It took Mechanical Engineering Technology student Brandon Doucet approximately ten seconds to say yes' to an opportunity that would take him across the world to Australia for six months.
While on a co-operative work placement with MacDon Industries, Brandon was working on a prototype for a new combine header that was completely new to the agriculture industry. When it came time to test the product in the field, his supervisors noticed the interest he had taken and asked if he would be willing to conduct the testing with Australian farmers.
Outstanding co-op experience at MacDon takes Brandon Doucet to the fields in Australia
"It was a big leap, I learned a lot about who I am and what kind of worker I am and what kind of work that I enjoy," says Brandon, who was 19 years old at the time of his co-op. "All in all I travelled every state and drove more than 30,000 kilometres - on the other side of the road. I got to see a lot of the country and met locals who had so many stories about farming and life."
The product Brandon was testing is the MacDon FD261 FlexDraper, which is now available publicly to farmers worldwide. The header is 61-feet long, which about ten feet more than the previous FD2 design and about double the length of a standard combine header used to harvest crops. The header also flexes to cover the ground better and produce a better yield.
The six months of field testing entailed working directly with Australian farmers, using their combines with the MacDon prototype header. Brandon would perform regular inspections, maintenance, upgrades, and operation of the prototype equipment in the field. He would also collect data from the hydraulic and electrical systems, which would then be relayed back to the engineering team in Winnipeg for further analysis.
"I really enjoy all the nitty gritty details of engineering testing, laying out what's being tested, why it's being tested and how the improvement can make a better product," says Brandon. "During this experience I really grew to respect how much documentation plays a role in engineering. Keeping things organized so it can be looked back on after each change, and using what was learned to continuously improve."
When Brandon first started his co-op with MacDon he had one more term left in the Mechanical Engineering Technology program before graduating. On top of the stint in Australia, he also had the opportunity to work on projects in cities across North America and decided to take a total of 16 months off from the program to gain the real-world experience.
Part of the reason he felt comfortable and confident in that decision was the reassurance from his instructor, Doris Peloquin, that the program would still be there for him to complete. She emphasized that having the diploma completed would help him in his career, but that there is value to taking on practical experiences when they present themselves.
"Co-op or internships give the students the ability to apply what they've learned during classwork in a real-world scenario. At RRC Polytech we do a good job of providing hands-on learning scenarios in class but it's not quite the same experience of what you gain from a real-world experience," says Doris. "There's networking and professionalism and learning their soft skills - especially that ability to communicate at different levels; with leaders and those on the shop floor, and interdepartmentally."
After graduating from RRC Polytech this June, Brandon plans to attend Lakehead University to obtain his Engineering Degree and aspires to work in Motorsport Engineering.
"Before my co-op with MacDon, I remember thinking there's no way I'd leave Manitoba. But now I know I can always travel, learn from different parts of the world, and then come home with new ideas or ways of doing things," says Brandon.
For more information about the Mechanical Engineering Technology program visit RRC Polytech's Program Explorer page.
