Articles
Beginnings
Before leaving school, I had a keen interest in physics and electronics. I bought a soldering iron and I would take broken items apart to see why they were not working and try to mend them.
1990-91, Aberdeen College; 1990-94, BP Exploration
When it was time for me to leave high school, I decided to undertake an apprenticeship. I secured a place at Aberdeen College through the Shell Exploration Technician Training Scheme. You may think given the name I was employed by Shell, but I actually worked for BP Exploration. Back then, the two operators had a training agreement whereby Aberdeen College provided the theoretical teaching and Shell instructors provided the practical education.
1991-94, Engineering Industry Training Board
After finishing at Aberdeen College, I spent a year studying full-time at the EITB in Billingham. Then during the last two years of my apprenticeship I was granted block release and mobilised onsite both on and offshore for experience. During this time I worked on the BP Forties and Miller platforms. This was my first experience offshore and, at 19, it was exciting.
1994-96, Offshore Crane Engineering
My first role post-apprenticeship was with Offshore Crane Engineering. I didn’t initially want to move away from working with an operator in a mechanics role, but when I completed my apprenticeship the oil and gas market was in a downturn and my career was forced to change direction. I was initially employed as a job officer which covered all engineering workshop activities. Due to an upsurge in offshore operations I then moved into a mechanical technician’s role which led to my first foray into working with cranes offshore.
1996-present, Sparrows Offshore Services
I started in 1996 as a mechanic and was then quickly promoted to the position of hydraulic technician. The hydraulic technician role with Sparrows saw me travel to onshore, offshore and overseas locations in Australia, Azerbaijan, the Netherlands, Norway and the US. My duties included hydraulic pump and motor refurbishment in the workshop, planned maintenance routines, system upgrades and fault finding. This is where I developed my core skills in hydraulics and has set the foundations for the rest of my career to date.
2002-04, Project engineer – hydraulics
My first venture into the office in a hydraulic capacity was in a project engineering role supporting the UK-contracted clients of Sparrows. This role had me undertaking offshore surveys, creating planned maintenance routines, work instructions, risk assessment, and fault finding, which is my key strength.
2004-11, Senior project engineer – hydraulics
This was similar to the previous role, but with more responsibility and the opportunity to engineer solutions for several major projects.
2011-14, Account manager
While still heavily involved in engineering work, I had the added responsibility as the account manager for a contract we secured with Maersk Oil for the provision of hydraulic services.
2015-16, Business manager
In this position, I was responsible for the day-to-day running of the fluid power services division. My duties included budgeting, forecasting, business development, strategy and operational support. This was very much a client-facing role, which, although challenging at first, I enjoyed.
2016-19, Principal engineer
Near the end of 2016, I was promoted to principal engineer which allowed me to offer support to all engineering activities, while helping to develop the graduate and project engineers.
2019-present, Global technical authority
The main purpose of the global technical authority role is to ensure technical integrity through setting best practice and providing specialist guidance on all hydraulic matters for the company on a global basis. Despite having over 25 years of experience in the industry, I still find myself learning every day. My knowledge of hydraulic engineering has grown with time, and I now find myself in a position to be able to pass on this expertise to our engineers, technicians and clients.
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