The Impact of Industry Exposure on Machine Shop Skills Development of Mechanical Engineering Students

This is a descriptive method of study aimed at finding the impact of the industry exposure program on machine shop skills development of mechanical engineering students from selected academic institutions in Davao Region, Philippines. Paired t-test was employed in treating the data to determine the significance of the level of machine shop knowledge, attitudes, skills and habits. Samples of the study were regular 4th year mechanical engineering students who were enrolled in the industry exposure or on-the-job training (OJT) and the computer software used in this study was the Statistical Package for the Social Sciences or SPSS. The analyses and interpretation of the data gathered in this study yielded the following findings: 1. Benchwork, lathe, shaper, drilling/boring machine operations, and blueprint reading and machine designing, and the over-all got Low level before the industry exposure. The percentage of their development is from 21% and 40%. The result of Low level was due to defective machines and lack of maintenance of equipment in the academe and the lack of training on the part of the faculty handling the particular course/subject. Milling and honing machine operations obtained Very Low Level. This is also due to the absence of some equipment in the machine shop laboratory of the academic institutions. There were institutions that have those machines but are non-functional due to defective spare parts. After the exposure, benchwork, lathe, milling, drilling/ boring, honing machine operations and the over-all level obtained Moderate level. Shaper and milling operations got high. This is because the student-trainees were more exposed in the area of shaper and milling machine operations. 2. There is a significant difference on the levels in all areas of knowledge and skills before and after the industry exposure. 3. Before the industry exposure, punctuality and attendance, productivity, behavior and attitudes towards work obtained High level. Compliance to 5S obtained the lowest mean score of 2.63 due to the fact that this particular area was neglected in the academe. After the industry exposure, the over-all mean was 4.87. This means that the student trainees were more attentive, more serious and very eager to learn while they were in the industry. 4. There is a significant difference on the levels in all areas of attitudes and habits before and after the industry exposure. 5. University of Southeastern Philippines requires its student-trainees to undergo 320-hour hands on training in machine shop, while the other institutions offer the course as an option in lieu of Fieldtrip or Plant visit subjects. Students who choose to undergo the hands on training spent only 200-hours in machine shop.