COOPERATIVE EDUCATION REPORT

MECHANICAL ENGINEERING
BUFFALO TRACE DISTILLERY

CO-OP REPORT EVALUATION

NAME: __________________________ Submittal Date: ______________
Last Name, First Name

ACADEMIC DEPT: __________Co-op Number 1 __2 X _____3

EMPLOYER______________________________________ Co-op Semester ________________

CO-OP COORDINATOR

Accepted _____ Not Accepted _____ Co-op Coordinator_____________________ Date_____________

_____________
Remarks:_______________________________________________________________________________

_______________________________________________________________________________________

FACULTY EVALUATION

Not Occasionally Clearly

CO-OP REPORT: Evident Evident Evident Evident

Clarity is information clear? 1 2 3 4

Accuracy are the data accurate and precise? 1 2 3 4
Information is it relevant and complete? 1 2 3 4
Concise is it presented in appropriate depth? 1 2 3 4

WRITING SKILLS: Excellent _____ Good _____ Satisfactory _____ Poor _____

LEARNING OUTCOMES: (check is present)

a) The student applied math/science/engineering knowledge.
b) The student conducted experiments and analyzed data..
c) The student participated in designing a system, component, or process
to meet desired needs within constraints.
d) The student demonstrated the ability to work on TEAMS.
e) The student had experience solving engineering problems.
f) The student increased his/her understanding of professional and ethical responsibility as an engineer.
g) The student demonstrated the ability to effectively COMMUNICATE!
h) The student increased his/her understanding of the impact of engineering solutions on society.
(E.G. Recognize the harmful consequences of engineering errors, and benefits of rapid economical solution to problems,
in the business, the community and the environment.)
i) The student became aware of the need for lifelong learning in his/her/field.
j) The student encountered contemporary issues in his/her field.
k) The student experiences the use of techniques, skills, and modern engineering tools
commonly used in engineering practice.

This Report is accepted ___________ This Report is not accepted _____________

Remarks:______________________________________________________________________________

_______________________________________________________________________________________
 COOPERATIVE EDUCATION REPORT
MECHANICAL ENGINEERING
BUFFALO TRACE DISTILLERY

Dept. Faculty:______________________________________ Date:________________________________

 COOPERATIVE EDUCATION REPORT
MECHANICAL ENGINEERING
BUFFALO TRACE DISTILLERY

EMPLOYER DESCRIPTION
Buffalo Trace Distillery is a private company which is owned by the Sazerac Company

which is based in New Orleans, Louisiana. Buffalo Trace Distillery is a small company

on an industrial scale which has an employee total of approximately 400 employees.

Buffalo Trace Distillery principle products are bourbons and vodkas that are distilled on

site. They have various other kinds of alcohols that they solely bottle as well. Major

customers for Buffalo Trace are the common population of consumers. All of Buffalo

Trace Distillerys products are located in all liquor stores and restaurants across the

world. Buffalo Trace has many competitors that are located all over the world. Main

competitors are Jim Beam Distillery, Wild Turkey Distillery, Four Roses Distillery, and

Brown-Forman Distillery. Matt Bellus worked in the Maintenance department of Buffalo

Trace Distillery. He worked under Pat Stinson, Maintenance Engineer and Planner, Dale

Mason, Plant Engineer, and Richard Wojcik, Bottling Engineer.

 COOPERATIVE EDUCATION REPORT
MECHANICAL ENGINEERING
BUFFALO TRACE DISTILLERY

MAJOR RESPONSIBILITIES AND DUTIES

While _________ worked as a Co-op student at the Buffalo Trace Distillery he had many

responsibilities and projects. The following is a brief overview of what he did during the

___semester of ____. He first is immediately in charge of maintaining and managing the

overtime charts. The overtime charts is the system that was installed approximately 5

years ago to track the hourly mechanics wages and hours worked. Mechanics were

allowed to sign up for overtime for the Saturday of that week. Overtime is a very

expensive cost to pay, thus a very important job of maintaining and tracking all the costs

that the company is paying towards the expense. Another one of his duties was managing

and supervising a pair of maintenance men. It was his job to assign prioritized duties and

oversee the follow through of the task. It was also his duty for if the employees ran into

trouble or had concerns about the task to clarify and further evaluate the situation. For

example, while the labor was working on a control system for barrel removal they had the

question of how it works and why we do it. It was his job to further clarify and explain all

aspects of the task that was assigned. Another one of his tasks was to redefine an HMI for

the distillation column and pots to a more user friendly and process controlled interface.

He evaluated the process and came up with a program that can be used with a strong

instrumentation control rather than control by a human. This made the process much

more robust and was very easy to train new operators. His improvements to the

distillation HMI saw immediate results.

 COOPERATIVE EDUCATION REPORT
MECHANICAL ENGINEERING
BUFFALO TRACE DISTILLERY

EMPLOYER BENEFITS
While _________ was on coop at the Buffalo Trace Distillery he was in charge of

overhauling the processing and ingredient additive portion of the production process. The

existing processing building was severely dated with minimal controls. A Wonderware

HMI has already been installed within the building and he suggested that it was a good

idea to have a tank interlocking system. From this overhaul the addition of various

ingredients to products can be controlled. The previous system was based off

sightglasses and somewhat of tribal knowledge for the addition of ingredients. He

decided to setup a meeting with several engineering consultants. He met with each of

these companies and discussed the desired goal and he worked together with them in

order to come up with a design. Buffalo Trace is currently working towards a system of

batching with control, tank interlocks, in-line cutting and.

 COOPERATIVE EDUCATION REPORT
MECHANICAL ENGINEERING
BUFFALO TRACE DISTILLERY

STUDENT BENEFITS
A. I applied math/science/engineering knowledge through the project of processing and

tank interlocking project.

B. I conducted experiments and analyzed data by pulling data from level transmitters and

flowmeters to insure the accuracy and precision of processing.

C. I had participation in designing a system within constraints with the processing

building project. My constraints included cost, time, safety, and production lag.

D. I worked in a team when I attended several meetings concerning production numbers

and deadlines.

E. I solved engineering problems when I was able to track down the problem within a

circuit on a controlled valve. Using a multimeter to determine where the valve is failing.

F. I understand the need for professionalism in an engineer by working with problems

that needed to meet OSHA standards through and through.

G. I had to effectively communicate when it was crucial to get the bottling production

lines up and running. There was a corner ground delta system for the electric and

communication was crucial because it was a deadly system.

H. I recognized that if the systems are not designed correctly or are environmentally

flawed then it can seriously affect the surrounding area. I saw this through our treatment

ponds.
 COOPERATIVE EDUCATION REPORT
MECHANICAL ENGINEERING
BUFFALO TRACE DISTILLERY

I. I recognized from my supervisors that they too were learning things every day.

Lifelong learning in the engineering field and always listening is crucial.

J. I experienced that we are re-designing Buffalo Traces electrical system throughout the

plant. Switching most voltages to 480V, this will reduce costs of electric and in hand be

better for the environment.

K. During my learning I found that I used several tools. I used a multimeter,

megohmmeter, strobe RPM, HART communicator, AUTO CAD, Wonderware, and RS

Logix.