We can’t believe December has come around so fast and that means our 2023/24 Year In Industry (YII) cohort has been with us for six months. This year, we have the most students we’ve ever had – so sit tight for the first 10 blogs where we asked each of the trainees what they’ve been doing, which sites they’ve visited and what it’s like to be part of the Winvic team.
Lily is one of our Trainee Site Engineer who is studying for Construction Management degree at Nottingham Trent University (NTU). As you’ll read below, she’s really got to grips with the different technologies that a site engineer needs to use, and she’s enjoyed visiting various sites and undertaking mini departmental placements. She says: “as my first job, it’s been brilliant!”
What projects have you been working on?
I have been at Panattoni Park in Crewe since the start of my placement in July, but I have visited a number of other projects and spent time on placements across the business, where I’ve been at the head office or visiting a site. Panattoni Park is an industrial project comprising six warehouses totalling 373,000 sq ft. We have been working on elements like a temporary access road for an adjacent business, a retaining wall and S278 works, which is the works to make permanent alterations or improvements to a public highway, while there are ongoing ground condition investigations.
How did you come across Winvic and what made you choose us?
I came across Winvic while I was at the careers fair at Nottingham Trent University – I knew I really wanted to do an on-site placement, so I applied and attended interviews for a few companies. Winvic stood out compared to my other interviews because it was very relaxed. I felt so comfortable, and it was surprising that most of the questions were about me. It was a different approach and I felt like it was the right decision to accept the Winvic placement – as my first job, it’s been brilliant!
What responsibilities have you had in the last five months?
Due to the nature of the site a significant number of trial pits have needed to be dug to analyse the earth and I’ve been setting these out. I’m given the drawings and I use the GPS equipment to locate the area, then I mark it out and use CAT scanning technology to see if there is anything underground that shouldn’t be, such as cables or pipes that haven’t been located on the construction drawings. The pits have mainly been around 2 metres squared with varying depths from 2 metres to 8 metres, and if the scan shows there are underground obstacles, I capture it on the drawings. After the pit is excavated, the geotechnical specialist collects the required samples. It’s very interesting how there’s hard clay in one pocket, which from a stability point of view is beneficial for foundations and 10 metres along there is red ash sand, which is very difficult to excavate and creates instability. Consequential findings have led to design changes, for example where a culvert will be installed.
I’ve been getting a head start by practising many of the tasks and skills I’ll be doing as the project progresses. Some exercises that I’ve been given by my manager, Robert Burnett, have been to set out kerbs from coordinates, to use a pipe laser to understand how to achieve the correct drainage pipe gradients and to set out a cycle path adjacent to a retaining wall.
What was your best day on site so far?
I’ve enjoyed every day on site and the time has really flown by, but I think the wide range of placements have been the most eye-opening as they have given me insight into everything that goes into a project. It’s been great to see different sectors too – I’ve visited the Kent Street Baths build-to-rent project in Birmingham, the SEGRO Logistics Park Northampton civils and infrastructure scheme and St Modwen Park Derby, where Winvic are just now completing five industrial units, following four that were handed over a year ago.
I learned a lot by spending three days with the Environmental Team and shadowing an Environmental Assessment at Lancaster Street and I thoroughly enjoyed spending a week with the Planning Team. I had no idea just how much time and effort goes into the tender process and planning and the mini assignment I had to complete was fun to do. I was given the all the details for one of our other live projects for Panattoni and I had to calculate the time it would take to complete each package and come up with an end-to-end programme. I used the knowledge from my project as a reference point and I didn’t do a bad job when compared to the actual 30-week timings.
I also love technology so going to Leica Geosystems to see some of the very latest equipment with some of the other YII students was really fascinating. A new total station looked like a hand-held games console and there was an underground scanner which rolls along and creates graphs which can then be turned into images and 3D models.
What is it like being part of the Winvic team?
I love it and I’ve wanted to get up and come to work every single day. I’ve not felt out of place at all, the site team is a good laugh and Kayleigh who is the Talent Development Manager is great and has been checking on me regularly. Everyone is friendly and even though I’ve only been to head office a couple of times, I feel like they know me too. The team have really looked after me and that positive impression has been important to me for my first job.
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