What does a typical day look like for a Senior Technician Civil?
That’s a difficult one! The multi role that Senior Technicians carry out for the service ensures that we diversify in all facets of building / civil and painting works, amalgamating in actual hands-on work to supervising and managing contractors. There are not many jobs where you can go from writing a Schedule 1 painting specification to unblocking a drain in the same day!
On a Friday afternoon, I would generally look at the work plan for the following week or two and start to implement and plan some things ready for the proposed works. On the Monday it’s generally a different story: open a few emails or Jim, my Technical Manager will come in for a brief chat and then realise that this week may not go as planned. It is not ideal at times but it does make the job interesting.
What has been your favourite lighthouse to visit and work on and why?
Going from my previous job as a Clerk of Works in the steel manufacturing industry to the position I hold today makes me appreciate all the lighthouses I have visited to date. Having an interest in birds and wildlife probably edges me towards the lighthouses we have situated on small islands such as Skerries, Bardsey and Skokholm.
I still enjoy visiting a lighthouse for the first time and looking, studying (from a construction point of view of course) its own unique building characteristics!
What have your highlights been?
I’m not sure if I would use the word highlights but I do take a lot of satisfaction from taking on a project or even a small long term problematic job and solving the issue.
What are the requirements of a Senior Technician Civil?
The one that comes to mind instantly is flexibility and organisation! The job does not come with a rigid structure of what you will be doing Monday to Friday. You have to be prepared at the drop of a hat to put down something that you are working on and attend another issue that has arisen somewhere else, even if it’s at the other end of the country. As we also deal with a lot of work that is carried out by contractors, you can have various works being carried out in all parts of the district at the same time.
How does the role of a Senior Technician Civil fit in with Trinity House as a whole?
From a building and civil perspective, I think it’s a very important role. Not just now, but it has been in the past and certainly will be in the future. A large majority of our technical and mechanical equipment—along with the aids to navigation—sit within structures that were built a couple of hundreds of years ago; that brings its own unique set of problems.
Integrate this with the Listed Building consents and environmental designations that are bestowed on most of our sites, and it goes to show how important these buildings are, and that we look after them for future generations.