Daniel Savage
Country manager, Fugro Qatar Land
Expertise
Geotechnical, Project management, WaterLocation
United KingdomMy highlights
Bringing together architects and engineers to design the above ground stations for Dubai Metro Red and Green Lines
Facilitating the integration of all Doha Metro Phase 1 stations with other modes of transport and their urban environments
Working with Hyperloop Transportation Technologies to investigate and plan the viability of new technologies into modern cities
A day in my life
As country manager, no one day is the same.
Project management, administrative and financial skills are continually called upon to manage a team of over 160 staff across multiple locations and disciplines, as well as several site offices.
The land business also integrates closely with the marine business.
It identifies and mitigates risks and maximises stakeholder engagement, while looking to new technologies to deliver our services in the rapidly evolving construction market.
I’m a civil engineer, but I’m also ... a husband, yoga teacher, diver and musician.
My career inspiration
My father. Helping him to fix things around the house, including the chimney!
Civil engineering also seemed to be the most diverse of all the engineering disciplines, which I recognised would allow me to travel as part of my work.
Seeing the Hoover Dam at 13 was also a big moment, as was climbing the Eiffel Tower a year later.
We asked Daniel…
What’s one great thing that you love about civil engineering that you didn’t know until you started working in the industry?
That architects are heavily involved and integrated with engineers throughout the design process, as indeed they should be.
I remember having to choose between the two professions before going to university and being torn between the two.
Which civil engineering myth(s) you would like to bust?
That at-grade roads (a stretch of road that’s level with the surrounding land) are not structures.
Which civil engineering project (past or present) do you wish you’d worked on?
Falkirk Wheel because it’s iconic, simple and yet complex.
What about being a civil engineer inspires you?
Great people and big, ambitious projects.
Would you recommend a career in civil engineering?
It’s the most diverse of the engineering disciplines with its chartership qualities being equally applicable to the many disciplines within it, as well as to many other related professions.
Along with infrastructure forming an intrinsic part of economic development, this breadth of expertise means the opportunities to broaden one’s horizons are plentiful and often involve living in different cultures and environments around the world.
Education
MEng from UK, MSOA from Paris, stagiaire with BCEOM, graduate with Parkman, and building engineer with Scott Wilson in Zimbabwe.
Specialist PT designer and historic building refurbishment in central London.
Moved to Middle East to become design manager and then project manager and operations manager for Atkins.
In 2003, I was asked to join the Strategic Rail Authority (SRA) as its technical director.
Representing the UK at the European Rail Agency proved useful in understanding the thought processes elsewhere.
Now country manager for Fugro Qatar Land since late 2018.
My hobbies
Language learning, piano, guitar, Yoga Alliance 200Hr teacher, PADI rescue diver, AIDA 2* freediver.