Yen

6 May 2022

Role: Project Engineer
Business Unit: Building
Project: Geelong Arts Centre
State: VIC

Introduce yourself

My name is Yen, I am a Project Engineer working in the Building (VIC) division at the Geelong Arts Centre.

What does your day look like? 

It’s Monday morning, you wake up and are about to start your day. What does your morning consist of before you arrive at work?

It is a non-RDO day so time to go to Geelong.

5:15am wake up and I am on the road by 6am.
I have a coffee in hand to keep me awake for the 1hour drive to Geelong.

By the time I park the car, I check my emails on the 10min walk to the office.
I say my hello’s and good mornings, and catch up with everyone at the coffee machine.
I go through my to-do list and emails for an hour, before heading out to site for a progress walk and status the current works. After logging some Enablon observations, it is back to the desk to resolve outstanding steel design queries with the contractor and consultants.

I spend most of my time coordinating and resolving façade interfacing details – this is a special project with 3 different contractors each doing specialist trades. Glazing, façade cladding, and glass reinforced concrete. 

Between meetings, replying to emails and reviewing details with shop drawings, it is the end of the day and back on the road (anywhere between 6-7pm).

You arrive on site/in the office, how do you begin your day? How do you prepare for the day ahead, what does this include? 

I arrive at the office any time between 7-to-7:30am, catch up on emails for an hour followed by a site walk.

The rest of the day, on either side of lunch, I will be in meetings or taking phone calls from contractors asking questions, details, or a status of shop drawings for consultant review.

Project is coming along nicely.

Given the amount of detail and work in the façade design, coordination across the trades takes up most of my time to ensure the deliverable outcomes match the design intent.

You have finished work for the day, what do you do in the evenings to relax and unwind? Does this include any post work activities? 

Dinner with the family is my ongoing relax and unwinding method.
Because I get home so late, I refuse to take my laptop home to do anymore.

With the little time I have left, I either read a book, have a crack at learning 1 thing with crotchet, or watch a bit of tv before bed.