Industrial Cadets Detector Testers Visit

Industrial cadets started their series of twelve projects by a visit to Detector Testers and experienced the opportunities open to women scientists and engineers

On Monday the 11th of March, we travelled to Detector Testers (a manufacturer of detector testing products) and experienced a day in the life of an engineer, as well as celebrated International women’s day.

To kick off our day, we were welcomed into a meeting room where we discussed travel, the economic state of travelling and talked about the GCSE subjects that the members of staff had taken to become engineers and how Women in Engineering are the future.

After our meeting, we went onto our next adventure of the day, seeing their product in action. The product itself was a Smoke Alarm Tester called ‘Testifire’. The aim of this product is to make sure alarms are ready and set for comfort and safety. Their main customers are usually companies, families and workers in the fire alarm industry.

Not only did we see the final product but we also got to see how the products were made behind the scenes from the initial idea through to the prototypes and testing. The different stages to create the tester were: a) Designing (all done on a computer!). b) Prototypes (3D printed to perfection to check sizing) c) Testing (using the prototypes to test that the initial idea works) d) Selling (producing mass products and selling worldwide)

Being able to see behind the scenes made us realise how much engineers put in in order to get the final product that is a simple click away. It was mind-blowing to find out how many different jobs are needed to create one project. We had a go at being Engineers by building structures made of splints and straws to hold eggs and weights. The staff helped us along the way, giving us helpful tips and support talks throughout our building process.

Looking back on the day, we learnt that months of planning and work go into one engineering idea and it is a variety of different people with many talents in all aspects of engineering who turn the idea into reality. Overall, the day gave us a glimpse of the engineering world and whether this is our dream career. Either way, we found it very useful to understand what engineers actually do and how they go about it. We thoroughly enjoyed it!

Thank you to Mrs Higgins and Dr Lota for organising this visit.

Amara C (9Au)

 

The Industrial Cadet scheme is an industry-led initiative aiming to provide young people with employer connections and experiences in the fields of Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM). Students build portfolios to showcase experiences and acquired skills, celebrating progression and fostering the confidence to succeed. https://www.etrust.org.uk/industrial-cadets