Internship at Kane Constructions, Sydney
- By Morten Sort Mouritsen
Reflecting on an internship in Sydney
After having been through all three departments (Estimating – Construction – Health & Safety) at Kane Construction here in Sydney, I must conclude that I have been incredibly well treated and think that I have learnt much that I will be able to use in the future.
Estimating
The first six weeks that I spent in Estimating were really good because I got the chance to follow a project from the very beginning to the end and gained a real insight into what a project entails. I think I was also lucky to get Karim, the partner I was assigned.
He is the estimater who wins the most projects here in Sydney, so he was really talented but also good at taking his time to explain and introduce me 100% to things.
Construction
The next four weeks took place in Construction and were educational when there was something for me to do. I thought there was in the beginning. But when you find that you have 2 hours of work to do during a 9 hour working day, then time simply passes too slowly. Luckily, I presented my problem to Geoff, one of the executives, after having had two of those days.
He was very understanding and changing the schedule was no problem. That meant I was in the office 50 % of the time and the rest was spent on the site. For the rest of my internship everything went smoothly.
Health and Safety
I had actually expected that the last couple of weeks in Health and Safety with Poul Batman would be long and boring. But I was completely mistaken. They were two really good weeks where I got around to many construction sites. I thought it was very interesting to see what kinds of issues can arise in different sites. This is where the people in charge of a site are truly tested in their planning and managing of all the various activities that safety precautions and health imply.
Linguistic challenges
Of course my English has also improved a lot. Even though I was very nervous the first couple of times I had to contact sub-suppliers, you learn quickly when you are forced into it.
All in all a great experience
All in all, I think I have had three very good and educational months at Kane Construction in Sydney, and being in Australia is a great experience in its own right. After having tried performing a real job instead of being at school at UCN - University College of Northern Denmark, I am looking forward to getting back out there in part because I found out that I was well-equipped by the school to handle the demands of the construction industry.
