neumann

At CMC Steel Florida in Jacksonville, Fla., USA., I had the opportunity to gain a holistic understanding as a process engineer intern.

To begin my internship, I was tasked with improving the way scrap steel was being managed. I collaborated with scrap vendors, equipment vendors, supervisors and operators in this project which led me to identify the issues that were being experienced. To tackle the issues, I was given the opportunity to gain my forklift certification and apply my knowledge of thermodynamics. From these efforts, I was able to clearly define to management ways to reduce costs in this process.

After the completion of that project, I sat in on many meetings to identify other problems. From this action, I found that a certain machine was prone to delays. To troubleshoot this issue, I analyzed data, read standard operation literature and communicated with operators. Doing these tasks helped me to identify the possible reasonings behind why the problem kept reoccurring. Once it had been identified, I communicated with manufacturers and constructed a few different procedures that would help to alleviate the problem. These procedures led to the reduction of delay time.

I had other projects that helped me develop as a young professional. I worked with maintenance and mechanical engineers to implement new technologies: helping me to learn valuable lessons on teamwork and vendor relationships. I worked with quality to troubleshoot internal metallurgical issues: helping me to learn valuable lessons on fractography and non-destructive testing. I worked with software engineers to assist in backend development: helping me to learn valuable lessons on organization and communication.

Upon reflection, there are a vast number of opportunities the steel industry provides for students looking to begin their careers. There are countless ways to reduce costs, improve efficiency, and improve safety, but these issues have additional layers of complexity. One of these layers is resolving these issues with an environmental focus. We can no longer afford to neglect the footprint we are leaving on our environment because it is and will continue to impact our communities near and far. On top of this layer is also industry competition. Solving all these challenges with an environmental focus is not enough because you must also stay up to date on emerging technologies so that you can stay competitive. Although these challenges are daunting, CMC Steel Florida has shown me how addressing these issues can lead to a fulfilling career within the steel industry.