Khurrum Sattar - Graduate Engineer

Job Title: Graduate Engineer

How long have you been on the Graduate Scheme? 18 months

Which University did you attend and what course did you do? Leicester University, graduating in Mechanical Engineering.

Description:

I joined Alstom in October 2007 after graduating in mechanical engineering at Leicester University earlier that year. So far I have had 5 placements and am currently on my 6th placement which is at Komati Power Station in South Africa.

A schedule of my placements is as listed below:

1. Quality Health Safety & Environment: This was my first placement where I created a benchmark report for reporting the business on an internal and external scale. I also drew up a process plan to implement the HSE system in site.
2. Stafford SEC: My project involved studying the cause of failure on consolidated generator coils, by slot cell pinching against the rotor body.
3. Project Management: This placement involved the study of Gas Turbines and HRSG technologies. I was supporting the Project Manager on the outage at Earlstoun Hydro Plant in Scotland.
4. Rugby Workshop:  My project was to develop Structures and Rewards tool that rewarded employees for flexibility across different departments. This involved: Information gathering, hosting meetings, providing a solution, reaching a consensus and trial runs.
5. Rotating Plant Operations: The objective of this placement was to identify and understand the major components on site. I also assisted with maintenance work on turbines, valves, BOP items and Tech Service operations.
6. Komati Power Plant: My major role on site is supporting the commissioning engineer. This involves: working with the turbine auxiliary systems, commissioning procedures and configuring the Siemens C&I systems interface with ST and associated systems. Alongside this I collect information on hours and expenses on site, then report and highlight any variances on a weekly basis.

So far my experience with the company is enjoyable, the placements are structured to appreciate the business unit as a whole as opposed to one department. The recent merge with the two power sectors has opened up more opportunities in the commissioning sector for developing engineers.