Gary Forrow

Gary Forrow
JOB Senior engineer
EMPLOYER Stone and Webster Ltd
DEGREE BEng civil engineering, Coventry University (1996)
UNIVERSITY Coventry University

I am the lead engineer working on a furnace re-vamp project in Finland. My role involves modelling, drafting and engineering of new steelwork – taking measurements from full-size steelwork structures and transferring them via annotated paper drawings, through design to a 3D model and general arrangement drawings to ensure they are built to our specifications. I am also responsible for the supervision of other engineers – allocating tasks and ensuring their work is completed to the necessary standard.

Previous roles

I started with my current employer as a draftsman in 1988 and worked my way up through various roles – junior draftsman, engineer, senior engineer and finally promotion to lead engineer. My employer sponsored my part-time degree and I have found it easy to progress to higher positions having worked here for a long time.

Most exciting project

The most exciting project I worked on was an ethylene plant expansion project for BP. I was responsible for the 3D analysis and design of the furnace structure and was involved on site at the later stages of construction. Seeing a project come together from concept, to design, modelled, drafted, fabricated and finally erected to work as intended, brings a real sense of achievement.

The highs

The change of pace between one project and the next means you are never bored. You can work on a large-scale project lasting for several months and the next project could be totally different.

The lows

At times you can feel under pressure when there are project deadlines to meet, but the day-to-day work is not like that so don’t let it put you off a career in the industry.