What's the coolest thing about your job?
When working on the bigger projects, one of the epic aspects of it is the sheer scale on which we are able to build construction projects. Some of the piling rigs on site are in excess of 20 metres tall with cranes to match, so how we coordinate all these massive pieces of equipment, sometimes in very tight spaces, to achieve our end goal is pretty awesome.
Why do you enjoy working at Fulton Hogan?
Fulton Hogan provides a vast number of opportunities and operates differently from other construction companies: FH seeks to work within the community, for the community – to give back to the community as much as possible.
How has the Fulton Hogan Graduate Program been beneficial to your development?
The Graduate Program sets out a list of items that you should have an awareness of as a graduate, which in conjunction with the Engineering Career Development Framework that Fulton Hogan Construction offers, can help a graduate start compiling information right from the start of their career to help become a Chartered Engineer when they are ready. The program is self-driven and allows you to take the initiative to seek out and talk to experienced engineers about different engineering topics and to tap into the wealth of knowledge that the company holds within its people.
What would you say is the biggest difference between what you were taught at University and the work that you are currently doing?
I definitely think that the University that I went to skewed their teachings towards design: how to identify which beam is going to go where in an office building to follow a certain load path, or how to design and draft a drainage system to a 1 in 10-year rain event. In construction, it is less about designing the concept and more about how to we bring that concept to life – how do we get that beam into place given our site constraints? It’s fast-paced, mind-boggling problem-solving.
What three pieces of advice would you have given yourself when you were still a student?