What's your job about?
Monadelphous provides construction, maintenance, and industrial services to the leading companies in the resource, energy, and infrastructure sectors. I work as a project engineer in the maintenance division of the business and currently stationed at Port Hedland, WA.
The projects that I am currently working are providing maintenance services to the Balance Machines and Fixed Plant Infrastructure of an Iron Ore Port Facility, as well as Remediation of High-Level Bridges that support the rail network connecting various mine sites to the port facility.
My work can be split into two distinct stages, the planning and then execution of works. Most of my time is spent on planning the various shutdowns that we have in the pipeline. This would include preparing Methodologies, Schedules, and Quality Control documents that my team will utilise during execution. It is important to ensure that these documents are completed at a high standard to prevents issues that may arise during execution.
The second part of my job is providing support to my team during the execution of works. This will include attending shift handover meetings to ensure that I capture potential issues and provide technical support when required. I will then complete a daily walkthrough of the job front then submit a daily progress report to the client. Once the shutdown is completed, I will review the Quality Control documents to ensure that all the necessary paperwork is completed.
What's your background?
I spent most of my early childhood in a small island in the Philippines. As I grew older, my family had to constantly relocate from one island to another as my parents tried to find stable jobs. In hindsight, this probably helped prepare me for when we eventually moved to Australia in 2014.
With regards to my education, I did Year 1 – 9 in the Philippines then finished high school in Bunbury, WA. Growing up I always loved cars and, in my mind, the best career that may lead me to working on them was engineering. Spoiler alert, it never happened (for now). With my career path set, I applied and got into Curtin University to study mechanical engineering.
Throughout my uni days, I worked part-time in a family-owned mining laboratory. My weekly schedule during that time was going to school for 3 days then worked 3 days as a Lab Analyst where I analysed soil samples from various mine sites for their gold content. I didn’t know it at the time, but that was the start of my career in mining.
Fast forward to 2021, I completed my degree and started a graduate program with another maintenance service provider for mining companies. I spent a year there learning the foundations required to thrive in the industry. They helped hone my interpersonal and project management skills. I then decided to take a leap of faith and accept the offer from Monadelphous to further develop my skills as an engineer.
Could someone with a different background do your job?
Yes, I believe someone with a different background can also do my job. Some of the skills needed to excel in the industry are communication, interpersonal skills and client services. These are important to build a great working relationship with both the client and your own team. Now on the technical side of the job, problem solving and time management are key skills to have. These are important as they help you solve the issues faced on the job in a timely manner.
What's the coolest thing about your job?
I enjoy working on the balance machines in port facilities! It’s the closest I can get to my dream job of working on cars, or so I tell myself. For me, the best part of my job is going to site and scoping the machines / structures for defects that we need to remediate. It may take you hours to complete a walkthrough of the area but finding all the defects and coming up with potential plans while being in the field is very satisfying.
What are the limitations of your job?
The biggest challenge of my job is working away from home. Personally, I love flying out and being onsite but it can definitely be difficult for some. You will need to adapt to your new workplace while also deal with being away from your friends and family for an extended amount of time.
3 pieces of advice for yourself when you were a student...
The best advise I can give to younger CJ is to build strong relationships with your peers, take your time and most importantly have fun!
The people that you interact with in university will be your future peers in the industry. It is helpful to build strong relationships with them early in your career. Finally, it’s not a race to start your career so take your time and then go travel after finishing your studies. Don’t get me wrong, you can still do it while working but you must reward yourself after studying all those years!