The projects we undertake at Malin Abram vary greatly, falling across different sectors and consisting of differing levels of complexity – but I find it is this variety which provides me with such an exciting and engaging role. Being that it varies from day to day, I’m required to react quickly to the project demands as they evolve and one thing that’s fundamental in doing that successfully is communication. Albeit within the last year or so most people having been working from home, it has made communication more challenging yet also even more crucial. As such, I am in regular meetings or informal talks with my team, wider circle of colleagues and clients. Indeed, there is at least one meeting scheduled for the day consisting of a catch-up meeting with the project team reviewing progress on a project, a stakeholder meeting with the client, or meeting with suppliers.
For mechanical handling projects, I split my time between disciplines, which offers a real opportunity to share good practice and develop my own experience and expertise. As part of the central team, we have structural engineers, mechanical engineers, hydraulic engineers, controls systems engineers, a dedicated fabrication team and draughtsmen – so each day is very different and interesting. I also need to regularly liaise with the project cost controller to maintain control over the project spend against progress.
There is usually a lot of ad-hoc decisions to be made as the project evolves and new challenges are presented; monitoring progress vs the project schedule is required almost daily to ensure activities are on track, decisions are measured, and outcomes modified as required to elicit the best possible solution. Due to the complexity of mechanical handling projects and the various disciplines involved, they need to be carefully coordinated to ensure they can work side by side efficiently when commissioning a mechanical handling unit.
Each day is filled with its own challenges and usually involves different settings, varying environment and a variety of specialist roles; however whether its attending site, our manufacturing facility or working from the office, speaking to clients, suppliers or fellow marine specialists, each day offers an opportunity to discover, deliver and develop.
