Phase 3
I am working for a multidisciplinary consultant called SMEC. Most of you won’t have heard of them because they don’t operate in Europe but SMEC’s Signgaporian parent company also owns Robert Bird Group so may move into Europe before too long.
SMEC was formed from the team that delivered the Snowy Mountains Hydroelectric Scheme 70 years ago for the Australian government. The scale of the project was insane (more details can be found here http://www.smec.com/70years/).
I am working as a structural engineer within the transport division which mainly focus on bridge design, retaining walls and gantries. Since December I’ve been involved in Proof Engineering for the Westgate Tunnel Project (WGTP) – effectively independent checking JV produced designs for code and project compliance. (Basically resolving all Dan’s phase 2 RFIs). So far I’ve looked at the structural impact of out of tolerance construction, pile and pile cap redesign, amendments to RC detailing and temporary works packages.
Away from the WGTP I’ve also assisted with load assessments of new cranes on existing structures. As the client required an answer in a short time-frame, we used existing models to conduct a comparative analysis between the maximum loading from existing load cases and the new vehicles loads to determine if the new vehicles could be trafficked. Initially the loads exceeded the capacity but manipulation of dynamic and combination lane use factors by more experienced engineers reduced the loading to under 80% of the maximum competitive load. Has anyone else come across any ‘tricks-of-the-trade’ that would be useful to military engineers?
Anyway Enough about what I’m up to. From recent blog posts the list below is where I think we’re spending Phase 3. Please feel free to fill in the blanks, I’d be interested to hear about what you’re working ok and how your finding Phase 2 compared to Phase 3.
- Dave – Arup Oz
- Gareth & Ali – USACE
- Rob – electrical design linked to EDF and Scottish windfarms?
- Jambo – Plymouth bases building services design
- Alex – ?
- Ben – BP?
- Gary – WSP?
- Jon – Arup uk?
- Al – SRM Temp Works
- Dan – Aurecon
- Ash – Bam Nuttal
- Tom – Wentworth House temp works design
- Colin – ?
Holdfast Training Services Trial Blog 
Hey Mark – SMEC were the client’s representative for the project I was on during phase 2 (a Mech Engineer was my main contact). They seemed decent and often had more thought out responses than the principle designer.
I am working with Norman Disney & Young (NDY); it is still early days, but I am currently doing the electrical design for a hospital and a performing arts theatre. Has anyone got experience working with a hospital design/construct? Any tips?
I will think on the tricks of the trade for military engineers – my current work has me using diversity factors to make better estimates of the electrical load requirements; this isn’t new to the E&M crew (was taught on phase 1) but useful for civils to know and the diversity factors aren’t set in stone. Here we have Wiring Rules that have some rules of thumb, but NDY have some data from stage one of the project I am working on that has allowed us to reduce the diversity factor for designing stage 2.
SMEC were also the Project Verifier on my phase 2 attachment. The team on site came across as technically proficient and able to add value.
Sorry I can’t offer much in terms of hospital design. I don’t know if the STRE designes Ebola hospitals would have any useful pointers. Have you seen the time-lapse video of the 10 day hospital built in China?
One trick of the trade I’ve learnt over the past few weeks is to assess the rough utilisation of aluminium members in a truss you can use the steel code (which is simpler and most engineers are more familiar with) and then factor the steel resistance down by the ratio of the aluminium/steel yield stress. This then allows focused design checking of critical members using the aluminium code. I can explain further if anyone is interested.
Hi Mark,
I am currently working on a range of projects in my design consultancy. Scottish wind farm is one of them (merely a coincidence that it is an EDF project), but I’m involved with a hospital x-ray department upgrade, new school development and surveying the electrical and fire alarm system on the local university campus in preparation for a new install.
I really enjoyed my phase 2 attachment and am enjoying phase 3 but comparing them is difficult as the experiences are totally different. Phase 2 was hugely rewarding and I was handed a large amount of responsibility and autonomy to deliver all of my work packages. This attachment is a really chilled out affair looking at detailed designs of different electrical systems.
If I had to choose a phase in which the experience I had gained would be of most benefit to me as a PQE, it would be phase 2. Having to deliver complex works packages, under such scrutiny has really developed me as an engineer and as a manager.
Rob, sounds like you have your work cut out over some interesting projects.
Related to building services management, this week I saw an internal email about a team who are developing a standardised methods for connecting lifts in Singapore to the internet of things. The idea being that it allows the team to monitor lift behaviour, performance and “health” for maintenance and optimisation purposes.
Other potential benefits that are being explored include real-time monitoring which could alert security to intruders if lifts are being used out of hours. The other benefit of developing a standardised connection is that it reduces client costs, lift down-time and could corner the market for consultant services.