Summer Intern — Powders | Project & Operations Focus
Location
Fonterra · Darfield, Canterbury, New Zealand
Summary
Worked on engineering, analytics, and operational improvement projects at the Darfield Powders site. Delivered a site-wide utility performance review using Seeq and on-plant validation, led a data-driven milk dryer wash optimisation project with implemented improvements, and built a dynamic Excel-based Gantt planning tool to schedule and analyse wash and maintenance activity.
Site Utility Performance Review (Engineering & Analytics)
- Prepared a site-wide utility performance report using Seeq, analysing electricity, steam, chilled water, compressed air, water, and other core site utilities to support cost forecasting, business decision-making, and performance comparison across other sites.
- Developed an understanding of how utilities support processing across the site (from milk treatment and dryers through to CIP systems and supporting operations).
- Reviewed and validated utility flow diagrams, metering schematics, and data tags to ensure analytics reflected real plant behaviour.
- Built and maintained Seeq workbenches and dashboards to visualise and trend utility usage across different plant areas.
- Completed engineering calculations where direct measurements were unavailable (e.g., chilled water energy use from flow and temperature data).
- Interpreted HV substation and electrical distribution information to understand site electricity supply.
- Used the plant HMI to cross-check operational states and validate analytical assumptions.
- Worked closely with site engineers and operations staff to resolve data gaps and keep outputs practical and usable.
Milk Dryer Wash Optimisation Project
- Led a data-driven project to understand and optimise milk dryer wash (CIP) turnaround times, with recommendations implemented on-site during the internship.
- Applied a structured define–measure–analyse approach to establish baselines before recommending improvements.
- Used Seeq analytics to study wash sequences, rinse times, and operational patterns.
- Spent significant time on-site during washes to observe execution first-hand, identify bottlenecks, and pinpoint opportunities to improve efficiency and task speed.
- Worked with wash operators, maintenance staff, and engineers to translate operational insight into analysis.
Project Management & Planning
- Designed and built a fully dynamic project management Gantt system in Excel to plan, track, and analyse wash and maintenance activity, including full dependency logic (FS, SS, FF, SF), critical path, float, and progress tracking.
- Built a scheduling tool with an adjustable Gantt time step so the same wash could be viewed from seconds/minutes through to hours and days.
- Implemented labelled, colour-coded Gantt timelines to improve sequencing clarity, accountability, and decision-making.
- Built a wash and maintenance history database with plan vs baseline comparison, enabling any wash to be selected and automatically visualised.
- Used the planning system to compare planned vs actual execution and highlight downtime drivers.
- Developed a draft dryer wash SOP based on operator best practice, vendor guidelines, and site-specific improvements (including step-by-step instructions and photo standards).
- Contributed to recommendations to make washes faster, more streamlined, and more consistent, with several improvements implemented on-site.
Key skills & tools
- Seeq (dashboarding and time-series analysis)
- Data validation against HMIs, diagrams, and metering schematics
- Define–measure–analyse workflow for process improvement
- Engineering calculations for inferred quantities
- Stakeholder collaboration with engineering and operations teams
- Excel-based scheduling and planning systems
Artifacts
Due to confidentiality and trade secrets, I can’t share internal Excel tooling publicly. The images below are safe-to-share internship artifacts.
