Welcome to our Maths Week Spotlights, where you'll hear from different STEM Ambassadors about how they've used maths in their lives and careers.
Tell us a fun fact about yourself.
I’ve been around the world twice, once in 2000 as part of the crew on the Royal Navy
frigate HMS Sutherland we did a 7-month global trip; the second time took a bit longer, in
2002 I was stationed in Singapore with my family, we returned in 2005 where we took the
long way home via Australia, New Zealand, Hawaii and Canada.
What was your experience with maths growing up and in school?
Although I didn’t struggle with Maths at school, it certainly didn’t come to me easily (I was
no where near to the top set). Even now I have to check myself when looking at powers
of ten, especially when moving the decimal point for a negative power.
It is pretty important to be competent and understand what you are trying to achieve; I
deal with a huge amount of numbers in my job, pressures, temperatures, flows of liquids
to name a few, and money….hence my interest in where the decimal point goes as it will
make all the difference when dealing with cash.
Tell us about your careers journey so far.
I consider myself to be incredibly lucky, I wanted to join the Royal Navy from an early age
but it was my Dad who explained that having a trade (Marine engineering) would help me
in later life too. How right he was as I would have joined the Navy as anything.
Engineering have given me a fantastic career in the Navy and out of it, and it helps me
keep maintenance costs down on my motorbike too.
Leaving the Navy after 23 years was a big turning point in my life, but (thanks to my Dad)
I have my Engineering experience to fall back on and continue my career out in civvy
street.
What was your favourite subject in school and why?
I really enjoyed the practical subjects, I did woodwork, metalwork and engineering
drawing at my senior school. Those kinds of skills have helped me all through my life, I
made my son’s first bed with the woodwork skills I learned at school.
Maths is also an integral part of all these subjects too.
How do you use maths in your role?
Everyday at work for certain, see question 2.
But also in my life outside of work, my motorbike is getting on a bit in years (much like me
LOL) and the mileage trip display resets each time I turn the bike off, there is no fuel gauge
so I have to be able to work out how many miles I have left in my tank so I don’t run out
before the next petrol station..!!
What is your favourite thing about your job?
Everyday will bring a new challenge, whether that is dealing with suppliers or government
organisations. Working out what they want or need and finding out if or how that can be
achieved. My staff run the plant operations on a day-to-day basis so I have oversight of
what they do but they are the experts in this, my role is to remove any barriers so that
they can do their best every day.
What is a normal day in your role like?
MVV Baldovie is a 24/7 365 days a year operation, as the Operations Manager I ensure
that the staff on shift have everything they need to carry out their jobs correctly, safely
and in compliance with our Environmental Permit (issued to us by the Scottish
Environment Protection Agency). I do a lot of reporting, which is compiling information on
plant efficiency as well as what products have been used and how much each will need
refilling by. I also have shared responsibility for the health & safety of the working areas of
the plant and all the people on site at any one time, whether they are staff, contractors or
visitors. We are keen to promote the importance of our plant to the local area in how we
recover the energy of the rubbish that householders throw away and at promoting
responsible recycling; we show various groups around the plant, schools, householders
and even the Scottish Fire and Rescue service.
And what does your job title mean?
Operations is how we describe the part of the plant responsible to carrying out the day to
day running of all the systems and equipment. Think of it as driving a car, the driver is
operating the cars controls to make it move down the road. The Maintenance department
are responsible for fixing the equipment when it breaks; using the same analogy for a car,
they would be the mechanics in a garage. As the Operations manager I look after the
people who run the plant.
Can you suggest an activity that could be done at home that illustrates an aspect of your work? Please share links to relevant resources.
This is an easy one, just look at the things you throw in the bin and ask yourself this question – “Can this piece of rubbish be valuable to someone else?” If it can be recycled, then it’s useful to someone else; please make sure it’s placed in the right bin. A lot of materials can be recycled, which generally is less harmful to the planets resources than if we were making it from virgin materials. It is up to everyone to make this change and help out where they can.
Recycling Service Leaflet Kerbside: https://www.dundeecity.gov.uk/sites/default/files/publications/recycling_service_leaflet_kerbside.pdf
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