Jonny Giles works for Mouchel as a Highways Engineer.
Who do you work for and what is your role? I work for Mouchel, the consulting and business services group that supplies design, managerial and engineering services to a wide range of clients, mostly in the public sector and regulated industries. I work as a Highways Engineer within the Roads and Major Projects Business Unit (RaMP North) based in the Manchester office.
What is a typical day? As a Highways Engineer at Mouchel, the feature I enjoy the most is the variety of my job that means no two days are ever the same. Currently I am involved in one of largest road schemes in Northern Ireland (A4/A5 Corridor Improvements) and manage the review process of design packages submitted by the DBFO Company. This entails travelling to Northern Ireland on a fortnightly basis to advise the client and liaise with the contractor on site. Other projects that I am involved with include the highways design management of several new supermarket store developments. As I am fortunate enough to travel to various offices and construction sites across the UK, I have made good technical and social contacts.
Why did you become a civil engineer? At school my strengths were always maths and physics and I was attracted to the profession because I have always been interested in designing, problem-solving and understanding how different things work. Upon graduation, I worked for Balfour Beatty for three years as a site engineer, which enabled me to appreciate fully how schemes are built and the problems encountered during construction. The experience I gained on-site enabled me to become the engineer I am today.
What is your greatest achievement to date? So far becoming chartered at a relatively young age. In addition, being nominated by my reviewers for the James Rennie Medal Award also makes me very proud.
At Mouchel, my current role on the A4/A5 in Northern Ireland as the scheme’s technical review manager has been rewarding. The complexity of the scheme, the number of parties involved and the requirement to personally manage around 800 design packages has been challenging in order to satisfy strict contractual timescales. Seeing the 28km £128 million scheme being constructed and nearing completion has been a highlight of my career to date.
Are you actively involved with the ICE? After my recent success at professional review, I was asked by a Graduate Engineer to be their Delegated Engineer and assist in their Spring 2010 review preparation.
What do you feel being a member of the ICE has given you? In the current economic climate, being a newly qualified engineer, from a personal point of view has provided an added layer of job security, career advancement and earning power. Due to the competitiveness of the market, Mouchel has also benefited through enhanced competitive strength during the tender process and the subsequent development in client confidence that ICE membership brings.
How has your ICE membership helped you in the development of your career? During the preparation for my review, I was able to identify any shortcomings in my abilities leading to the development of a training strategy to overcome these. I am grateful to the guidance made available to me by Mouchel and I would definitely agree that gaining subsequent chartered status has assisted with my own career progression. I have been given greater responsibility on a number of projects that would otherwise not be available to engineers of a similar age.