My second week at ESa has been wonderful! It flew by with Monday being a holiday. I spent pretty much the entire week working on sample ordering/organizing for 5 different healthcare projects. Five different designers each came to me (pretty last minute) needing samples immediately to use on finish or contractor boards. So I did A LOT of emailing back and forth with material reps to make sure the designers got all the samples they needed. All week I literally was receiving 20-30 packages a day full of samples! It got to be really confusing working on 5 different projects simultaneously, so I developed this organization system in our intern work space:
samples crowding our intern station
Each of the five projects has its own box, clearly labeled with project name, job number, and designer. When the samples come in, they go in the appropriate box and get crossed off the color coded finish list corresponding to that project. Whew! And that pretty much describes my week! I've learned so much about juggling multiple projects at the same time, and about how important it is to be organized! It is also important to always take notes and write everything down! With so many things going on at the same time, and dealing with so many different people, you'll never be able to remember every little detail.
Amidst my sample ordering and organizing I did many little tasks throughout the week as designers approached me needing help with their projects. I got to select last minute paint colors for a hospital in Jellico, TN, and then have samples of the colors sent overnight to the client for immediate review, as the project is already in construction. I also helped a designer begin her finish boards for a hospital (the boards will not be able to be completed until all of her samples come in...).
While last week was spent getting to know the interns and the ways of the office, this week I have begun to develop relationships with many of the designers. This week alone I have gotten a chance to work with Angela, Misty, Alana, Stephanie, Leslie Ann, Savannah, Abby, and Molly; each on a different project! It's a lot to keep up with but I am learning so much!
The company organizes projects into the following phases:
programming
schematic design
design development
contract documentation
construction administration
The interior designers are involved in each stage of the project, some more so than others. Most of the projects that I have been assisting with thus far are in the contract documentation or contract administration phase. Once a project reaches the contract administration phase, ESa has an entire department that takes over organization of the project, the contract administration, or CA group. Some of these people aren't even designers, some have been owners of construction companies themselves and therefore know all about what needs to happen in this phase. Big projects even require that these CA people move out to the construction site for a year or so while the project is built. There is one employee in the CA group that is in charge of all of ESa's submittals. Items in the construction administration phase that the interior designers are in charge of are RFI's (request for information), site visits, punch lists, etc.
Information between different members of this process is communicated via email, telephone, in house meetings between architects and designers, and conference calls. Intranet and internal networks help ESa employees share and access drawings, documents, finishes, etc. The company is well established, very organized, and has a system for everything.
my supervisor Leslie
This is my sweet supervisor Leslie! She started at ESa as an intern and has been with the company 10 years. She is in charge of the interning/co-op program and has helped to develop an orientation program for all interns. She told me that she was practically thrown in as a first time intern and years later wanted to make it easier for new interns by really creating a welcoming, learning atmosphere for students. Leslie is also in charge of organizing the weekly luncheons and meetings with reps!