As part of the ECITB’s Look Closer: Engineering Construction campaign to raise awareness of careers in industry, Construction Management meets people working in the different sectors that make up the engineering construction industry (ECI), which underpins the delivery, maintenance and decommissioning of much of the UK’s critical infrastructure.
This month we speak to Rachel Frieslick, 33, who lives in Inverness but is originally from the Isle of Lewis, Outer Hebrides, Scotland. She is a mechanical technician working for Wood on the Buzzard oil rig in the North Sea.
Tell us how you got into the industry
I’d say my story is unique because I started as a baker after doing a patisserie course at college. When covid happened, I decided to try something different and completed an online mechanical engineering course.
This led to me securing a place on an ECITB-supported apprenticeship programme at Forth Valley College. I spent two years completing practical and theory elements and another two on placement on a floating, production, storage and offloading (FPSO) vessel offshore getting experience.
I then landed my job on Buzzard and completed an ECITB qualification to become a fully qualified mechanical technician.
Describe your role and a typical day as a mechanical technician
When your car is making a funny noise, you take it to a mechanic, and the same is true on a rig – you come to us, only you’re talking much bigger machines!
A typical day always starts with a morning meeting to assign and discuss work scopes before gathering the necessary documents you need, like permits. Once on site, you have a ‘toolbox talk’ with your team to make sure everyone knows their role.
You can be installing pieces of equipment one minute and carrying out repairs the next, like reinstalling a seawater lift pump or putting on breathing apparatus to go into a containment unit to swap out pipework.
A 12-hour shift can be so varied and that’s what I love about the job – it’s so rewarding. The time off is also nice! I work two weeks on, three weeks off.
What skills are most important for your role?
Although it’s a mechanical tech’s best friend, there’s more to my job than using a spanner!
One skill you use most days is reading a P&ID (Piping and Instrumentation Diagram) and understanding everything that’s going on with a join. Another is precision measurement when it comes to alignments.
You always have steps in place to make sure you’re safe, but you need to keep a sense of awareness about everything that’s happening around you because other work scopes are going on as well.
You also need to communicate clearly with different departments and be confident talking to groups of people.
What surprises people most about this role?
Something that really surprised me was the massive scale of the equipment. You can’t comprehend it until you first see it. Someone will ask you to align something and you look up and think ‘how am I supposed to align that? It’s massive’.
What are the biggest challenges of the job?
Being away from home for extended periods is a big challenge. If the weather is bad, you can get weathered on for a longer stint.
By the end of two weeks offshore, you are physically and also mentally tired. There is very little alone time as you are always surrounded by people and it’s never quiet.
What opportunities exist for progression or specialisation?
Your basic next step would be into a lead tech role, but having mechanical skills means you can transfer into other speciality areas.
Examples include decommissioning, with the planning and safe execution of dismantling and abandoning platforms, or other specialities like working with rotating equipment, gas turbines, centrifugal pumps or compressors.
What’s the best advice you’ve received that you would pass on?
Take any opportunity you’re given. It opens doors. Opportunities to extend the portfolio of things you can do help make you more valuable.
Don’t be afraid to ask questions to help advance your understanding of how things work. People always want to teach you what they know, which is far more valuable than anything you’ll get in a textbook.
