Extra Blog Post: May

Last visit to my mentorship location when I stopped by to tell my mentor I passed with an AE. 

Blog 22: Senior Project Reflections

(1) Positive Statement:

I am extremely proud of how dedicated have become with my senior topic, fire protection. A significant factor that I am most proud of in my presentation is how much time I talk, but most importantly when I was talking I presented new information professionally. In my entire senior project as a whole, I am over whelming ecstatic about the doors this project has opened for me. I am really interested in the field and now know more connects to help me achieve my goal of being part of fire protection work force.

(2) Questions to consider:

a. What assessment would you give yourself on your block presentation? (self assessment)

I would give my self an AE because I was very prepared for my presentation in which my activity used actual fire protection blue prints, professional worksheets, and a quick share out to demonstrate knowledge acquired. I also presented for a long period of time in which I was not redundant of any topic and kept moving forward mentioning and explaining new information. I cited eleven sources ranging from books, articles, videos, mentor, and current works in the field. I brought several props such as every type of sprinkler head and pipe joint. I brought props so that the students could follow along much better because of the visual representation. Lastly I dressed professional and matching towards my topic which expresses a much more organized and professional tone.

b. What assessment would you give yourself on your overall senior project? (self assessment)

I would award myself with an AE for my overall senior project because on how efficient I used my time to become a miniature professional regarding my spectrum of the field. I complete than the hours demanded and during the hours that I completed I gained serious knowledge in fire protection system designing from the fire protection engineers and the architects employed at Advanco Fire Protection in Ontario California. Once I learned a lot of foundation in the office I was moved to the back of the warehouse where I began to help the process of installation hands on, allowing me to expand my knowledge. Lastly I was able to go on maintenance calls with Jesus Vazquez and Art Vazquez where I would observe and help them record the systems performance. I had the privilege of having my mentor Rigoberto Vazquez Sr. with 34 years of fire protection experience, direct in the correct direction of research material but showing me books, websites, and articles he uses to stay up to date in the industry. By doing that I was reading articles a week old giving me an advantage with fresh material to use. I have also been receiving AE's through out my senior project components including the 30 minute presentation and the exit interview.

(3) What worked for you in your senior project?

What worked for my senior project was mentorship, mentorship fueled my senior project in every aspect. Going to Advanco Fire Protection is what helped me in my research, mentorship hours, growth of knowledge in the aspect of hands on, and actual trips into real system locations. I believe that mentorship is the most important aspect of the senior project, as well as how much effort the student puts into mentorship and in my case I gave it my all and then some.

(4) (What didn't work for you) If you had a time machine, what would you do differently to improve your senior project if you could go back in time?

What didn't work for me was research checks. Only the fact of being graded down when not completing a research check in class, when in the beginning of the year teachers stated that I is not good to finish research checks in class because that doesn't mean you have sufficient amount of information.This made me rushed speeding through my articles and books chapters because I did not want to get my grade docked. If I had a time machine the only thing I would change would be calling to Rigoberto Vazquez about research assistance early so that from the very beginning I could be taking in new and reliable material.  

(5) Finding Value:

How has this senior project been helpful to you in your future endeavors?

This project has opened my eyes greatly because I had no interest in the field of fire protection even though most of my family are part of the industry. Through out mentorship I was able to get a great understanding of what this industry is about and how important it really is. Helping protection life and property is where I belong and I have created a plan for my future where I will attended Citrus College for two years graduating with my Associates general engineering, after that I will transfer to Cal Poly Pomona and graduate with my BA in civil engineering. This plan will allow me to be able to apply for positions of designing blue prints as an engineer. In conclusion I am more than thankful for this experience I would never find a passionate field I could be interested in. 

Blog 21: Mentorship

Literal:
-Yes.
-Rigoberto Vazquez, Sr. at Advanco Fire Protection.

Interpretive:
- My senior project experience was special for me individually, because of the opportunity to get an understanding of the family business. The interest I had that drove me to choose the topic also allowed me to excel in the senior project work because I did not mind getting ahead in work I was passionate about. Due to this I realized that to be happy and successful in the future, I must my career wisely to keep that passion as drive it through my work experience.

Applied: 
-Every minute of mentorship has contributed to my essential question answers. My mentor get me lessons in the field one on one as much as he possible could. His patience in explaining difficult concepts has also helped me give genuine answers that relate to actual situations regarding system types and piping material.

Extra Blog Post April

This month I was able to explore fire protection in a new aspect by being in the shop while the workers were cutting, welding, and shipping supplies from point A to point B. I went to the private location where I saw how labor intensive an installation is despite the new modern advancements.

Blog 20: Exit Interview

Content:
(1) My essential question is "What is the most efficient fire protection installation for a warehouse?". The first answer I generated was, The gridded system is the most efficient sprinkler system for a warehouse. My second answer is, the most efficient sprinkler head is one that is adapted correctly for the installation. The third answer is, the type of pipe used in the environment of the installation contributes to the maximum efficiency the system can produce. My best answer is my first answer the gridded system is the most efficient sprinkler system for a warehouse,  According to my mentor Rigoberto Vazquez Sr. owner of Advanco Fire Protection the gridded system is the most important aspect of the entire system, because this is the largest factor of distributing water in building's internal area. The layout of the gridded system branches out from a double entry water source covering all of the building with branches, example explained through NFPA-13 Installation of Sprinkler Systems. My second answer regarding sprinkler heads is not my best answer, because it is dependent on the system(1st answer). If there is a incorrectly installed system, the correct sprinkler heads will not increase efficiency significantly. The third answer regarding the correct type of pipe used in an environment, is important because it is the skeleton of the installation. The draw back from this answer is that, if there is a thicker pipe installed into a gridded system (answer 1), the gridded system will still be significant more water efficient than the loop and tree systems despite a respective change in pipe size.
(2) Researching different aspects such as articles and a great book my mentor gave me NFPA-13 Installation of Sprinkler Systems. Researching from different aspects helped me getting a strong basis, in which I could branch out towards better answers and understand why that answer is more than adequate. NFPA-13 Installation of Sprinkler Systems starts off talking about terminology which was excellent due to how much it is used in mentorship, and the book then moves onto system concepts and explains several aspects of regulations used in the industry. 
My mentor, Rigoberto Vazquez Sr. helped me see the benefits of efficiency in sprinkler systems and learning huge extents of information at mentorship. Rigoberto Vazquez Sr. told my many situations dealing with real system installation scenarios that his company has encountered and continues to encounter. During mentorship I started looking at systems blueprints in the offices of my mentor as well as his employed engineers and architects. It was then that my mentor and his employed engineers and architects broke down several systems they use in real builds, and referred me to the NFPA-13 Installation of Sprinkler Systems for research checks to get a better understanding. As mentorship continued I was able to walk around Advanco's warehouse and learned about the process of an installation starting from the bidding, design, fabrication, and installation. In Advanco there is a sprinkler room, which is where my mentor holds all the extra sprinklers or ones ready for an installation and I was fortunate enough to get a lesson on sprinkler head types and their importance in the sprinkler room. I was able to connect my mentors words to actual sprinkler heads which really helped my understand. During mentorship I began to go on maintenance calls with my two of my mentor's employees Jesus Vazquez and Art Vazquez. I had a great experience going to warehouses from Carson all the way to the one of the largest warehouses in the Unites States the Skechers warehouse in Moreno Valley. The Skechers warehouse takes up two days to do a standard check up, there are over 30 risers in building. Going into the field and connecting knowledge I acquired from research checks and from my mentor to real situations was the best learning experience I have taken part of.
(3) Issues that I ran into were finding good research material, it was very difficult to find legit research information to help me get a deeper understanding of my answers. My mentor really helped me with finding quality research because he was kind enough to recommend cites he uses to stay up to date in the industry. Another issue I dealt with time management. I had to balance church, young scholars, soccer, and service learning. I effectively used my time by going to volunteer at church every other week instead of every week, I took a quarter from college courses to get extra hours done from my independent component, I talked to my soccer coach and reached consensus of going to two practices a week instead of everyday, lastly when I went to mentorship I stayed for the most time possible.
(4) source number one: NFPA-13 Installation of Sprinkler Systems, which helped me create a strong basis and has great information with diagrams of sprinkler heads and systems. Second source is Advanco Fire Protection, mentorship for all the substantial knowledge I was taught from hand on experience and office work that helped me with systems and pipe materials from my mentors reserves.

Blog 19: Independent Component 2

Literal:
(A) I Christian Jesus Vazquez, affirm that I completed my independent component which represents 30 hours of work.
(B) Jesus Vazquez and Rigoberto Vazquez Sr., mentors
(C)ok
(D)I have complete an additional 30 hours of service learning, by going on trips to maintenance/ check ups and also being taught hands out why my answers are true.

Interpretative:

This the computerized welding machine in Advanco used in all the projects.

closer look at the welding machine, power generators on the top and on the left you can see a pile of pipe ready to be welded

The table is basically an assembly line and on the back are several joints that are used on all sprinkler installations.

This is the manuel pipe cutting machine, always used because every project is custom. 

Larger scale few of where most of my mentorship takes place, you can generally see the different stations of the assembly.

*sorry for the quality* This is the work truck used by Jesus Vazquez to go to installed systems for maintenance and check ups.   

Wall full of pipe hangers, just shows all the sizes of pipe used in fire protection systems.

Fitter machine used to carve the ends of pipes so that can screw into each other.

Outside of the shop where you can see the pipes ready for installations on the right, there are thousands of feet worth of piping material.

Applied: 

Having additional time at mentorship really helped strengthen my knowledge of my topic. My mentors and I came up with my answers and helped my see why exactly. My mentor showed me official books stating the exact consumption of water when exerted by sprinkler heads in the wrong and correct setting. Having so many pipe materials I was able to actually see the pipes used in different environments and situations one on one with my mentor in the back of his shop.

March Extra Blog Post

Last week during mentorship I was able to observe and help fill out a check up slip for a warehouse in riverside. What we did is run the system for 30 minutes and check if all the parts were responsive.