Why you - just like Bas and Roy - would like to do work placement at Modis Engineering

Roy and Bas are third year interns at Modis Engineering Solutions. After an introductory Speedmeet and a visit to Modis in Zaltbommel, the students got to work. "The projects and the atmosphere at the office were the deciding factors in our decision to do a work placement at Modis. However, what makes it a brilliant work placement is that we were actually allowed to be part of the team."

Wide-ranging knowledge and experience
"We were keen to do the work placement at an engineering firm so that we could learn from lots of different engineers with wide-ranging knowledge and experience. During the talks with Modis it soon became obvious that they could fulfil our wishes. They are working on various projects for numerous companies and each engineer has his own specialism and very specific knowledge, which means there is always someone available to answer your questions. That combination was the deciding factor in our decision to do a work placement here."

Redesign theme park attraction
"During the work placement we were members of the team that was working on a project for a theme park in the Netherlands. The team asked us to think about the redesign of an attraction boarding platform. The boarding platform is used by visitors to access the boats and, at the same time, powers them. The platform is now 35 years old and numerous parts were worn out. We held discussions with the attraction's technicians and went to view the attraction on location. This led us to identify a number of points for improvement. The design was good and sound, so we eventually decided not to redesign it. In the end we issued an advisory report which focused on the redesign of the construction and the drive mechanism. In consultation with our supervisor we supplemented the report with new drawings of this new construction and the drive mechanism."

Supervision
"Our supervisor in the department was Ruben Rispens. Following our discussion with the maintenance technicians and our analysis of the as-built drawings of the attraction, we assessed our ideas together with him. During that process we came across issues, on a number of occasions, which we were unfamiliar with. His explanation and assistance enabled us to continue our work."

Full members of the team
"The project was successful thanks to the team's incisiveness and the short lines of communication. Our work placement assignment was educational and enjoyable. The group of machine builders at Modis is diverse and we were included in all the activities. At lots of companies your colleagues see you as 'those interns', but here we were 'simply' members of the team.

One of the most important lessons we learned was that structured consultation makes the process go more smoothly. You work better as a team if a consultation has a purpose which is communicated in advance, with a clear agenda, and if someone takes minutes during the meeting. The fact that we were allowed to work with Solidworks was an extra bonus because we had not really done that at school. We have truly learned to think about how you create and develop a good drawing."