ENGINEERING AS A DAILY

ACTIVITY

HOW ENGINEERING IS PRESENT IN OUR

LIVES
Written by André Luís de Oliveira
 TABLE OF CONTENTS

A short introdution about myself.........................................................................3

My career before I became an engineer...........................................................4
My first contact with engineering.........................................................................5
Joining a technical school.......................................................................................9
The first job..............................................................................................................10
Starting in a big company....................................................................................12
Pratical application of technical knowledge....................................................15
Joining a university.................................................................................................19
Traveling to another state....................................................................................21
The return................................................................................................................23
Learning a new language.....................................................................................25
What we can take from my story.......................................................................26

1
2
A SHORT INTRODUCTION ABOUT MYSELF

I am André, I am 39 years old, I have been married for about 13

years. My wife is called Adriana. We have two kids. Our son is called João,
who is 10 years old and our daughter is called Adrielle she is 6 years old.
We live in a good house in BH. I am from Nova Lima city but when I got
married I moved to BH. We have three dogs, two tortoises and two birds.
Furthermore, we have many kinds of plants, like orchids, some trees and
a healthy vegetable garden. In my free times I like to use my knowledge
in engineering to build or repair things and teach my kids the things I
know.

3
 MY CAREER BEFORE I BECAME AN ENGINEER
A bit of my history
Since I was child I had contact with things
that had some relation with engineering. For
example my father was a driver, a really good
driver. He began driving big trucks in a mine
called MBR and always talked to my brothers
and me about his experience driving, we
tried imagining how it worked, how he could
control that big truck, and this was creating in
me a wish to have a closer contact with this
machine.
Then he started driving buses and this
experience was better than the other one
because he always stopped the bus near our
house to let us inside it and we enjoyed it a
lot, we could touch some parts of the bus to
simulate driving and look at that panel with
many lights and many buttons. I can
remember the many times that my father
had to travel and he invited us to go with him
and this for me was better than playing
soccer with my friends.
A strange thing happened when I was
looking for pictures on the internet, i found
this bus picture on the right side of the text,
and a saw that the driver was my father, I got
happy and sad in the same time. Happy
because I could find a picture with my father
and then because it makes me miss him.
I can remember that my father, in his
free time, liked to draw trucks, cars, buses
and I always tried to draw it too.

4
 MY FIRST CONTACT WITH
ENGINEERING
All of that created in me the desire to
find a course where I could learn more about
machines, maintenance, welding and all
things related to that. So, as my family had
not the conditions to pay for a preparatory
course for me, I studied a lot on my own to
be able to join in a mechanical industrial
course in a good school called SENAI. There I
could be in contact with machines, could gain
theoretical knowledge to continue my
learnig.
I could be in contact with machines to
build metalic pieces, machines to cut metal,
machines to create flat metallic surfaces,
machines to drill holes, and many other
extraordinary machines. All of this made me
more and more interested in this field. It was
a mix of theoretical and practical knowledge.

This is a machine to flatten surfaces of

metal and to make keyways out of some
pieces. This is a machine built by Rocco.
There we used to operate this machine
after the teacher's instruction and when we
were capable to operate it alone we would
help other students with their questions.
Another thing we learnt was to perform
maintenance on this machine. A good way to
learn more, put to practice the theorical
knowledge we acquired and help the school
be exempt of having to pay for it. Great
opportunity.

5
 This other machine is a lathe, a machine
for shaping wood, metal or other materials by
means of a rotating drive which turns the
piece being worked on against adjustable
cutting tools. It is a great machine, we have
many adjustments to do before starting, and
if you forget even one adjustment, there will
be a problem. We have to pay attention when
operating it because there are many
dangerous parts that can hurt us, as for
example the rotary axis. In that school I
learned to operate and to perform
maintenance on that machine as well.

To the right side of this paragraph is the

band saw, a simple machine used to cut
pieces of metals, wood, plastic, and many
other materials you wish. But the main
applications of it is to cut metal. As the other
machines we have to pay attention when
operating it because the saw blade is very
sharp and many times we have to hold the
piece to cut it with our own hands, so we have
to be very careful about it.

6
 There are many other machines used for teaching at SENAI but I think that these three I have shown
are the main ones. I can mention some others such as the welding machine, the drilling machine and the
milling machine as well as shown below respectively.

7
8
JOINING A TECHNICAL SCHOOL
All this contact with machines made me more and more interested in continuing studying more
about this field of knowledge.

So when I graduated from SENAI, I began to study to join a tecnical school called CEFET/MG, a great
school, the dream of many young people at that time. My desire was to join in a modality where I could
study full-time, starting in the morning and leaving in the afternoon. I was in both high school and in that
technical course at the time.

There I could learn more techinical things I had already learned in Senai, using more calculus,
upgrading some concepts, creating a technical basis for practice, building machines, writing technical
reports.
Then I could understand the diference between both courses. The technical one required a lot of
study all the time, you had to do the tasks many times over. The beginning was good because I just
studied, but when I began to work it became harder than before.

Operating machines

Projecting

9
THE FIRST JOB

By studying at CEFET the doors were

opened for me and I started an internship in a
company called Carbel which worked with car
maintenance. It was a good opportunity to put
in practice all I had already learned in my
course. There I had my first formal contact with
mechanics. I could learn to do maintenance in
many kinds of cars by VolksWagen.

In the begining it was so difficult

because it was a serious job and many
mechanics did not like to put interns to work
with their cars, so the only occupation they
gave us was to wash pieces from motor
using Thinner and other solvents and
change tires and wheels all the time.
Everyday we had to do it and did not
learning anything at that time.

10
 But with the passing of time I was learning more and more and I could do more things like
connecting a device to the cars used to find possible problems with it and after discovering the problem
could be corrected, although i did not worry about getting my hands dirty with grease and oil, I liked it.

Car service. Scanning.

Graphical interface. Diagnostic
alignment of the wheels.
Check of shock-absorbers,
brake system and the steering
mechanism.

In the beginning just a few mechanics would ask for my help, so, as I became better many of them
began asking me for help and some times was possible for me to take a car alone to do maintenance on
my own.

When my internship there was ending my boss asked me if I had the desire to continue working
there as a professional, in the first moment this sounded wonderful for me but, unfortunately, when I got
the exams including the blood exam, I discovered that I had a problem with my platelets, the quantity
was low. This was bad for me because I was starting my carreer as mechanic and discovered that with
this problem I had to avoid contact with oil, grease, Thinner and all products derived from petroleum.
This time my brother was working at MBR, which today is known as Vale, and had the opportunity to offer
me a job there but only to work with maintenance.

11
 STARTING IN A BIG COMPANY
So I started to look for other jobs in other areas of occupation and after many tries, I could find
one and was hired by Vallourec & Mannesmann Tubes as an intern to work at an office using a
computer making spread sheets, reports, meetings, some projects, designing, and many other
things that did not compromise my health.
The Vallourec & Manesmann, today known only by Vallourec, is a great company that began
operating here in Belo Horizonte in 1954. The company builds their tubes independently. The
company's main product is pipe rolling. This process is very dinamic.
At the beginning of this process, the cylindrical steel billet of different diameters are directed
to the heating furnace. After a certain time in the oven, the blocks are sent to the perforating
laminator and then sent to the automatic laminator to adjust the internal and external
measurements of the tubes, remembering that these tubes are seamless. After this process, the
tubes are directed to the reelers to give the tubes an internal and external finish. Then the tubes
are sent to another oven for tempering and finally the tubes are directed to circular saws to cut the
ends and leave them in the final length. Once this process is completed, the tubes are tied in
bundles and directed to the storage areas.

Schematic drawing of the

fabrication of seamless tubes

12
 I could learn more about this process and it was the first time I had contact with a company
that had this many big machines like the ones made for cutting tubes and steel billets with saw
blades, overhead crane and many other robust machines.

13
14
PRACTICAL APPLICATION OF TECHNICAL KNOWLEDGE
Working there I could practice more of my abilities with projects and designing that I had learned in
CEFET. I stayed working there for about one year and a half and as I grew my network with other
companies inside V&M as a service provider and as I knew I had no chance to become an employee from
V&M, I got an interview in a company called Kampmann, a German company that works with saw blades,
like in the pictures below, to attend the Vallourec exclusively. I ingressed there for an internship again but
with many positive recomendations so I could join the company.

This is the kind of saw blade

more used in Vallourec.

This is the kind of saw blade

more used in Vallourec.

I started there in a technical area adjusting some machines used for cutting pipes with a circular saw
blade. A good and unique experience because it is such an exclusive area. I used to do technical
adjustments to obtain a better cutting performance.
We have to consider the cutting parameter for each application. These parameters are divided in
three steps, saw parameters, machine parameters and material parameters. For example, considering
the saw parameter, we have the diameter and the quantity of teeth. Considering the machine parameter,
we have the cutting speed and the cutting advance. So considering the material parameter, in this case
the pipes, we have the diameter, the thickness and the composition of it.
And anytime a client had some kind of problem with cutting, I had to do the intervention in the
process to obtain the most efficiency possible.

15
Some examples of pipe cutting
machines

There we also worked with recycling saw blades to make them useable again. This process is the best for
most of the clients because the price paid is cheaper than if they had to pay for a new one. And in
practice, the result is the same.

16
 For example in the process of cutting pipes, it is normal for the blade's teeth to break and when it
happens, the performance of cutting is not so good for the machine, the electric current starts growing
and this can bring serious problems for the machine. So when it happens we collect the saw blade from
the client, or the client sends it to our factory and there we make the visual inspection to obtain the list of
services needed, so we can provide the client with an estimate of the price. After this we receive the
approval and forward the service to the factory.

The broken teeth are changed and other ones are added through the welding process as shown below:

On the right-hand side of the page we have a

welding process to add new hard metal teeth
to obtain a more resilient cutting.

Here we have a picture of a saw blade with a break in a

tooth that extends to its body. And in this case we have
to start a welding process to reconstitute the body first
and than we add a new tooth.

17
After this the saw blade
is put in the sharpener
for circular blades that
leaves it in a state that
allows it to cut metals
again as if it was a new
one.

The machine is
capable of working
with saw blade
ranging from small
ones to big ones
as shows in the
picture to the left-
hand side of the
page.

18
 This is the appearance of a
reconditioned saw, which is the same
as the appearance of new ones. It is
difficult to know the difference. But in
some cases it is possible to see that
the saw was reconditioned because it
was broken in many areas.

After six months working there my boss asked me to join the team as an employee. This was the first
time I was working as a professional. I started as budgeter making business proposals to sell new saw
blades and to offer services like reconditioning of saw blades from Vallourec clients mainly.

JOINING A UNIVERSITY
After one year working as a professional my boss asked me if i wanted to join a univesity and that he
would help me with a scholarship. This for me was wonderful because was going to pay for it. My
university alone was already too expensive for me and this would be an open door for me to apply and
later be accepted in a university.

So, I got into a University called Pitágoras in a course called Mechanical Engineering. This course was
a complement to all my previous courses, a complement to my career.

There I could have my first contact with the infamous subject of Calculus, the most difficult subject in
Engineering. Now I can say that it is really difficult but not impossible to understand. I was able to do it
and get the right grades to pass to the next term.

Many other subjects were so easy for me because I had already taken them in the technical course
and this helped me very much.

I continued studying at Pitágoras through the scholarship my boss provided me until the date I left
the company because I had to travel to another state. My wife had received an irrefutable proposal for a
job in Espítito Santo, so I withdrew from my course here in MG and went on that trip.

19
20
 TRAVELING TO ANOTHER STATE
Arriving in Espirito Santo state, I got into a University called FAACZ Faculdade de Aracruz in the same
course to continue my studies and get hired by a factory called Imetame, a great company, as a technical
buyer. Before my eyes a new horizon appeared, something that I had never had the opportunity to work
with before.
This new company worked with metallic structures in large dimensions for big companies like
Petrobras, Fibria, Suzano, CST and many other big companies. There I could for example learn more
about other applications of pipes that I had some contact with before. The pipes were prepared in a
welding process by joining conections to conduct oil for Petrobras, for example.
Another role this company had was the maintenance of petroleum platform for Petrobras. The
platforms are located in the midle of the sea, far from everything. Generally, before people stay there,
they have to go through severe training to see if they will resist to living there for about fourteen days,
working twelve hours a day, without their family, without dogs, without trees, without cars, nothing. But
generally they make a great salary working there and this rewards the effort. Then they have twenty rest
days until they return.
As the platforms are built from metallic structures and the sea is rich in salt, the structure starts to
through a process of corrosion although the materials used are special and resistent to it.
So Imetame has a contract to perform maintenance on the platforms, changing the plates, screws,
nuts, pipes and many other components that have deteriorated. In many cases it was necessary to
perform submerged welding on the new plates and other metallic parts of the platform, a dangerous
and professional job.

Picture of submerged welding

process taking place

21
Pictures of a platform Imetame has a
contract with

22
 As the company is so big, there were nine buyers, each one in a specific area, my function was to
hire services which, for me, was more complex than other areas. Generally the value of the contracts was
so high that they needed a supervisor's approval and many times the director's approval. Then I could
put in practice my technical knowledge to compare the offers received by different providers.

THE RETURN

My time at Imetame lasted for about nine months, then I returned to BH, and had to withdraw
from my course in ES to continue it in MG.
Fortunately I could rejoin Pitagoras and this time to finish my mechanical engineering course and
join a new company called Qualytek Estruturas in which I still work to this day.
This new company works with metallic structures, mainly for telecomunications. Telecom towers
are a generic description of radio masts and towers built primarily to hold telecommunications antennae.
As such antennae often have a large area and must be precisely pointed out, such towers have to be
designed and built to limit wind-induced movement. When many many antennae are put on one tower it
is necessary to reinforce its struture to suport the weight of the antennae, so we receive the structural
project and build the metallic reinforcement.

The picture shows the many kinds of cellphone

towers there are. Usually they are painted in red
and white for aircraft warning features.

23
 The place where the tower is fixed is called a site and we have a greenfield site and a rooftop site.
The greenfield sites are located in a field, generely on a floor level and the rooftop sites are located on
top of buildings or in building's storefront as shown below:

Example of a greenfield site

Example of a rooftop site.

Antennas in building's storefront

24
 In telecom all material receives a treatment called galvanization, a process of metallic coating using
zinc as the main component. This material can resist to several weather factors, avoiding corrosion and
guaranteeing the integrity of the material wherever it is.

Pictures showing the process of galvanization. It

has the appearance of silver or aluminium.

There are many other products in telecom as vertical metallic towers, suports to antennas, stairs,
platforms and many other accessories.

LEARNING A NEW LANGUAGE

Studying Engineering on its own is not sufficient, I discovered that I had to learn English as well, so I
started studying English in the best English school of BH, FISK. I took a placing test and started studying
in a modality called PPT, an opition where you can control your rhythm of study, you can study at home
and during the class you can any questions that come up. For me it has been good because sometimes I
have to work hard and need to arrive late for class.
Now, with the pandemic, all classes have to be taken on-line but personally I can say that in-person
classes helped me develop more than the way we are studying now, I think that the contact with people
and being able to speak with other people there or even just hearing students talking in another
classroom helps very much.
But despite everything I am very grateful to Fisk, to the Coordination, Teachers and especially
teacher Matheus who guided me more precisely about conversation in this last module of the course. I
hope to be able to continue studying this wonderful language that has now become essential for all of us
and especially for my career.
Today I can help my wife and my son who are learning English too.

25
 WHAT WE CAN TAKE FROM MY STORY
With all that has been said in this magazine, I can say that everything revolves around
engineering. That means all the courses I have taken so far, the companies I have worked
until today and even the English course I am taking, everything is connected to engineering
for me and if it is God's will, I am still going to do plenty of things that are connected to
engineering, a good choice I made for me and that makes me feel good.

26