Carrier Episode Narrative 3

C.E 3.1 In this narrative I will describe my work experience as a mechanical maintenance
engineer in department of engineering at Le Mridien Cairo Airport hotel (Starwood
hotels and resorts Worldwide). I started a full time position as a shift engineer with Le
Mridien hotel in 2014.

Background
C.E.3.2 Starwood Hotels & Resorts Worldwide, Inc. is the most global high-end hotel
company in the world. Its strength lies in ten distinct lifestyle brands, an award-winning
loyalty program and 180,400 talented associates worldwide. More than 1,200 properties
worldwide in 100 countries. In 2014, signed 175 new hotel agreements, marking the fifth
consecutive year of increased signings. Mixing contemporary culture with its European
heritage, Le Mridien creates a culturally refined, meaningful and stimulating
atmosphere which inspires participants to celebrate the beauty of a moment and the
possibilities for insight that live within common occurrences. Guests discover more than
just a new destination. They discover a new way of seeing things. Currently, Le
Mridien is a global hotel group with a portfolio of more than 100+ luxury and upscale
hotels in over 50 countries worldwide. The majority of its properties are located in the
worlds top cities and resorts throughout Europe, Africa, the Middle East, Asia Pacific
and the Americas.

C.E.3.3 Le Mridien Cairo Airport was established in 2013 and it is located in front of
terminal 3 at Cairo Airport. From Engineering point of view it has a full power plant
room, 2 boilers, 4 main heat exchangers, pumps, 2 fuel tanks, 1 LPG gas station, 3
chillers, 2 main water tanks, filters, softeners, generator, 4 electric transformers, low
voltage station, fire fighting system, elevators, escalators, TV System, Sound System,
Dimming light system, and Building Management System (BMS).

C.E.3.4 I was involved as a Shift Engineer in Department of Engineering. I was

responsible for elector-mechanical issues in my shift (Morning, or Afternoon, or Night). I
was under supervision of complex director of engineering, or assistant chief engineer. I
supervised a big team which consisted of 1 team leader, 5 supervisors, and 17
technicians. I was also the department trainer as I was a member in department of
training.
 General Manager

Director of Finance Director of Rooms

Financial Controller Purchasing Manager Front Office Manager Housekeeping Manager

Complex Director of Engineering

Assistant Chief Engineer

Shift Engineer

Team Leader

HVAC Supervisor

Electrical Supervisor Kitchen Equipment Supervisor Mason Supervisor

Plumbing Supervisor A/C Technicians

Plumbers Electricians Technicians Painters Mason Carpenters

C.E.3.5 My specific duties were as follows :

Preparing and submitting daily work plans for engineering team.

Providing effective communication between various departments.
Attending daily meeting with Director of Engineer.
Attending daily meeting with technicians.
Checking the boiler room (chemicals, temperature, and pressure).
Checking the chillers room, and cooling towers .
Checking the pumps room.
Checking swimming pools (PH, Chlorine, temperature, and cyan uric acid).
Writing and following up purchase requests with purchasing department.
Following up guest orders and complains through the internal system.
Responsible for occupational health and safety for employees.
Determining the electric consumption for my shift.
Building Management System (BMS) operation and controlling.
Training and orientation for the new hired staff in the health and safety.

Personal Engineering Activities

C.E.3.6 I started my new job as a shift engineer in department of engineering at Le

Mridien Cairo Airport in August 2014. I was the only mechanical engineer in my
department, so I was responsible for both of operation and maintenance of all mechanical
equipment. I used to work according to Starwood Hotels & Resorts Worldwide
standards.

C.E.3.7 I was also responsible for supervising the contractor Saudi Binladin Group on
site as there were different problems that occurred every day. Although the contractor
was a well-reputable construction company they made mistakes therefore a third eye was
always useful. The big problem was in the fan coil unit drainage (Air-condition of
rooms). There was no slope in the drains, so there was a permanent leakage from fan coil
unit drainage.
C.E.3.8 I solved it by modifying the drain pipe by using elbow (angle 90) from the
nearest point of the fan coil drainage to the main drain. I made it as a sample in one room
and my manager accepted this solution. The general manager thanked me for this quick
and simple solution and I gave instructions for plumper to do it in all out of order rooms
due to this problem.

C.E.3.9 My working day starts with a quick check for my business email , then a quick
tour in hotel lobby, swimming pool pumps room, chillers room, boilers room, and general
tour in the public area. After this tour I had a technical meeting with engineers and
director of engineering to check the shift logbook and the work schedule for this day.

C.E.3.10 I usually prepare some important issues in a power point sheet such as, the
work tasks, previous consumption (Electrical, water, and fuel), previous defects, repeated
complains, out of order equipment or rooms, and safety topic according to Starwood
Hotels & Resorts Worldwide standards. Then, I had the morning briefing with
supervisors and technicians. During these briefings I gave instructions and tasks for that
day to the technicians

C.E.3.11 After all work tasks had been distributed, I started to check my paper work
such as, checking the preventive maintenance program, writing any purchase request,
following up with suppliers and subcontractors, and etc. I also specified which
maintenance contractors or suppliers would work together.

C.E.3.12 At the mid of day, I used to check by myself that every technician was in his
working place and he was working according to safety standards. At the end of day, I
recorded the electric consumption, the water consumption, the generator reading, and the
water treatment readings (PH, Chlorine). Then, I had a technical meeting with my
director to follow up the tasks which had been done and the pending list.
C.E.3.13 During my shift I checked the following issues every hour :
Chillers operation through BMS (Building Management System).
Submersible pump operation through BMS.
Elevators and escalators operation through BMS.
Alarms list if there is any alarm through BMS.

C.E.3.14 One of the most conspicuous tasks for me as a shift engineer was to check the
fire system panel in case of any fire alarm ( smoke or heat ) and to take actions according
to fire drill training. Actually, I had planned and practiced the fire drill, so I know very
well what to do almost automatically.

C.E.3.15 I attended a lot of online trainings such as Building Operation and Maintenance
by BOMI International, Compressed Air System, Pumping System, HVAC systems,
combustion processes, Energy Efficiency solutions, and ISO 50001 by Energy University
by Schneider Electric. They were very useful for me to add the new technology for my
academic skills.

C.E.3.16 I attended a lot of internal trainings through training department such as,
Starwood Career Opportunity which was very useful to enhance and develop my
managerial skills to hire a new promotion in my career path in Starwood Hotels &
Resorts Worldwide. I attended also through training department the following trainings :
Engineering Design/Layout training, Advanced Cost Control Principles training,
Productivity training, Safety and Security training, and Brand Standard training.

C.E.3.17 I was responsible for maintenance of mechanical issues in the hotel such as,
pumps, boilers, filters, chillers, and cooling towers. I used to check all pumps daily and
supervise the mechanic technician while changing ball bearings, and mechanical seals.
Also, I did a heavy maintenance for the boiler by changing all gaskets, deep cleaning for
combustion chamber from carbons, burner pipes inspection, regulators, electrode and its
transformer, and change of spark plugs. This preventive maintenance was according to
the manufacturer instructions.
C.E.3.18 I gained great knowledge and new skills in the opening process for hotels. I
learned the key aspects that a designer should take into consideration including the
specific details such as Poissons ratio in case of the curtain walls at Le Mridien Cairo
Airport hotel according to this equation :

Where : is the resulting Poisson's ratio,

is transverse strain (negative for axial tension (stretching), positive for

axial compression).

is axial strain (positive for axial tension, negative for axial compression).

Summary

C.E.3.19 This giant experience exceed my own expectations, which made me realize
that I have the capability of learning, adapting to new ideas and areas of work, complete
complex tasks and enhance my problem solving skills. In the last four months of my
employment with Le Mridien Cairo Airport hotel. I received a 10 % additional
increase in my salary. My manager appreciated me a lot of times and encouraged me to
do my best.

C.E.3.20 I learned to do my work according to high standards, action plans, high quality,
and good communication. I also knew the key work of any successful manager which is
follow up theory. This theory will enhance my managerial skills in my career path.