Matthew Blake
Name: Matthew Blake
Job: Site engineer
Area of work: Tunnelling
Employer: Morgan Est
Qualifications: BEng mineral surveying and resource management, Camborne School of Mines; MSc mining engineering, Camborne School of Mines
My degree is quite specialist – I’m a mining engineer so I’m interested in the tunnelling side of civil engineering. It’s a dynamic and growing industry that is keen for new graduates and has scope for progression.
Ensuring quality
As a site engineer, I ensure the quality of the built product and make sure that it complies with the client’s specifications. I’m currently working on a wet caisson shaft that will intersect a cable tunnel. I’m the only member of management on site, so I supervise the work of the team of eight. I ensure that we follow health and safety and environmental regulations, log deliveries and record everything that gets done. I do quite a lot of paperwork to relay information but I don’t just fill in forms – I actually supervise the construction of a large civil engineering project. I make sure that work is done correctly according to the design method statements. I make survey calculations and general calculations, and if materials need measuring up and ordering, I’m the one to do it.
Achieving difficult things
There is a lot of responsibility but having to achieve difficult things is rewarding. One of my biggest highlights was setting out a tunnel portal: it was a difficult task and I wasn’t expecting it to go well, but we managed to set it out within 5mm.
Top tips
- Never be afraid to ask questions, no matter how stupid or simple they seem.
- Listen to the experience of people you work with.