Junior Mechanical Engineer - John-Brian Roberts

I am looking forward to gain as much experience as possible in the field of engineering, especially in the petroleum/oil/gas industry. Developing new engineering skills as well as improving the skills I already attained is an exciting challenge.

WORK EXPERIENCE

Aug 2006 – Nov 2006 Student Mentor, Faculty of Engineering
Stellenbosch University
• Teaching small groups of students the fundamentals and principles of strength of materials (Strength of Materials 142) and electric circuits (Electrotechnique 144)
• Tutoring one-on-one
• Assisting with tutorial classes

Feb 2005 – Oct 2005 Mechanical Project 478: Design, Building and Testing of a Machine Fault Simulator
Stellenbosch University
• Design, building and testing of a small scale Machine Fault Simulator used to teach maintenance personnel balancing of rotors and alignment of driver and driven shafts
• Vibration and alignment measurement
• Balancing rotor between bearings and overhung rotor
• Aligning driver and driven shafts
• Development of a user manual to practically illustrate procedures for correctly balancing rotors and aligning rotating shafts

June 2005 – July 2005 Vacation Training: Design Oriented Training
Transvaal Sugar Limited
• Structural and detail design of a 25m and 14m long double deck conveyor having the capability of transporting 720 tons/hr of sugar cane fiber from diffusers to a mill feed conveyor

June 2004 – July 2004 Vacation Training: General Steam Power Plant Maintenance
Transvaal Sugar Limited
• Introduction to components and different
sections that make up a typical steam power plant
• Concept design of a roof structure for a coal bunker providing shelter from rain and dirt
• Determining the cause of high vibration levels on a 6MW steam turbine, replacing front bearing and oil seal
• Cleaning heat exchangers, steam turbine cooling oil filters and compressor station air-filters
• Setting pressure relief valves of a boiler

EDUCATION

2001 – 2006: B.Eng (Mechanical Engineering)
Stellenbosch University, Stellenbosch, South Africa

2000 – 2001: Enrolled for BSc. (Mathematical Sciences)
Stellenbosch University, Stellenbosch, South Africa

1999: Grade 12 Certificate (Matric Certificate), Nelspruit High School

SKILLS

Analytical:
During the course of my studies I acquired a good, general and basic knowledge of all main engineering disciplines. Studying mechanical engineering equipped me with an excellent mechanical design ability and analytical and practical problem solving skills. Identifying, analyzing, and thoroughly considering technical problems and possible solutions are but some of the skills developed and improved during the engineering course as well as past work experience. I have a good knowledge of engineering materials, manufacturing processes and the design for manufacturing.

Computer:
Due to the nature of my course and past work experience I have developed an advanced technical drawing skill using CAD software packages like AutoCAD, Mechanical Desktop and Autodesk Inventor. I have an understanding of finite element method applications in problems involving strength and able to perform basic static and dynamic strength calculations using Nastran/Patran. I attained a basic computer programming skill using the programming language C. Further skills with MSWord, Excel, PowerPoint and Matlab were developed and improved during my studies.

Interpersonal:
Working on assignments in team format throughout my course taught me the importance of team members working together in every aspect to reach a common goal. I also realized the importance of respecting decisions made and as an individual establishing a balance between assertiveness and flexibility.