Work Experience - Less Common Metals



I arrived at LCM with Ian Higgins (LCM's managing director and my Dad) early on the first day. He gave me a detailed tour of the entire factory. I was impressed by the diverse range of jobs the factory required. Less common metals is a rare earth alloy manufacturing company and it was nice meeting lots of people from different sectors. I even had the chance to package some aluminium (as you can see below) and also watch a sample testing. The majority of the time at LCM, however, I spend doing database management.

On the first day I met James Griffiths, the person responsible for the company's database system. We had a very detailed conversation about LCM's database and I was surprised at really how vital the database is for the company's operations. Every sector of the company seemed to rely on the database one way or another, whether it is to record metal stock, client names, orders etc... I was even given an old copy of the company's database and so I had the opportunity to look through it thoroughly. Years worth of data has been stored on these databases and so I was able to appreciate just how complex the system must be.

Over the next few days I was given the chance to learn more about databases and Microsoft Access. I sat at a desk and got to grips with the software whilst learning more about it on the Internet. James often came to check on me and answer some of the questions I had. I learnt about the four key components of databases in Access - Tables, Queries, Forms and Reports. It is the combination of these four which help to produce a good database. Towards the end of the placement, and after I had at least a beginner level of knowledge, I attempted to make my own small database. I managed to make use of Forms, Tables and Queries to produce my own football players database. The database stored information about premier league players and their information. Through the form, different players could be searched for with their criteria e.g. nationality or price. A query would then run to return the results.

My time at LCM was very enjoyable and I felt I had learned a lot - not only about databases but also about how computer science operates within a company. It was a valuable experience and I'm happy to understand more about what type of environment I may wish to work in when I am older.



Packaging Aluminium
Packaging Aluminium