Following on from my first two years of my degree, I was keen to apply some of the theory I had learnt in order to help me decide which area of civil engineering I was most interested.
As Dorset Highways (DH) get involved in such a diverse range of projects ranging from minor routine maintenance jobs to multi-million pound highway improvement schemes, I thought it would be the ideal environment to get the experience I required and further develop key skills that I would need throughout my career.
Before starting with DH I had just completed the second year of my MEng in Civil Engineering at the University of Portsmouth. I started my placement year in July 2015 and finished in August 2016.
While working for DH I applied a large amount of what I had learnt not just at university but also my previous work experience. Although I have never studied highways I found that a lot of the projects I was working on incorporated a range of general civil engineering principles and practical skills. I completed training courses in health and safety and attained a CSCS card while at DH, in addition to receiving a vast amount of on-the-job training in aspects such as Auto CAD and Civils 3D, surveying and on site construction activities.
Since finishing my time with DH I have returned to university to complete my third and fourth years of my MEng degree.
I worked as part of the Highways Improvement team who predominantly look after the design and supervision of any network improvements in Dorset.
The main project I worked on during my placement was the provision of a new footway between a village in West Dorset and the local primary school. In short this scheme had been in the pipeline for over 25 years but had never been built due to various issues. I started working on the conceptual design of the scheme soon after starting with DH and was lucky enough to see the project completed and being used by the public during my placement year.
In addition to this scheme I also worked on over 10 different projects ranging from a minor parking restriction scheme to the re-construction of the A338.
My main responsibilities throughout my placement were:
- completing surveying work
- producing conceptual and technical drawings
- attending parish council and public consultation meetings
- liaising with construction teams and attending site meetings
- communicating with different specialist teams throughout DCC
- statutory undertaker enquiries
- compiling feasibility, safety audit and option appraisal reports
What I enjoyed most about my time with DH was the range of work I was involved with. I gained a huge amount of knowledge from my experienced colleagues who were always happy to take the time to help me. Following on from my time with DH I would like to get some private sector experience and ultimately look to obtain chartership.