Apprentice of the Month - July
To recognise the hard work of learners, our Tutors are nominating those who are doing exceptionally well throughout their apprenticeship to be awarded as our Apprentice of the Month.
Michael (right), pictured with Senior Digital Coordinator, Stuart
Well done to our July Apprentice of the Month, Michael! Michael was nominated by his managers and tutor, Awesar, due to the progress he has made since beginning his Level 3 Digital Engineering Technician Apprenticeship with J. Murphy & Sons Limited.
“Mike has recently achieved straight distinctions on all his assignments in year 1 of his Digital Engineering Technician Apprenticeship.
Since joining the Murphy Applied Engineering (MAE) Civils CAD team in February 2022, Mike has shown enthusiasm, positivity and determination to succeed – all aligning to our core values here at Murphy.
Michael is currently working on one project (HS2 – SCS Railways Utility Diversions) which is divided into 3 work packages;
WP26.9 - Assisting the design team Arcadis with producing Trial Hole Models from survey and photogrammetry for the purpose of locating existing utilities. Producing drawings for Trial Hole Reports and working with SCS to get the models checked and approved on ProjectWise.
WP82b - Production and Handover of As-Built models and drawings produced from construction survey and photogrammetry.
WP26.9 - Capture of As-Built information starting now.
Mike has forged an efficient and professional working relationship with our Senior Technician Sue Lewis who he has been working alongside on the HS2 project. Sue has helped Michael become a proficient user of Bentley MicroStation (the Client’s preferred design software) and Mike has embraced this learning process, taking it in his stride and demonstrating a high level of competence despite only using the software for a relatively short time.”
Manager, Sue Lewis:
“Before Michael joined me on these projects things were busy but going ok. However, after submitting several trial hole models the Client changed some of their criteria which required re-work on the models which would take a week or two. At the same time an additional scope of work was added to WP82b which required a further 4 models to be produced. So I asked if Michael could come and help me for a few weeks but he needed to get up and running really quickly. His dedication and willingness to learn meant he did just that.
Since then, he has taken over the work on WP26.9 trial holes almost entirely himself. Leaving me to try and get everything handed over on WP82b.
Both of these projects are unusual and sometimes a bit tricky as the CAD roles are entirely client facing. From a CAD perspective only the models are handed over to HS2 so there isn’t a stage where an engineer casts their eye over something before it’s submitted to pick up errors. So everything has to be right first time to all the client standards and criteria.
Michael has taken this in his stride speaking with the client on a regular basis in the utmost professional way. He liaises directly with the client on any models being handed over or handing back for final check and review after amendments. He updates Arcadis at a weekly meeting on the status of all outstanding Trial Holes, whether they be at site stage, in for photogrammetry processing, or where models are up to and at what stage of the checking process they are with SCS.
He regularly liaises with the site engineers to chase survey information or to query some of the other assets. The models he produces are 3D representations of all existing utilities exposed in the Trial Holes using MicroStation within a tolerance of just 10mm. He carries out quality checks on the site survey and photogrammetry. All models are produced in the SCS ProjectWise common data environment (CDE) so are available to the client and designers at any stage of production. These are all criteria laid down by the client. There are strict procedures to follow and Michael understands why they are necessary and works to the client standards at all times. He did a presentation to the wider MAE team on the use of photogrammetry and model production.
For WP82b – the procedures are just the same but based on construction of new utilities. Whilst Michael has taken on all the responsibilities of the Trial Holes it has allowed me time to work on the additional scope of works added to WP82b. However, just recently Thames Water requested a series of further As-Built drawings and so I had to rope Michael in to helping me. He is now producing As-Built drawings – but this time to the criteria laid down by the asset owner. He is producing Murphy drawings which capture ‘live’ 3D views of the as built model but he understands the whole process and that drawings must be produced in a way which will allow us to provide SCS with a PDF copy and provide the actual MicroStation CAD file to the asset owner (i.e. eliminating the use of references etc.)
At the same time he applies as much dedication and professionalism to his college work.
In brief Michael’s current project activities include;
- 3D Microstation utility models to assist Arcadis with design process.
- Carrying out quality checks on survey and photogrammetry
- Location Plan, Plan View & Section View drawings for Trial Hole Reports
- Ulta-Organisational skills to keep Arcadis updated at weekly meetings of Trial Hole progress
- Building relationships with the London based site team for exchange of information
- Great relationship with the client for ease of submitting models and getting them approved and through the ProjectWise workflow
- Always building technical knowledge of constructed Gas, Clean Water and Electrical Duct networks.
- Great understanding of client and asset owner criteria at all stages of drawing and model production for both design and as-built purposes.
I could not have kept both of these work packages going without his help.”
“In summary, Mike has become an integral part of our design team here at Murphy and he is quite clearly an asset to us. In 20+ years in the industry I’ve never seen anyone progress to such a high level of competency in such a short space of time, as Mike has done in just a few months.
Mike has a very bright future ahead of him and I know he’ll go on to achieve big things. He is more than worthy of this nomination”
Awesar, LSP Tutor:
“Michael can adapt his working arrangements to suit the needs of the project – J. Murphy & Sons Limited. operate an agile working policy which enables colleagues to work remotely away from company office premises and Michael embraces this concept.
Michael always aims to do the right thing. This can range from specific project work to simple things like raising issues to his line manager when things might not be going according to plan.
Michael shows a great deal of care in the work he produces and always takes the appropriate measures to ensure his work is of the required quality. He also shows compassion and respect for his colleagues and has gained a reputation as a key team member as a result of his attitude.
Michael is inspired by the complex and interesting designs he’s currently working on, and this is clearly evident in his eagerness and genuine enthusiasm to learn new skills and to increase his software knowledge.
Michael consistently produces work of an extremely high quality, certainly higher than that expected of an Apprentice, he takes great pride in his work and is clearly passionate about what he does.”