Matthew McCombe

Operations director at WM Plant Hire

Expertise

Design, Construction, Project Management

My highlights

Working on the New Gateway Bridge (Sir Leo Hielscher Bridges) in Brisbane, Australia

Working on the Riyadh Metro, Saudi Arabia

Volunteering on a Bridges to Prosperity project in Rwanda in 2024

A day in my life

In my role as operations director, I have a variety of responsibilities, such as:

driving safety culture;
responding to enquiries;
managing logistics;
reviewing and implementing processes and procedures, policies and HR related matters;
reviewing and assigning training; and
communicating and building rapport with our operators.

I also attending industry events, marketing, business development and CPD events.

Every day is different in civil engineering.

I have a strong projects delivery background which has helped me in my operations role in plant hire where I can support our customers with methodology and machine selection.

I was motivated to become professionally qualified to gain recognition from my employer and industry colleagues and to test myself against the attributes.

I knew I was operating at chartered level so I decided to pursue the formal recognition of it.

I would recommend a career in civil or infrastructure engineering because…

It's so varied in what you can do. There are so many options you can try. I remember one of my university lecturers saying that a civil engineering degree is a ticket to travel!

We asked Matthew…

Name one civil or infrastructure engineering myth you’d like to bust.

That civil engineers are not good communicators.

Communication is a key attribute in civil engineering. There are many stakeholders when it comes to civil engineering projects and you have to be strategic in delivering messages in written and oral format.

No wonder that this is a strong focus in becoming professionally qualified with the ICE!

How does your role contribute to addressing climate change?

I have influence in supporting customers in selecting the right machine for the particular application which has advantages in reducing schedule and therefore reducing carbon footprint.

We also update our fleet with the latest engine technology which has positive impacts around reducing carbon emissions.

We also operate across all civil engineering sectors and supporting various schemes which are addressing climate change and making infrastructure more resilient.

How does your role contribute to making the industry more diverse and inclusive?

I take a lead role in recruiting for roles where diversity and inclusion is a strong factor that's taken into consideration.

I support CPD events and wish to extend this into STEM events.

What role does digital technology play in your job?

We support our customers with the use of digital models of our fleet so the machines can be tried and tested in a model environment for testing reach, size and clash detection.

How did the ICE and your employer support you to become professionally qualified?

I was very well supported by the membership development officer for the Middle East and North Africa.

I had a couple of great mentors and sponsors from my previous employer who helped me through chartership and then fellowship.

Matthew's career path

I undertook a four-year bachelor's degree in civil engineering and entered the industry in a contracting organisation. I believed that was what was going to give me the best experience for project delivery and how to make money.

Continuing professional development is very important, off the back of having a development action plan. Don’t take this lightly. Understand your gaps and how to plug them.