Field/Office Engineer Internship

Kiewit Corporation

Working for the Underground District Shop

As one of the largest construction companies in the country, Kiewit has a number of different divisions. I spent time with their underground (tunneling) district, in the shop that designed and built equipment for all kinds of different jobs. As a Field/Office Engineer Intern, I shadowed the Project Engineers overseeing the jobsite and learned valuable management and engineering skills.

My primary responsibilities included managing/tracking costs and materials, preparing work plans, assuring quality control, scheduling equipment, and procurement. While there, I was also responsible for weekly safety reviews around the jobsite and developed new marketing materials for the shop catalog.

The main project I worked on involved repurposing several old semi-trailers into portable workstations. The Energy District commissioned us to create trailers specifically designed to be used while laying power transmission lines across the country.

  • Several similar trailers existed elsewhere in the company, so I visited those with my team to get an idea of what the client was looking for. Following several meetings with the client, a wish list of features was compiled and work began on designing the interior and purchasing the basics.

  • Once an idea was formed, I began working with one of the senior CAD engineers to develop the interior hardware for the trailer. Custom racks, fuel containers, office spaces, and a back deck were all implemented into the final product. I then was tasked with finding suitable trailers and other basic components for ordering.

  • Once the trailers arrived in the shop, the skilled outside teams of painters, electricians, and welders got to work preparing the trailer for completion. Following initial prep, work began on the interior. As electrical systems were put in place and equipment was fabricated, I was sent to conduct safety and quality control checks on the shop floor. My intenship ended before the trailers were finished, but they were successfully completed eventually!