Martyn Yarde: Atkins graduate

Employer: Atkins
University: Cardiff University (2008)
Subject: MEng mechanical engineering

I undertook two ‘year in industry’ placements, one before university and one as a sandwich year. This gave me a lot of insight into what I wanted from a job and plenty of ammunition for interviews.

I decided on my current employer, a global consultancy, as it offered a combination of engineering, business and project management opportunities. The nuclear power sector appealed as it poses a challenge (nuclear is always ‘on’ so any upgrades or maintenance require a lot of planning) and can offer international work.

Power station boiler work

I’ve been involved in about 15 projects since starting work two years ago. I largely provide technical support but have also project-managed three or four modest-budget improvement projects, overseeing teams of up to five people.

I have one ongoing project: my employer has a ‘framework contract’ with British Energy to provide assistance with work on the boilers at their oldest reactors. Within this there have been lots of sub-projects lasting anything from a few hours to several months and I’ve also been involved in a number of decommissioning projects for another client, Magnox South.

Examples of smaller projects include engineering substantiation work (checking existing equipment to ensure it is still suitable and meets current regulations), reviewing other engineers’ calculations regarding heat transfer or stress, writing safety cases (legal documents that are required when making changes or bringing in new pieces of equipment) and report writing.

Finite element modelling (FEM) on boiler tubes

I am currently undertaking some finite element modelling (FEM) of a section of a power station boiler that is restrained in a certain way. This involves modelling the geometry of its boiler tubes to analyse stresses to check if it would still function within the safety limits if it were operated in a different way or if modifications would be needed first.

One of the most interesting projects I have worked on was a site-based project where I did some reactor outage maintenance work. This is a challenge as even if nuclear power stations stop generating, the fuel remains in the reactor and continues to produce heat (the ‘always on’ principle). It’s necessary to decide precisely where you want to do maintenance work so the relevant areas can be made safe and cooled.

Best bits of my graduate job

The best aspects of my job are working on lots of different types of projects, the challenges of nuclear and the people I get to work with. I have many smart, energetic and helpful colleagues and enjoy working regularly with people outside the company.

Working lifestyle

At the moment I spend around 80 per cent of my time at my employer’s offices and 20 per cent at the client’s office (about 30 miles away) and have also spent time on site on previous projects.

Right now I spend about 60 per cent of the week working closely within a team and the rest independently, though this varies a lot from project to project.