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Les Bond, Asset Engineer, Utilities

Graduated from Exeter University (Masters in Mechanical Engineering)

I'm an engineer because I'm a practical problem solver! It's a passion for me. To be honest, I was pleased to leave academia because while I accept the need for the theoretical, I enjoyed the project work far more and I wanted to do real work with deadlines and pressure. Even at University, I enjoyed taking the lead in projects. I enjoyed making things happen, motivated by my own objectives, I admit. I knew what degree I needed to do what I wanted, and sometimes I had to take control of a project to ensure its success.

Now that I'm at work I've found that there are so many people with so many skills that I've had to learn how to deal with all these people in order to succeed. The technical aspect of any project is only one part – and that has taken me by surprise a little. The budget, the timelines, the safety aspects are all just as important. In fact, the technical part is almost assumed – everyone here is skilled technically.

Everyone also knows that while any asset is off-line, it's losing money. It doesn't pre-occupy you, but it's always there.

Recently, we had an electrical fault on one of the Polymer plants which meant we had to shut it down. I investigated the problem, and put in some control measures across the site to make sure none of the other assets were affected. Initially we thought it could take a few days, but when we really got into the problem, we were able to repair it and have it back on line that evening! The cost of the plant being offline is significant so it felt good to save the site some money.

Chartership is still important to me and I’m currently going through the application process. It's an independent recognition of my abilities, and would allow me to move across a whole range of industries.

Grangemouth is a profitable business of national importance, and the technical excellence here is what keeps the site operating. There's probably at least one piece of every type of major equipment, here that's been produced in the last twenty years. So if you want to work with all kinds of challenges, in all the engineering disciplines, it's a great place to work.