Career episode 1 Introduction

1) In the first career episode I would like to describe the project I took part in. I worked as a
Managing Electrical Engineer at the ******. In the period from October 3, 2002 to October 29, 2002 updating of all the rail automatic, remote control and communication systems on the **** station, ***** region took place. I took part in the upgrading as a team leader. The team I managed consisted of 9 electro mechanics. Background

2) After I graduated from ****** University in 2001, I needed to apply my engineering

knowledge in automatics, remote control and communications field. According to the contract with the ******** on the railway, I had to work for the company for 3 years. The company was a member of the joint-stock corporation, Russian Railways. The main purpose of the company was providing safe rail transportation by the proper functioning of automatic and electronic devices. The company serviced relay and electronic devices on the area of railway between ***** railway station and ******* railway station. Also the company performed upgrading automatic and remote control railway equipment. The total number of railway stations serviced was 30. The area serviced by the company was about 400 kilometers long. 3) The department I lead dealt with installation, schedule replacement and servicing of relay and semiconductor devices of automatic railway equipment. The department performed a very important and responsible job of providing safe rail transportation. The department I managed consisted of two parts. The first part serviced relay devices and the second one serviced semiconductor devices for automatic and remote control railway systems.

4) I gathered information provided by the companys technical staff about the working of all
relay and electronic devices which were operated in our area. I analyzed this information and if any device failures occurred I lead the investigation committee. Then I presented the final results about the reasons of failure to Chief Engineer of the company. I regularly communicated with engineers of other specialties working in our establishment in the form of meetings and investigate existing and possible causes of device failures. I pointed out the most possible solutions and developed different kinds of activities that we could apply to our work and improve devices of automatic and remote control systems making them more reliable. I constantly improved my English language skills in order to be acquainted with the recent publications in science magazines and literature. I regularly read different scientific web-sites such as Scientific Daily.

5) In August, 2002, expert commission of the ****** decided to upgrade all the railway
automatic, remote control and communication equipment at **** railway station. Many experienced specialists in the field of electronics and relay railway automatic and remote control equipment were sent to perform the upgrading. Modern equipment was purchased and delivered to the station. I was one of three people who were sent from our company. 6) I took part in the upgrading as a leader of 9 experienced electro mechanics. My team had two very responsible tasks. First task was to set up and tune the electricity power supply equipment of the station. Second one consisted in linking up, launching and tuning all the electronic and relay equipment for the part of railway switches. Daily I presented working results of my team for the Chief Manager of the project. I discussed all the problems my team and other teams had. I always proved my decisions to the Chief Manager and other team leaders. I coordinated the work, my team performed with other team leaders and the Chief Manager.

Personal Workplace Activity

7) My direct duties as a leader of the team were as follows : Analyzing and planning the working schedule of my team. I gave out individual

tasks for each member of my group and set deadlines for each task. Controlling all the activities of the group I lead. Checking and monitoring the work which my team performed. Coordinating my teams work with other groups, because every group depended on each other. Reviewing reports of my team members, gathering information, preparing final daily report and presenting it to the Chief Manager of the project at daily meetings. Making all the necessary engineering calculations for setting on and launching automatic, remote control equipment of railway switches and power supply equipment. I was responsible for linking up, tuning railway automatic and remote control devices of railway switches. Setting up, tuning and linking up power supply equipment of the railway automatic and remote control equipment.

8) Before I started my work in this upgrading I studied all the information about the
requirements of the project. I analyzed and estimated the time and manpower needed for performing the tasks I received. I estimated the complexity and implementation terms of these tasks. My experience of working as a Managing Electrical Engineer at the Service department, made possible for me to estimate target dates for different kinds of work, to choose an optimal strategy and to foresee the time needed for solving possible difficulties which emerged during process of device launching. I was a valuable team member, because I was very experienced specialist in the field of tuning and setting on new electronic devices.

9) As an experienced engineer I constantly applied my engineering knowledge, for

example, I made calculations for cables which were used in remote control systems of railway switches. The switches were located about half a kilometer away from the stations electrical signalbox. That is why it was very important to calculate properly the electrical sag of the cable. This sag could significantly reduce the voltage of the railway switches. I made these calculations and according to them I chose the relevant types of cable. All the railway switches, I made calculation for, worked properly.

10) I also performed calculations of maximum and nominal power values for power supply
equipment. It supplied power for all devices providing safe rail transportation and it was highly important to get accurate results. I gathered information about all the electrical devices in the station. I calculated the sum of the electrical power of these devices. On the basis of this data I calculated the operating modes of the power supply equipment. These modes included all possible working conditions for the equipment. The most critical mode was a short circuit mode, because the fault probability in this case was very high. I made calculations for protecting cutout and protective grounding of the power supply equipment. I checked the working of the power supply equipment in these modes. The equipment worked properly in all the conditions.

11) On a regular basis I conducted staff meetings for the members of my team. We shared
experiences, discussed difficulties we had and I gave the next day task for each member of the group. A very significant part of my work with staff was to explain the assignments for each team member and to make team planning. Also at these meetings I got daily reports from the team members. I reviewed them, added my comments and then prepared a final report to the Chief Manager of the upgrading.

12) I paid special attention to electro mechanics of my group, supervising their work. It was
very important to control the quality of their work. Also I gave regular consultations for team members regarding the launching and setting up of new devices. I reviewed all the submitted proposals and chose the best ones. Also, as an experienced specialist in working with electronic devices, I provided consultations for the members of my and other teams.

13) Fulfilling my duties I usually worked with other teams. Finding the appropriate solutions
for the upgrading I worked as an active team leader. Thanks to my professional activity I achieved trust and respect among my colleagues. I was known as an experienced specialist, always ready to answer the questions which were in my field. I often consulted with other engineers of different fields. I cooperated with other electronics and electrical engineers who worked in other areas of this upgrading.

14) After completing the work for railway switches and the power supply equipment I made
the final check. Then I prepared all the supporting documentation (final specification, explanatory notes and schematic diagrams) for the staff who will service the equipment in the future. I am sophisticated in usage of Visio and Microsoft Office and I used these programs to prepare the documentation. I made a final presentation of devices which my team set up. I explained in details the functioning of all the electronic and relay equipment and the decisions which I used in the upgrading. Summary

15) Taking part in this project, I demonstrated applying of my electronic engineering skills. I
made various engineering calculations in the field of electronics and electrical engineering. These calculations were very important and played significant role in the upgrading. I proved myself as an experienced specialist in the field of setting up and launching railway automatic and remote control equipment. I demonstrated my human resources managing skills as a team leader. All the tasks I received I accomplished efficiently well within the required time. I always followed standards and codes relevant to my specialty.