GHT Limited Internship | heatonengineering

Summer 2018 - GHT Limited Internship

In the summer of 2018, I interned with GHT Limited, a M.E.P design consulting firm in Arlington, Virginia . As an intern in the base building studio, I assisted the plumbing group by creating a master resource sheet for future projects. This sheet included the template for a project cover sheet as well AutoCAD representations of plumbing equipment. Having no previous experience in the commercial real estate field, I was introduced to building codes and principles of plumbing design. This opportunity changed the way I enter buildings in how I now look at the different components of what makes buildings comfortable to its inhabitants.

Furthermore, I was able to learn skills in the software programs of AutoCAD MEP 2016 and Bluebeam Revu in the fulfillment of assisting designers in project changes. I was fortunate to also go on site-visits with my group leader. This gave me experience in learning how to read building drawings while in the field and then make appropriate changes in AutoCAD when back at the office.

Below are some images of me while working at GHT Limited, including pictures of me while on site-visits to Crystal City, a neighborhood in Arlington, Virginia which is to undergo changes in the future.

At the conclusion of my internship, I was able to collect some of the larger engineering lessons that I learned firsthand through work on various projects under my group leader as well as listening to more experienced engineers talking about their projects:

Engineering is about protecting life. This was applied after learning about fire protection systems and the priority of protecting human life first, equipment second.
Keeping the end user in mind. Although I was able to apply this to my work on the human powered vehicle project, this was re-established when I overheard a mechanical engineer talking about the comfort of a church congregation on a renovation project.
Finding the balance between completing the job right versus completing the job right now. I think this is a challenge that applies to every industry, but this lesson I learned from listening to one of the project managers in the base building studio.
An iterative process. This I learned first-hand with editing drawing plans a week prior, and then changing piping to better suit the room's needs.