Harriet Calder

I studied a Bachelor of Engineering (Hons) in Chemical and Process Engineering at Canterbury University. and now work with Worley as a Graduate Process Engineer and am currently located in Whangarei. I began my career in Wellington where I was involved in a variety of process engineering work for clients across industries including food and beverage, water treatment, and major hazard facility process safety. I then moved to New Plymouth to be involved in a natural gas facility re-life project in process engineering detailed design. Upon the completion of that project, I then relocated to Whangarei where I am now working in a project engineer role. Moving around NZ has given me great exposure to the business and great development experiences.

7.00 AM

My alarm goes off at 7 AM and by then the sun is streaming into my bedroom. It’s another beautiful day in sunny Northland, I can hear the waves crashing at Ruakaka beach less than a kilometre away. The morning is mostly a blur until I get my first coffee of the day - I head out the door for my short drive to my onsite role near Whangarei.

8.00 AM

Although my job title at Worley puts me in the Process Engineering team, I am currently working as a Project Engineer for one of Worley’s major clients.  In this role, I am responsible for developing and managing project scopes, budgets, schedules, and construction across a range of projects. Most of these projects are maintenance projects that range in total values from $150k - $3M. For projects that have active construction ongoing, it’s important that I get out to site at the start of the day for morning “toolbox” meetings where safety is the key focus as we discuss with the construction team the tasks ahead for the day.

9.00 AM

Once a week we have a scheduled meeting with all project engineers and construction supervisors. This is a chance for everyone to go through the site-wide schedule to understand what work is going on and how the projects are progressing, and to make sure everyone is aware of upcoming activities.

10.00 AM

Although I’m located away from the Worley head office, there are still plenty of opportunities to stay involved in the business. Today I have a meeting with the Corporate Responsibilities Committee who are involved in organizing events, donations, and volunteering to help with different charitable organizations in our community. In 2019 I was fortunate enough to be selected as part of a group of Worley staff across the globe to travel to India to help and provide renewable energy household items to people living in slum communities. Today, I’m helping to promote applications for the 2020 programme.

11.00 AM

As the project engineer, I am responsible for all costs on my projects so it’s important that I do regular reviews of exactly how much has been spent to allow for accurate expenditure forecasting. Today I am engaging contractors to provide me with quotes to carry out some mechanical repair work. This experience has given me a great understanding in areas I otherwise wouldn’t have such as contract law and procurement.

12.00 PM

 As part of the Worley NZ Graduate Development Programme (GDP), we have a series of “Lunch and Learn” sessions. These are development opportunities for us to learn about areas within our business that we otherwise wouldn’t be exposed to. Sometimes we also get guest speakers in from outside the company to talk to us about special topics such as Government MPs talking about the future of the energy industry in NZ. These sessions are also a chance for the graduates across NZ to catch up with each other and hear about what everyone is up to.

1.00 PM

Time to go back out on site - I have some measurements and photos to take for the design engineers and I like to try and get out and about for a walk around the site in the afternoon anyway. As the site is so large, I bike down to one of the storage tanks that we have lifted up 100mm on hydraulic jacks. I also really enjoy catching up with the construction crew and making sure everything is going smoothly for them.

2.00 PM

I use this time to get my head into some of the engineering design work packs for my project. This one is multi-discipline so it’s important I get my head around the designs for each to ensure they will all fit together well when it comes time for construction. As a graduate, I really take advantage of being able to ask lots of questions and leaning on my network of support around me.

5.00 PM

Once I’ve got my priorities set for tomorrow, it’s time to head home. It’s been another hot day in Northland so I’m heading to the beach with the other Worley graduates.