A Day in the Life with our Summer Engineer Intern Sam Shepherd
News Article
Meet Sam, he has spent just over nine weeks with us over summer, undertaking his paid internship placement within our Ground Investigation department. Sam applied for our Summer Internship Programme last year, after hearing about it from members of our team, who were at The University of Liverpool ‘Grow Your Future’ careers fair, promoting both the internship and graduate jobs with us.
Whilst with us, Sam was tasked with compiling an account of a typical day as an Intern Engineer with us. We hope this will encourage other potential students to apply for our next intake.
Sam has now started back at The University of Liverpool, where he is studying for his BSc. in Geography. Good luck in your final year Sam! And thank you again for spending your summer with us.
Time to get up, have a quick stretch, a cup of tea and some breakfast. This particular morning, I have a goose egg which fuels me for the workday. It’s then time to set off from home and head to site whilst listening to some music to get me ready for the day ahead.
I arrive at the ground investigation site in Cheshire. The day starts with signing in, followed by a daily briefing with the team about the day ahead. We discuss what the plan is for the day and how to execute the work safely and effectively.
Being an intern, I am being mentored by one of Central Alliance’s more experienced Engineers, Harry, which is really helpful for developing my understanding of all elements of the job. Once the pre-shift meetings are completed, the drilling can commence.
On this job, we are drilling to 20m depth, this is to test the ground conditions for the future reconstruction of a former collapsed bridge. This picture shows the former bridge compared to the present-day void in the road.
We head to both sides of the old bridge to plan out the day ahead in a little more detail, which involves undertaking a POWRA (Point Of Work Risk Assessment). This consists of assessing work conditions as they present at the start of the day, and mitigating against possible risks and hazards that might not have been present when the Site Specific Risk Assessments were compiled before the job commenced. There is definitely a lot to learn about health and safety in this role.
I then make a few phone calls regarding soil and core sample collection – our samples go back to our yard in Normanton for processing and sending on to the lab for various tests. The start of shift also often involves the site Engineer having a chat to our client, to ensure they’re happy with our planned works for the day. The photo here shows the cable percussion rig, mid set up.
We get our first initial core recovery from the borehole, which means it’s time for us to start logging. In this instance, the sample is some sandy clay. We then log, bag up the samples and take photos of our findings.
As an intern engineer, one of my daily responsibilities, which I have been trained up to undertake, is the collection of environmental samples. These are also sent to the lab, to test for any contamination at any of the boreholes. Once this is completed, it is time to start my logging, which takes up most of the day.
Part of the responsibility of the mentoring Engineer who I am on site with, is to train me up on how to log samples to British Standard. This has been a fantastic learning opportunity, and it’s brilliant to learn this on the job with a mentor by my side.
After drilling for a few hours, we encounter Mercia Mudstone with bands of salt crystals. I always find it extremely fascinating to understand past environments based on the geology we find.
For example, the core run seen in this image was found during the Triassic Period (250-201 million years ago), as Cheshire sat in the scorching, arid interior of the supercontinent, Pangea. This desert basin experienced occasional flash floods, which washed red clay and silt into lakes, building up thick layers of the Mercia Mudstone. As the climate was intensely hot, these lakes evaporated rapidly, causing minerals to crystallise, which then left thick beds of salt crystals. Fascinating!
Lunch Time! We head out for a bacon and sausage sandwich to re-energise. We have to take shelter in the van from the pouring rain!
Back from our lunch break, we have a chat with the drillers and evaluate how the day is going so far. No changes are required, but we do mention to be careful with footing, due to the ground now being wet from the downpour. Drilling and logging continues.
This is an example of Mercia Mudstone with green laminae inside!
14:00 PM: I have learnt that one of the most important parts of the job is to always be present when drilling is in progress, in order to act quickly as a team if any issues arise. This hopefully ensures accidents / incidents are prevented and any present hazards are well controlled. I am taught that effective and clear communication between the drillers and engineering team is critical to a successful job being delivered to the client.
Whilst drilling is progressing, I have time to catch up on labelling samples and I also make sure that we have an organised workspace, with good housekeeping. This gives me peace of mind that all is as it should be!
15:00 PM: More logging! As we drill deeper into the ground, we are more likely to find bedrock and cobbles/boulders, which can really slow down drilling. However, when we do hit this type of ground, it’s always a special feeling to hold something completely untouched for thousands - millions of years.
Another key department of Central Alliance is Instrumentation and Monitoring (I&M). The I&M team monitor and measure a whole range of geotechnical and structural parameters, such as ground movement, water levels and structural stability, to ensure safety, both during and post construction. In this case, groundwater monitoring is installed and we take water level measurements.
End of shift. Because we are working well over one hour away from the Central Alliance yard, accommodation is provided for us close to site, which is to prevent fatigue. On this job, we are staying in a lovely rented cottage right next to a canal, which is a great way to unwind at the end of the shift.
Engineers at Central Alliance are lucky enough to travel all over the UK for work, which is something I’m really enjoying. I make it a primary goal of mine to explore the area we are staying in and to go for a relaxing walk, listening to my music and seeing new sights.
18:30 PM: The site Engineer, Harry and I get something to eat and then head out for a climbing session!
20:30 PM: Back at our digs, I have a quick wash, watch some trashy telly and read a book to relax before bed.
21:30 PM: Another day at Central Alliance complete, time for bed!
Keep your eyes peeled on our website and socials for the opening date, later this year.
To view Careers at Central Alliance just click the button below! For more details, please email info@central-alliance.co.uk