Visayas State University student shares his internship experience at HERO

“For the things we have to learn before we can do them, we learn by doing them.”

This phrase by Aristotle perfectly captures an essential aspect of learning that has been undeniably evident during my whole internship journey. Looking back on everything I've experienced as an intern, I realized that in order to learn, one must actually do. Complete learning can only be achieved when you implement the knowledge you have learned in class and get a sense of how it may be utilized in the actual world.

Photos taken at the HCDC office during system orientation and office assignment for project file indexing.

Working at Hero Construction and Development Corporation (HCDC) has been a great experience to try to apply my knowledge about the civil engineering industry and build it into practice. The exposure to the actual work environment has been invaluable as it made me learn things by actually doing them. I have been given the opportunity to meet and collaborate with people and be immersed in different activities both at the office and at the site.

The first set of activities assigned to me was focused on utilizing the Enterprise Resource Planning System or also known as ERP. My task was to learn the utilization of the system from which the company’s day-to-day business activities such as material purchasing, accounting, risk management, and project management are being controlled. I have also performed physical folder indexing of Project Files in the ERP system to easily track important documents in different physical folders and containers. Additionally, I was given the duty to study the basic process of finding opportunities in the Philippine Government Electronic Procurement System (PhilGEPS) where necessary information pertaining to government procurement is posted. These activities all contributed crucial knowledge pertaining to the planning, organization, and management of a construction company.

Project inspectorate composed of technical representatives from DepED Naga City relays the inspection results and provides suggestions for improvement

Another task handed to me emphasized the technicalities of the bidding process. I was given the chance to have first-hand experience in actually preparing the contents of bidding documents including the legal and technical documents which should be formatted as prescribed by respective procuring entities, the potential customers of the company. I personally enjoyed attending pre-bidding and bidding conferences as I actually witnessed how the Bids and Awards Committee (BAC) evaluates all the requirements given by potential bidders and declare the successful contractor in accordance with the law. Furthermore, I have also participated in the preparation for post-qualification where I observed how the Procuring Entity examines and validates all eligibility, technical and financial documents before finally accepting the successful contractor. Given this intensive immersion in the actual bidding activities, it felt very rewarding to see every detail and all the little stage that must be undertaken before a project is actually awarded. 

Posing a photo with site workers after the daily toolbox meeting

Lastly, to complete my experience with the work involved in the industry, HCDC allowed me to oversee their ongoing construction projects. I was entrusted to act as site supervisor at Consolacion and Naga City project sites where I got to work with a lot more people including manpower workers, site inspectors, and the site engineer. Every day, I am expected to lead the toolbox meeting and supervise construction activities within the day. From this, I was impelled to test my communication skills and see how they impact my working relationship with the manpower workers. Besides the overwhelming feeling due to the weight of my responsibility, I was thrilled to see my contributions affect the company in a positive way and know their significance. Knowing also the manpower workers at a personal level and being friends with them made this experience a little bit special.

Experiencing the hands-on, and sometimes pressure-filled work for exactly six weeks at HCDC allowed me to recalibrate my perspective of civil engineering to a broader sense. Just being able to see how the construction industry works and what occurs beneath the surface has been an irreplicable opportunity. This internship overall has taught me the extreme importance of practical experience and how I should reflect upon it to fully absorb and remember it.

After completing the internship, Carl Anthony Meredores receives his Certificate of Completion from the company

Editor's Note: Visayas State University is located in Baybay City, Leyte.