My placement at Markinch has been very productive even with the complications arising due to the Covid-19 pandemic. The general rule at Markinch during the current circumstances is to work on site whenever needed and working from home is encouraged otherwise. I am thankful to the staff and Markinch community who have been implementing the safety measures necessary to make working on site possible, as it has given me a wider and better understanding of the plant’s operation and also a chance to indulge myself in a ‘normal’ work environment which is feeding into my overall development.
My role is in the performance, commercial and environmental team which includes highlighting areas within the process where we can improve on optimisation, analysing the performance losses and updating stakeholders regularly on the performance of the plant, as well as ensuring the plant operates within the PPC (permit pollution control) limits. This is done by carrying out chemistry tests on samples in the chemistry laboratory on site. Aside from this, I am heavily involved with a recent performance project on HCl emissions control improvements which requires me to attend meetings with the performance teams from the technical support office at Swindon and this has helped me gain exposure to a greater portion of RWE engineers and build connections from all over the company.
The great responsibility I have been handed early on in my year in industry is a key factor to my personal development along with the training and workshops provided by RWE’s Training Academy. I am ready to take on further challenges all with the help of my team as well as the support system put in place for placement students – such as the graduate buddy scheme and regular cohort check-ins with the early careers specialist – and looking forward to the rest of my year in industry!
