Bachelor of Engineering (Hons) in Mechanical Engineering
Working alongside the most powerful brands in manufacturing
Lorraine Stewart developed a keen interest in mechanical engineering from a very early age leading her to a career with the most powerful brands in the manufacturing industry and access to global career opportunities.
A Senior Manufacturing Engineer at Terex GB, Lorraine contributes to producing the equipment that builds roads, bridges, hospitals, schools and other structures that help improve the lives of people throughout the world. For example, Terex machines were used in preparation for London 2012 as well as to assist with clean-up operations in countries after natural disasters.
Following in her father’s footsteps in mechanical engineering, Lorraine developed an interest for all things mechanical.
“My father is a car mechanic and from an early age I was interested in his work. I enjoyed finding out how different parts of the cars worked and why certain parts broke or needed to be replaced. I was the kind of child that was forever taking things apart to see how they worked”, laughs Lorraine.
“At school I enjoyed science and maths related subjects and choose to do maths, biology and chemistry at higher level for my Leaving Certificate. At first, I was unsure what course to pursue at third level. I spoke with a careers guidance teacher who advised me to consider mechanical engineering as it would be a good fit with my interests in maths and science.”
“I was accepted to study a B.Eng (Hons) in Mechanical Engineering at ATU Donegal. I was apprehensive as I had not previously studied engineering or physics, as many of the other students had. However, I found the modules interesting and enjoyable and because of this I was willing to put in the extra work. I found being strong in maths was a major advantage to me as it is at the core of most engineering modules. I graduated in 2014 with a first-class honours degree.
ATU Donegal has strong links with industry and the courses are developed with input from industry and industry needs in mind. The course modules are designed to prepare graduates for the skills that are required to excel in the world of mechanical engineering. After graduation, Lorraine joined Terex, GB. Terex manufactures equipment used in the construction, quarrying and mining industries and has facilities all over the world including Dungannon and Omagh.
“I began working for Terex in Dungannon in June 2014 as a design engineer on the heavy duty screens team. I was responsible for design changes to our screeners to ensure ease of manufacturing and to optimise performance for our customers. This provided excellent opportunities to work in conjunction with other areas of the company such as sales, production and aftersales to support our machines throughout their lifetime. In February 2017 I took up a new position as a Manufacturing Engineer with Terex at their Omagh site. Since then I have been promoted to Senior Manufacturing Engineer and now lead a team of engineers that support the fabrication department and design jigs and fixtures for the factory”.
“My day to day work involves designing jigs, fixtures and material handling solutions for the Omagh manufacturing facility. I work with various areas of production from fabrication to main build to design solutions to address their health and safety, quality and improvement concerns. I complete the design and drawings and work in conjunction with our fabrication department to facilitate the jigs through production and quality conformance checks”.
I also support the fabrication department. This involves solving issues such as missing and incorrect piece parts, preparing and supporting prototype builds and continuous improvement projects. No two days are ever the same and I enjoy the challenges the role brings.
Graduating with a degree in Mechanical Engineering from ATU Donegal helped Lorraine to thrive and enjoy a career that incorporates her lifelong interests!