Submerged In Her Career in Australia & Scotland

Do you want to spring out of bed on a Monday morning, excited at the week ahead of you, and I don't just mean when you're on holidays? I know I do. That's why I decided to study a double degree in Mechanical and Manufacturing Engineering and Operations Management. Even as an undergraduate, the opportunities that came my way and the experiences I have had assured me that my degree choice was setting me up for a very exciting career. Now, as a graduate, I am absolutely sure that I have made the right choice.

In November 2001, I joined the Australian Submarine Corporation (ASC) as an undergraduate in training, working with the Project Manager of the first Collins Class Submarine Full Cycle Docking. The Full Cycle Docking is basically a maintenance period held every 6 years of a submarine's life, where the submarine is refitted and major upgrades are made. Among the tasks I spent most of my time, in this role, were on coordination of work scope changes and business process improvement, with particular focus on how we handle emergent work. While my job did involve a lot of legwork and paper pushing, it also gave me the opportunity to find out about how things get done in the company. I got to know people from all of the different departments, quizzed them about what they and their department do and learned how they fit into the big picture.

My last few months with the company as an undergraduate saw me move into the Inspection Test and Trials group. With the Collins Class Submarine shock trials drawing close, the main focus of the department was on the trials preparations. The shock trials were the final obligation of the ASC to the Royal Australian Navy, to prove the operational ability of the Collins Class submarines. In June 2003, the submarine HMAS Rankin sailed to the trials location near Thistle Island. While there the boat was subjected to a number of blasts while submerged, under controlled conditions, to analyse the impact of a shock level 2 attack. I was fortunate enough to be able to negotiate a ride on the submarine for one of the blasts and helped check for leaks and damage after the test. So what was it like? To put it simply, it is like sitting in a huge tin can, held in place with some ropes, and having a giant come along and whack it with a big mallet. It was an amazing experience to be on board with the crew and find out how a submarine is really operated in this once in a lifetime event.

Into Scotland

Soon after the Shock Trials, I left the ASC and took off for Scotland to study at Strathclyde University. I would urge anyone studying to investigate the opportunities that their university offers for student exchange in other countries. While living in Glasgow, I landed a job with Babcock Naval Services at Her Majesty's Naval Base Clyde (Faslane).

I learned quickly on my first day at work, worriedly watching the bomb disposal squad race past while being reassured that this is a regular occurrence due to bombs from WW1 popping up in the river not infrequently, that this was going to be a very different experience. During my first week, I also learned that the large sign by the gate stating "Bikini Black Special" was not an advertisement for tonight's entertainment, but in fact is a term used to notify the current security level that the base is under. Learning the local language is definitely one of the great challenges in joining a new company, let alone a new company in a foreign country.

While working on the base, one of my main jobs was to participate in a revamp of the end-to-end process for work undertaken on the submarine nuclear reactors. Never having participated in anything involving nuclear energy before, I was amazed every day by what I learned. The rules, regulations and safety criteria for working with or operating a nuclear reactor or any part of the submarines housing them are incredibly strict. While this slows down the approval process for any changes that we wanted to make to business processes and work practices, it was very reassuring to know that every possible measure is taken to ensure that safety is not compromised. To go onboard and see how the British submarines compare to ours was very interesting. To stand next to a Vanguard Class SSBN, while it was out of the water for maintenance, was amazing. The Vanguard Class submarines make the Collins Class look tiny in comparison.

I would have to say that the best memories of my work at Faslane are from my time involved in the Business Improvement Team. The team was created to identify and lead the way in implementing business process and cultural changes required to achieve the objectives set out in the company's business plan. While an essential purpose of a company is to maximise the wealth of it's owners, I believe everyone should enjoy their work. This ideal was shared by the other team members, so together we set out to put in place the foundations for transforming the business into not only a highly profitable organisation but one with truly happy employees. From our first day, the team was full of enthusiasm and never once did the thought that we might fail in our task enter our minds. I was extremely happy in my job and very sad to leave BNS.

Back To Australia

Looking for my first job after graduation, I considered a number of options across different industries. However, my love of the submarines led me to return to ASC. On the company's Graduate Program, I have the opportunity to spend time in the Projects Management, Engineering Support, Production and Program Engineering Departments.

The move into my current department, Engineering Support - Western Australia (WA), was not only a move to another department, but a move 3000km away from my home in Adelaide to a new home on the West coast. When I arrived at work in Western Australia, I was assigned to a project team, formed for a semi-major docking and maintenance of one of the Collins Class submarines. As this is my first job as a graduate engineer in a technical role, it has been a real eye opener. Never would I have imagined that I knew so little! Firstly, there's the language, the names for all of those bits and pieces of equipment on the submarine and the terms used to describe what they do. I have felt a bit embarrassed at times having to ask people to explain things that, once put in plain English and I realise what they're talking about, are really quite simple. Secondly, there's the lack of engineering experience to deal with. Being able to recognise what's an issue and what's not, and knowing how we can and can't fix things takes time. What the senior engineers know just amazes me at times. Thirdly, I had to deal with my lack of knowledge about the submarine systems and equipment, how they work, what they do and how they interact with other systems and equipment. The guys on the tools are a great source of knowledge when it comes to questions about what things do and how they do it. Getting out on the boat with the guys from Production has definitely been the highlight of my time in Engineering Support.

The division of the company in WA, being much smaller than the head offices in Adelaide, also has a very different working environment to what I have experienced in the past. With only about 100 people, the atmosphere is more like that of a small company. There are many more opportunities to get involved and everyone is required to be a valuable member of the team. I have found that in a large company, the more challenging tasks are generally given to people who know how to do them, often holding back graduates from learning new things. But in the smaller company (or division of a large company), there are fewer people available, so never having done a task before is no excuse for not doing it now. I love that attitude. Being thrown in the deep end can be stressful at times, but there's no better way to quickly learn new things. I also like that fact that there is much less segregation between the functional departments and that the goals of the project are more readily adopted as the goals of all of the team members. This experience has definitely opened my eyes to the benefits of working for a smaller company.

As for the future, the world is a small place full of amazing and countless opportunities just waiting for someone to grab them. In Australia, there are a multitude of opportunities for engineers. We have thriving automotive, defence, aerospace, mining and many other industries that offer very exciting career paths. I can't wait for what lies ahead for me over the next few years and throughout my career.