Kyle's placement year with Müller!

Kyle Reed is a third-year student, passionate about his MEng Agricultural Engineering studies. In today’s blog he shares about how his degree is preparing him for working in the engineering industry, particularly now during his placement year with Müller.

“Engineering has always been an ambition of mine,” Kyle explained. “Having taken related subjects in school and college, understanding how something is designed, sourced, manufactured, tested and marketed has always fascinated me - even from the smallest items such as bottle lids through to high precision Rolls Royce jet engine turbine blades.”

Prior to pursuing higher education, the 22-year-old from Devon spoke to working engineers, discovering that experience would be key to entering the field. Then he found Harper Adams - offering him both the opportunity to work in the sector while studying new and emerging technology and skills, gaining an industry recognised degree in the process.

Kyle commented: “I visited Harper on an open day and it was quite clear from the start that it was different. The department had taken time to sit down with employers and accrediting bodies to write the course programme, to ensure it provided the sector with industry ready engineers.

“The course itself is engaging, practical and real-world focused; you can easily envision your destination through your learnings and will always have the support to achieve them.”

Seeking more from his practical learning to complement his studies, Kyle applied to Müller as a Continuous Improvement (CI) Intern for his year long placement. Working at the Telford site, his role is extremely varied and has seen him develop new skills to match the demands of his role.

Kyle said: “I didn’t know what to expect when I took the job for a dairy company as it was an industry I had little experience in. Nonetheless, I was keen to get involved and see what it was all about.

“My job within the company is to help make the factory more efficient and increase the OEE (the standard efficiency metric).

“Much of this is influenced by data and technical engineering skills. I have been part of a team developing interactive reporting of production data, allowing for more in-depth analysis of lean manufacturing tools, and understanding the root cause of any machinery breakdowns or variations to rectify them easily.”

Kyle explained some of the other projects he has undertaken since starting his internship. He said: “Since starting I have led a visual management project where I worked closely with the Senior Management team.

“They wanted to convey the company strategy through to the factory floor to enable people to understand the ‘why’ behind the decisions the company was making. This project was intended to aid understanding of production workers and engage them to help with the push for a higher efficiency. The ‘Journey into Work at Müller’ project was displayed on the factory floor and received compliments from Müller Group management who came for a site visit from Germany.

“Another project I have been involved in is aiming to improve the factory efficiency by 21%, working with all staff on developing their skills. I have always wanted to develop my public speaking skills and have been extremely lucky to have had the support of highly experienced people to help me reach this goal.”

Having now been in his role for a few months, Kyle is thoroughly enjoying his work. He shared: “The team at Müller are very supportive and understanding; I’m really enjoying my work here so far!”

Kevin Storer, Continuous Improvement Manager and Kyle’s manager spoke about his performance: “Kyle has settled into his role at Müller very quickly and started to add value to the company immediately. He is actively involved in several improvement activities that are running at Telford that are helping to improve the efficiency of the plant.”

Kyle will return to Harper Adams to continue his studies on campus in September. 

For further information on Harper Adams placement opportunities, please click here.