Robert Gregg

Development Support Technician, Lancashire County Council

Expertise

Construction, Design

Location

United Kingdom

My highlights

Becoming professionally qualified as an engineering technician with the engineering council.

Becoming a full member of ICE allows me to demonstrate my professional competence.

First time I carried out site inspections and supervised operations.

How I became a civil engineer

Becoming professionally qualified as an engineering technician with the engineering council and becoming a full member of ICE, was a benchmark standard which allows me to stand out from the rest of the crowd and also allows me to demonstrate my professional competence when delivering highway schemes and setting the standards in providing quality control for the construction of new highways.

Implementing policy change at county level is also a great level of achievement. For me to update a policy and bring new practices and principles into play for the specification and construction of highways to a county standard really is testament to my credibility.

Leaving your footprint on the built environment and being able to look back and say, 'I helped build that,' is a great feeling.

A day in my life

I usually start the day by making a coffee whilst my computer loads up and then I prioritise my workload for the day and attend any meetings that I have pre-arranged.

I will look at any planning applications the local planning authority have consulted me on and provide them with comments from a highways perspective. This is to prevent detrimental impacts to highway safety and where necessary ask for mitigation measures to reduce any likely impacts to the local highway network.

I will also critique detailed design drawings being submitted under Sections 38 and 278 of the Highways Act 1980. This is to ensure new highways are constructed to the relevant standards.

Then I inspect and supervise the works under legal agreements between developers and the local highway authority to ensure the works are carried out to a satisfactory standard which also protects public funding from any remedial action being carried out.

We asked Robert…

what’s one great thing that you love about civil engineering that you didn’t know until you started working in the industry?

The freedom and flexibility of being able to manage your own workload splitting time between the office and site while getting to see some amazing sights along the way. Leaving your footprint on the built environment and being able to look back and say "I helped build that."

which civil engineering myth(s) you would like to bust?

There seems to be the myth that civil engineering is predominantly a male dominated industry, when in fact that is totally false. It was a female engineer who contributed to the design of Britain's infrastructure back in the 18^th century and there are more female engineers now than ever before with some of the best engineers of our time being female engineers, helping to make the world a better place.

which individual project or person inspired you to become a civil engineer?

For me it wasn’t one specific project, it was a number of projects from the channel tunnel to the Millau viaduct. From the Hoover Dam to the amount of work that went into the construction of the many 19^th century Viaducts which connected many different towns by integrating transportation links for the use of steam trains.

which civil engineering project (past or present) do you wish you’d worked on?

The Milau viaduct

what about being a civil engineer inspires you?

Working a number of varied, simultaneous projects gets me ticking, it really helps me to stay focused knowing that I hold great responsibility here. It also helps to enjoy doing something that you are good at as well because no two days are the same and the thrill of a challenge is exciting.

would you recommend a career in civil engineering?

It provides you with a great sense of satisfaction. Knowing that you have put your skills to good use to design and construct a road or structure, or even remediate a brownfield site, providing betterment and helping to shape our built environment for the future of ourselves and others is a great feeling.

You will travel to places you would not likely be able to go in any other industry and the flexibility and benefits that come with the job allows for a great work/life balance.