A week work of experience with D2E

D2E are always looking for ways to promote our industry to young people and help them get experience and knowledge of engineering. In July, we have had three work experience students spend from a few days to a week with D2E, giving them a valuable insight into the world of lift engineering. The latest student to visit D2E was 17-year-old, Ryan Caby. Ryan spent a week with D2E, his account of what he got up to and learnt is below;

“I came to D2E for the week to gain some experience of work life and to get an idea of what an engineer does in London.

During my week, I have shadowed some audits on façade maintenance and VT machinery. On my first day of work experience at D2E, I went with Mike to inspect a BMU. I had no idea how big the machine was and got very involved in the complexities of the machine, which Mike fully explained.

One of the highlights of my week was going with Rony to 20 Fenchurch street, the Walkie Talkie building and Sky Garden.  As well as enjoying a full view of London, I was also shown the lift system and how the destination control system work. Before this week, I had no idea that destination control lifts existed. I saw how the system directs you to a lift that will take you to your destination, and Rony explained how the system will group people together who are all going to the same level during peak times.

I was also shown the workings of a lift using the scenic lift at One New Change. I didn’t know that lifts use a counter weight to pull up the cars and using a counter weight would reduce the size of the motor that’s needed. On my last day I got to see the lift controller, and the massive micro-processor that controls the motion of the lift and what level the lift stops at.

I have also been doing a lot of work in the D2E office, helping out with tasks that need doing. For example, on Monday afternoon and through most of Tuesday, I have been helping Ed make an energy calculator in excel. I had to list out all the variable and information tables that would be needed and say if they would be an input, output or if they were used in calculations. As a part of this, I needed to list all the formulas that were needed as part of the calculations.

Another piece of office work that I did was to help Rony do some research on the latest technology for lifts. I came across a new lift system called MULTI. I found out that MULTI is the world’s first rope less lift. It uses vertical linear motors to move the lift up. Due to the lack of rope, multi lift can also travel horizontally which would allow a cyclic motion. This technology can hugely reduce waiting times for lifts, which is one of the major factors in designing a lift system.

As well as site visits and work in the office, I have attended, both, design and company meetings. On Tuesday afternoon, I attended a design meeting with the architects for a new building. I was shown how much thought and detail has to go in to a project like this, and how designs of buildings have to constantly change and develop to meet structural and planning issues. Another meeting I attended, was the company team meeting, which takes place every month. This meeting was the companies’ summer meeting and took place on a boat travelling along the river, which was an experience in itself. In this meeting the team discussed business strategy and gave updates on the companies’ key values; safety, ethics and quality. 

Overall, I have found my experience here at D2E very rewarding. I have learnt and seen so much and I now know things that I would never have even considered before. Everyone has been really friendly and I have been spoiled with opportunities over this week. I would highly recommend D2E as work experience, as it is an innovative environment and gives a good feel of working life.”