3 Weeks At Medmix Ltd

Written on 6th November 2022

What is this all about?

Many secondary schools across England offer the opportunity to take part in a short programme where students are set up with a one week stint of work experience. Students are essentially given a placement within a company or institute to learn about the very basics of work in the real world where (particularly in my case) they are shown around the premises, offices and factory floors to gain a better understanding of what they can expect to come into contact with when eventually start their own working careers. I was lucky enough to spend the week as a “temporary apprentice” with a company called Sulzer, who recently rebranded to Medmix Ltd. The company are some of the world leaders in the design and manufacture of dispenser guns, used for dental, surgical and industrial purposes. They make and sell over 2.5 billion products per year, employ around 2,000 people worldwide and have more than 900 active patents, so by most numerical and qualitative measures, they are a massive company.

The one week work experience placement was an unpaid optional activity which I am grateful for, and at the end of the week I was asked by the design team if I’d be interested in going back to work for a further 2 weeks, and get paid this time, and of course I couldn’t pass up on this great opportunity. Through an employment agency I was put on payroll for these following two weeks, meaning in total I spent 3 weeks as a junior team member of Medmix Ltd.

What did I get up to?

During these 3 weeks I played a part in some different aspects of the business, some more than others. The main areas of the business I was involved in were the engineering and design teams, but I did also get an intro to the customer services, sales and warehouse operations which were invaluable experiences. The majority of my time during these two weeks was spent back and forth between working on CAD (Computer Aided Design), solving problems/testing products in the workshop and 3D printing, which I feel forms the interesting but necessary link between conceptualisation and realisation. Because of the importance of this stage of the process, I was always on my toes and there was always something that could be improved or iterated to make the final product better.

CAD work and 3D modelling is something I had worked with before, but never with the proper intention of creating a functioning final product, I mainly did it for fun or as a small school project. At Medmix I was tasked with creating many CAD models for test rigs, which would then be 3D printed and have dispenser guns loaded into them, to be tested for strength, durability and potential improvement points. A man called Will taught me the ropes of CAD and took me from being a complete novice to someone who can efficiently use the basic tools and create functioning models, with only a little bit of extra guidance, although by no means am I a professional. (I didn’t create the design in the above photo). Much of my time was spent in the test lab where I helped a man called Neil set up many of the mechanical test rigs, most interestingly using a Zwick tensile and compression testing machine. I had learned about such machinery in school and through “How It’s Made” videos I used to watch as a child, but seeing and using one is completely different and it put into context some of the textbook knowledge I already had, which I valued highly. Other machinery which I had read about but not used in person before this was a lathe, a heavy piece of machinery used to spin a workpiece for it to be cut, sanded, drilled or threaded. Me and Neil worked on a few small aluminium threads which helped to solve a problem with one of the dispenser guns we were testing during the week.

The last thing I think I should mention is the welding work I did in the Fab, although it was a small job to just fix a steel G-Clamp which had been snapped, I still learnt a lot. I was taught how to use an angle grinder to remove any paint from the surface of the area I was working on, then used an arc welder to attach the two loose pieces of metal together. I know it doesn’t sound enthralling but it gave me a practical application of something which I have read and learnt about, but never before experienced.

What I learnt and will take away from it?

To answer the question promptly, a lot. Most of the things I’ll take away from this experience are related to the general awareness of how a large business functions, and how each individual department comes together to achieve a successful end gaol. I witnessed the process of many problems being solved, some ongoing, and some only lasting a few hours, which showed me how things are typically tackled within a workplace, and how each employee makes an attempt to speak to the right person with the right skills, when they need help with a certain issue or project. Just being in and around a real world work space gave me so much context into what actually occurs on a day-to-day basis, and how much thought and effort actually goes into the production of even a small simple product. As someone who has aspirations for their own business ventures and large scale projects for the future, I feel it was an invaluable experience for me and I now feel as though I have an extra piece to add to my brain puzzle. I now think it would be interesting if I pursued some work within a different industry, to compare the different functions and priorities that are present within different fields of work.

I learnt some new practical skills which is always handy, and even if I don’t use them ever again it’s never a bad thing to have a general idea of how certain projects are carried out when they need to be. Welding is a good example, as I don’t aspire to be a mechanical engineer or fabricator when I’m older, but I’m now able to explain the basics of a welding process if I ever need to. I know this sounds like a useless piece of knowledge for someone who probably won’t ever use the skill again, but many of these different skills developed from a young age can compound into a greater understanding of the modern world we live in.

Despite all this, I’d say the main thing I learnt, is the importance of efficient communication, and how much of a positive or negative impact it can have. Within any working day at Medmix I would witness at least one success as a result of efficient communication, and at least one small failure as a result. Over the 3 weeks it went to show that the simple act of clear communication can go a long way in any project. I definitely feel I’m more aware of this lesson I’ve learnt, as I am now starting to make more of an effort to be concise and relatable when I communicate with people I’m working on a project with. Already I have started to notice the value of this in my own life, an example would be when I plan for each episode of my podcast, and that it becomes much smoother and better quality when I make a conscious effort to be clear with what I am trying to say, rather than powering forward mindlessly, assuming that the person on the other end of the line is catching my drift.

Do I recommend this type of work experience?

Yes, I certainly do. If you ever get the chance to take part in a programme like this, take it. I’d also recommend searching for this type of experience yourself as it will contextualise so much of what you probably already know, and also teach you a whole load of other things, giving you a much more developed understanding of what goes on in the real world of work.

This could be as simple as finding a company of your interest and emailing them to ask if they’d be willing to take you on for a week or so, and show you the ropes. So what if they don’t respond, so what if they say no, there’s no harm in putting yourself out there to try and develop yourself, because the gains you will experience from it far outweigh the pain of being rejected.

Click on the button above to go to the Medmix company website