Articles
What work have you done since you joined Subsea 7, and has this led to any overseas travel?
I joined Subsea 7 three years ago and my work has mainly taken me across the North Sea to Norway, supporting one of our offices there during the summer months when the holiday season takes its toll. I was also part of the company's development scheme, where all the graduates from across the company come together for learning sessions in Aberdeen, Paris and Stavanger. There were people from Brazil, Angola and Australia. It was great to work in such a multi-cultural environment and share different ideas and ways of doing things.
Is there an overseas project that you’re particularly proud of?
A memorable role for me was the time I spent as a project engineer on the BP Skarv project, as part of our Vessel Support Team. I was on board the Skandi Acergy, one of our heavy construction and flex-lay vessels, to the North of Norway in the Skarv field. Our job was to collect 13 flexible risers from storage on the seabed and install them on the Skarv production vessel. Risers are pipes that take fluids from the seabed to the surface and vice-versa.
The vessels involved were very close together, which made it an extremely sensitive operation that had to be done during a reliable weather window. There had been a number of previous campaigns, but only one riser had been installed. During my trip, the team managed to install three risers, quite an undertaking. Their skill and efficiency also meant we got permission to reduce the required weather window, allowing more opportunities for future campaigns.
What's your typical working day?
At the moment I'm working on an inspection system for a new vessel. It has to work in a tough environment and I’m currently organising a test regime to ensure it can take the loads. This involves a mixture of test rig design and calculations, liaising with the drawing office to get fabrication drawings produced, meeting with subcontractors, writing procedures and cost/resource planning.
I’m also a science, technology, engineering and maths ambassador, so a day might include a visit to a local school to present and run a workshop. Encouraging students into engineering is a major priority for the government and industry in the UK and I volunteer for this work. My most recent workshop involved pupils making rover robots out of Lego Mindstorms. They love it when they see themselves on the projector screen from the robot’s video capture.
What's most interesting technically about your work?
The technical complexities are numerous. We’ve got to contend with the harsh conditions experienced offshore to the North of the UK including large waves, strong currents, and the movement of the vessel itself. Equally challenging are the limitations imposed by available equipment such as crane capacity and space availability. This means that we become very good at inventing solutions and getting every last bit of value out of the equipment .
Subsea 7 has projects and clients all around the world - what's it like to work in such an environment?
It can be very interesting, clients have different priorities and demands in different places. The workforce is very multicultural onshore and offshore.
People of all different professions and roles need to work together to satisfy clients, with everyone pulling together to work as a team. It's a great learning experience, particularly on vessels where there is a strong mix of cultures. I’ve learnt about a lot of interesting customs, and to always ask if unsure. For example, what I took to be beef stew actually turned out to be something entirely different! That was one experience I’d rather not repeat, however it certainly broadened my culinary horizons!