HEAPY

Plumbing Engineering Co-op

May - July 2024 • Dayton, OH

What I liked

As a incoming Sophomore taking this co-op I was aware that I would not be getting assigned tasks that would be assigned if I was a Junior or Senior in college. However, I still had responsibilities every day I came in the office. I would always ask if any of my colleagues had any work for me to do such as creating sheets, fixing schedules, piping up a building, changing specs, or finalize a project with markups. If there wasn't work for me to do I would then watch training videos to help understand the tasks that were given to me.

What I wish was different

As a Mechanical Engineering major I was hoping I would dip my toes in HVAC a little to gain some insight of what a mechanical engineer does in the corporate realm. Since HEAPY was swamped with big projects, they were not able to give me a time to explore new departments. With the many responsibilities I had, there was a time where I wasn't learning anything new and would be doing similar tasks every week. In addition of how they were occupied this summer, sometimes the team would not give me work and leave me watching videos all day for a few days in a week. I do believe I did not gain experience to its fullest potential.

Advice

Co-oping at HEAPY is a great place to understand corporate companies and how they undergo big projects. As a plumbing engineer, not only did I learn the plumbing side of MEP but also the electrical and mechanical side as well. HEAPY is a good start to have your first co-op with because they also teach the basics of what being in the office looks like. They don't have any high expectations, don't be afraid to make mistakes or ask questions because they know how big of a learning curve it is.

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Mechanical Engineering Plumbing Design Co-op

May - August 2024 • Kettering, OH

What I liked

My responsibilities at Heapy were mainly to support the plumbing engineers and designers. I used the software Revit to draw plumbing systems. This included existing conditions, demolition work, and new construction. As well as various other tasks such as correcting markups a designer may have made on drawings. Overall, for this being my first co-op, I am very happy with how it went. My colleagues were very smart, friendly people who were always very helpful in answering the many questions I asked throughout the summer. This allowed me to learn so much about something that I had just about zero knowledge on prior. It showed me how much Heapy cares greatly about their co-ops and want them to learn and grow throughout their time there.

What I wish was different

I feel I learned a lot about piping standards and sizing. I wish I could have learned a little more about the equipment used in plumbing systems. Seeing how the designers went about solving the problems surrounding equipment was very interesting to me. During my time there I was able to go on a site visit to Dayton Children's which was the first time I had been on a construction site and it was very insightful. So one of the only other things I can think of is maybe being able to get on site a few more times to be able to see what I am doing in Revit in real life.

Advice

Ask questions. At first I was nervous asking the people I had just met a bunch questions thinking I would be a burden to them. But there were countless times the people around me would spend great lengths of time at my desk explaining something new to me. As my time there went on, I found myself asking less and less. Asking questions allowed me to work more efficiently and more independently over time. Yes there will always be something new that you do not know the answer to, but there is a good chance that someone around you does.

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Technology Engineering Co-Op

January 2024 • Dayton, OH

What I liked

The atmosphere and colleague-first attitude at HEAPY is incredibly unique. Everyone I met was always more than willing to help me with a smile on their face. There was no such thing as a bad question, except for the one you didn't ask. Everyone on my team made me feel like I was supposed to be there, and I never felt like a burden for having to ask people to explain things to me. I also was able to work on real projects and have a real impact almost immediately, which made the experience very engaging and fun.

What I wish was different

I wish I would have asked more questions from the beginning. I was very timid at first, and missed out on a few opportunities because I was afraid to speak up. Everyone at HEAPY is very outgoing and personable, and I wish I would have utilized that from the beginning.

Advice

Make connections within both the company and your team. There are various branches within HEAPY, and it may be that you want to explore a different area of work in the future. Having a good connection with other employees makes working more enjoyable, and HEAPY has some of the best colleagues around. If you need help, don't be afraid to ask, because there is a good chance someone has had the same issue you have.

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Engineering Co-Op

January - April 2023 • Dayton, OH

What I liked

I really enjoyed the projects that I got to work on. I worked for the Building Optimization Group (BOG) at HEAPY, which focuses on commissioning and energy analyses. My main passion for engineering is to be able to work in the sustainability and energy field, and this co-op already provided me an opportunity to do that. Some of the projects that I worked on included creating and testing functional tests for lighting controls, developing final reports for commissioning projects, and performing energy calculations and trend data review for an energy audit. I also really liked that site visits were made a priority. My team made sure to get me out into the field whenever a good opportunity came up. Over the course of my co-op I got see generator and air handling unit testing, as well as test VAV boxes and lighting controls myself. These were great learning opportunities that reinforced the work I did in the office. Finally, I loved the culture and work environment at HEAPY. My team was extremely supportive of my development and everyone I worked with made an effort to help me. I definitely felt like I was a valued member of the team at HEAPY.

What I wish was different

I wish that I had more consistent, long-term projects and work to do. Most of the work I did for BOG were small bursts that helped move a project from one phase to the next. The energy audit I helped with was one of the few projects I worked on from start to finish. While I recognize that this was the nature of the BOG, it still made work inconsistent and not as rewarding at times. I think that if I had more experience and knowledge I would be able to contribute to projects more and have a more steady stream of work towards a singular goal.

Advice

Don't be afraid to ask for help. Commissioning and energy analysis was a side to engineering that I really had no idea about. This meant that everything I worked on was completely new to me. As a result, I was often confused and unsure of what to do. Luckily, the BOG goes out of their way to help you if you reach out. The work will be new and confusing, but good communication will ensure that you don't fall behind.

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Engineering Co-op

May - August 2022 • Kettering, OH

What I liked

I enjoyed how open everyone at the company was to answering my questions and just talking about what specifically they did. My team also made sure to tailor my experience to what I wanted. For example, I wanted to make sure to go on a few site visits and they made it happen. It was also really rewarding seeing how much autonomy I gained in my tasks as the summer progressed because they trusted in my work.

What I wish was different

I wish I had spent more time in the beginning meeting more colleagues. It has been fun interacting with them but I wish I had done it sooner. Also, it would have been nice if I took note of who to go to for what when I first met them. Like go to this person for timesheet questions, this person for access to your software, or this person for tech problems. I figured it out over time, but it is good to just have that info from the beginning.

Advice

With this and any co-op, make sure to ask lots of questions. It not only helps so you're not sitting there struggling but also shows that you're invested in your own learning experience. Take the extra time initially to figure out the why behind the work you are doing because they will keep using terms over and over again and you will be able to understand what's going on. To help make asking questions easier, get to know the people around you.

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Mechanical Engineering Intern

May - August 2020 • Dayton, OH

What I liked

Heapy is a fantastic company with some of the best mentors. They are dedicated to helping the students learn and hold monthly progress meetings.

What I wish was different

This was an interesting time in history and I think Covid had a big impact on the company.

Advice

This was a great experience to have for anyone considering this position I would recommend it. This is a wonderful company where you will get the chance to socialize and meet many professionals.

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