PRACTICAL EXPERIENCE REFLECTION

1. Company structure and operation

Structural Systems is a consulting engineering, which delivers world-class projects successfully across the
full scope of structural and civil disciplines. The head office is located in Adelaide with offices in
Melbourne and Darwin. Providing the unique and innovative service since 1988, the teamwork seamlessly
with clients to deliver high-quality outcomes, offer the best engineering solutions. All works are carefully
controlled by experienced engineers. The office has the following structure:

Figure 1. Company structure

Providing all aspects of structural and civil designs for clients, including:
- Industrial, commercial and renovative buildings
- Residential houses
- Mining innovation
The team includes a group of highly experienced engineers and administration (more than 25 staff). The
concept of projects, including:
- High-quality control of all works
- Experienced key personnel assigned to control all projects
- Use of specialized personnel in all disciplines
- Provide the innovative approach to achieving ideal engineering solutions
- Careful coordination between all services under the control
- Awareness of project budgets and on-going cost monitoring throughout the project
- The ability to perform and meet project deadlines
2. Responsibilities/work undertaken
During the first week, I was trained by the admin to get familiar with the company system and the procedure
of work from start to finish. Job numbers are created when the office get the new project. Before proceeding
with the work, the admin and senior engineers will review the scope of work from clients. I got a chance to
review the scope of work, discuss with the senior engineer how many elements will be designed in the
project, and write a draft email to the admin to send the quote to the clients. All conversations or emails
were saved in the project folder and updated in the file log. This was very helpful for me to understand how
the office ran the project.
I was working as a structural and civil engineer and in line with senior and junior engineers. After training
with the admin, I used to do the drafting of residential buildings using AUTOCAD. If there are any mistakes
in drawings, the drafter and engineer helped me to clarify and correct them, which developed my
understanding on the structure and footing. All drafters have to go through the checklist before and after
the drafting to ensure all details are correct.
Last month, the office got the home extension project located in Mt Barker, South Australia. I was appointed
to design residential footings (extension houses, and carports). The slab and footing design adhered to
Australian Standards for residential slabs and footing (AS 2870:2011). I got an opportunity to go through
the project from start to finish. I analyzed the roof structures, did the loading calculation acting on the
footing and checked the heave under discussion with senior engineers. SLOG (Slab On Ground) program
was used to estimate the footing dimension of the extension house. To design the pad footing at carport, it
was essential to check the allowable bearing pressure (for the footing size), the bearing pressure of ultimate
loads, and the uplift foundation. Steel structures at the carport (columns, beams) were designed based on
AS4100:1998 with different sections. Then, I drafted the footing and structure layout for this project in
AUTOCAD. I also learned how to design the connection of the beam and column, and perform the wind
analysis (based on the AS 1170:2002 under the guidance of senior engineers. This is helpful for me because
I employed the knowledge gained in the university in real-life projects. I was now getting much more
familiar with AS 2870:2011 and AS4100:1998 throughout these processes. During the design, I applied the
appropriate analysis, assessment, decision making, simulation program to engineering practice.
In addition, I was assigned to design the stormwater of the project, located in Payneham South, South
Australia, under the control of the senior civil engineer. Before starting the design, it was essential to know
the topography, the elevation, the contour, and the flood level. Then, sump locations were checked whether
it was connected to the water council or not. The distance of the sumps and downpipe was determined based
on AS 3500:2021. The chosen dwelling level must be higher than that of the garage and paving levels.
Rainwater tanks, including the retention and detention, were designed based on dwelling areas and council
requirements. Although this design work was undoubtedly a challenging task because I did not learn it in
the university, I completed it within the time limit under the instruction of junior and senior engineers. I
became familiar with AS 3500:2021. I took a golden opportunity to work in a team with them. I developed
my interpersonal skill, especially communication skills. While I worked together with colleagues from
different backgrounds, I had a chance to get exposed to their culture, experience and knowledge.
I also was assigned to run the clash detection of a 17-story building on Waymouth St, Adelaide, using
Navisworks and Revit. Then, I made the clash report for the drafter, and we reviewed them to give a
solution. This allows to identify, prevent and resolve conflicts on 3D models (architecture, structure) before
starting the construction. Therefore, it reduces the cost, risk and minimizes the change or RFI during the
construction.
During the internship, I got the opportunity to learn DesignIT by myself that is the program used for timber
design. The design references Residential timber-framed construction (AS 1684:2010). I analyzed the roof
structure, understood how loads act on the elements. I used Google and YouTube to understand what and
where elements are in the house and achieve solutions of design. If I could not come up with the solution,
the junior engineer has explained the problem where I missed them. Although timber structures are
challenging to me because I did not design them before, I became familiar with the timber structure, AS
1684, the design program under the guidance of the junior engineer. I would have an in-depth understanding
of the structure concept.
I also got a chance to inspect steel and trench works at a different sites, such as Moonta Bay, Roseworthy,
and New Port, South Australia. I monitored the proper placement and dimension of the trench for foundation
(raft footings, strip footings and piers) and monitored the steelwork before pouring concrete. I wrote reports
and sent emails to inform site engineers to rectify their faults. All mistakes must be corrected and sent the
photo to the office before starting the following tasks. If the photos could not be satisfied, an inspection
was required. At one of the projects, during the inspection, although the pier depth was satisfied according
to the design, the bottom pier did not reach the natural soil based on the visual observation and the bore log
on the site. All piers must be put in the natural soil to minimize the settlement after the construction. We
decided the pier must be trenched deeper. Thus, I applied engineering fundamentals to interpret, evaluate,
predict the soil type, improve my understanding of soils. In this job, I worked with the junior engineer and
did an internship. I enhanced my communication skill, teamwork and developed my report writing skills.
As an international student, it was difficult for me to adapt the new working environment, education system
simultaneously. I also developed my time management skill because I had to balance essential objectives,
including studying and internship. The internship not only made me be more confident, responsible
regarding my work but also developed my interpersonal skills while working in Australia. Working at
Structural Systems with experienced personnel helps me broaden my knowledge and build a strong career
foundation in working as a structural engineer. I learned and undertook many new things in engineering
applications. In addition to it, I had a chance of knowing experienced engineers, understanding their work
styles and vision. In general, practical work experience is essential for me to acquire real-life knowledge.