AIST Foundation Steel Intern Scholarship - Willy Korf
Morgan E. Cambron
This summer, I had the privilege of returning for a second year as an intern with Kiby Building Systems (KBS), A Nucor Co. I was placed in the estimating department, where I had the opportunity to learn from both estimators and quote engineers. Through this experience I was able to gain both technical skills as a civil engineer and soft skills such as communication and time management.
While working with the estimators, I gained a deeper understanding of the many steps and resources involved in producing a pre-engineered metal building system. At KBS, the successful completion of each project depends on every teammate. Each project begins with sales and estimating, and when it sells, the project coordinator, engineering, detailing, purchasing, production, and shipping teammates all work together to deliver a high-quality product to our customer. Each teammate must perform their part safely and efficiently so that the rest of the process can be executed. In estimating, I was able to learn the importance of each and every step of the process and the time and money that it takes to complete the project.
In addition to working with the estimators, I also trained under the quote engineers, who are responsible for estimating the weight of the more complex engineered elements in each quote. This part of my internship gave me a deeper understanding of the advantages, disadvantages, and limitations of metal building systems compared to conventional steel construction. I was able to learn the process of designing structures for different elements such as large clear spans, cranes, hangars, mezzanines, joist and high seismic conditions. Each quote I worked on I was able to learn something new and reinforced my ambition of pursuing a career in structural engineering.