A virtual deep dive inside a GE aircraft engine!

On Friday, January 27th, all IMLPs in the Ohio-Kentucky area were invited to Cincinnati to participate in a Cross-Business event. A total of 45 IMLPs from Aviation, Corporate, Energy, and Home & Business Solutions started the day with a video tour of the Cincinnati Data Center. We then broke into two groups and alternated between touring the Aviation Evendale assembly floor and CTEC/Fly Thru room.

CTEC is GE Aviation’s Customer Technical Education Center. It holds technical training programs for customers to ensure they learn what is required to operate their equipment safely and reliably. The Fly Thru Room let us view a 3D digital construction of an engine; this room allows engineers to build an engine virtually versus an actual model to see if the engine is functional or has any potential issues .

The group came back together to enjoy a lunch session with Greg Simpson, CTO of GE. He was eTwo IMLP's and Greg Simpson, CTO at GExcited to meet the two Energy IMLPs that participated in the events! Greg spent over an hour with us discussing the new software group in San Ramon, how he keeps up with current technology, and some of the challenges he faces as the CTO of GE.

Lunch concluded and the day continued with two more sessions with leadership. The first was a panel of Aviation CIOs:

• Greg Hasselbeck – CIO, Military, Compliance & Information Assurance
• Mary Bradford – CIO, Aviation Systems
• Jeannine Abele – CIO, Aviation Supply Chain

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Experiencing a Different Side of the Business

GEnx Engine

One thing I really enjoy about my second rotation is how much different it is from my first rotation. It gave me the chance to experience a completely different side of the business.  My first rotation was involved in Supply Chain, and now I am located in Aviation Systems. While GE Aviation as a whole focuses on the designing and building of jet engines, the Aviation Systems side of the business focuses on additional products that support aircraft. For example, employees in Aviation Systems work with sites such as Grand Rapids, Michigan and Middle River Aircraft Systems in Baltimore, Maryland. These sites have a variety of products such as navigation systems and reverse thrusters.

It is very interesting to learn about the GE Aviation family and how it has grown through the years. Rather than solely focusing on jet engines themselves, we now bundle our engines with supporting products for our customers.

I Can't Believe 6 Months Have Passed By Already

Mikey B. - 2nd Rotation IMLP - GE AviationI recently completed my first rotation and cannot believe 6 months have passed by already. Looking back, I can see that I have made a great deal of progress within this small period of time.  Coming into GE on the IMLP program, I had very little knowledge about GE Aviation, the IT environment, and the overall business itself.  I struggled, at first, getting a grasp on everything but that is generally expected with new hires into a large company.

During my first rotation, I worked with the Oracle Purchasing, which I previously had no experience working with. By the end of the rotation I had learned enough to help administer the application and train our end users on various purchasing functions.  I am looking forward to continuing into my second rotation and expanding on my knowledge base.

Fortunately, I found support wherever I turned and I recognized everyone at GE was willing to help me out.  I was able to interact with IT leadership and gain advice on future career goals, which has been very beneficial on deciding which rotations I want to experience in the future. With the consistent feedback I received from managers and leaders, I can apply this knowledge to make my second rotation an even better experience.

Cincinnati INTERAlliance Program

Here at GE Aviation, we work with a program called INTERalliance that looks to create an environment that gives local young IT talent a compelling reason to stay in southwest Ohio both for college and their careers. Katie G. will guest blog today regarding her experience as a high school intern.       

Katie G. - GE Aviation high school intern I am Katie G., a Loveland high school student interning here at GE.  Getting involved with GE came through the program known as INTERalliance, which is a Cincinnati alliance of companies who are interested in finding and retaining high school students interested in IT.   An INTERalliance leader came and presented an opportunity to be involved in an IT camp for the summer of our sophomore year, so I submitted an application and was accepted! There are about 100 students in all of the Cincinnati area chosen each year.

INTERalliance camps show students how IT is used in different companies and allows students to participate in brainstorming challenges.  Each day exposes the technology of a new company to show how many diverse ways technology is used. Also, throughout the week, each team has to design a project and present the final idea on the last day. My team designed a communication enhancer for people with disabilities, who had difficulties communicating with care-takers, and we won the competition for our week. The time with INTERalliance changed my ideas about IT and actually prompted me to consider it in my future. Now, one summer later, I am planning to study Computer Science after I graduate.

It was through INTERalliance that I was able to apply for my internship. GE is such a fun place to be, and there are so many different ways to get involved! I love the meetings and how the committees work together to make everything a great experience. All the people I work with are nice as well, so it is easy to come to the office.  Currently, I am working on a No Data Received Enhancements project in the Engineering Tools Center of Excellence. All the planning and different ideas that I am being exposed to are so exciting and the work is helping me prepare for the future, too. I still have so much to learn but I know that this opportunity at GE will help in every way. 

March of Dimes: Giving Back to the Community

Cincinnati SkylineA few of weeks ago, the GE Aviation IT team attended the annual March of Dimes Walk in downtown Cincinnati.  This is a fundraiser to ensure the healthiness of mothers and their babies during pregnancy.  After dividing into teams based upon our respective business divisions, we engaged in some internal friendly competition to see who could raise the most money by the day of the event.

I represented the Aviation IT team with several of the other Aviation IMLP’s.  There were over 5000 people at the walk, representing dozens of companies throughout Cincinnati!  I felt proud to be with GE because we alone had 1000 employees.  Our influence was very strong and everywhere you looked you could see fellow GE employees sporting their GE logo t-shirts. 

The IMLP’s chose to walk the six-mile route, rather than the three-mile family route.  This turned out to be a good decision because we were able to walk through Great American Ballpark, Paul Brown Stadium, and along the Kentucky riverside.  It was a great experience to take in the beauty of downtown Cincinnati and to feel proud about being a part of such an important cause.