Jemma Quin

We asked Jemma…

I would recommend a career in civil engineering because …

As a civil engineer you get to come up with innovative solutions to complex problems that most people don’t even know exist.

What’s the biggest/most complex thing you’ve made out of Lego? How long did it take you?

I built a crane out of Lego when I was preparing my attributes and experiential learning, which allowed me to go for professional review with the ICE.

I would allow myself to do one stage of it as a reward for hitting a milestone such as signing off my attributes and then signing off my experiential learning submission.

It took me a year, but it kind of spurred me on as I could see it physically take shape as my professional review submission took shape.

It was a physical reminder of how well I was progressing.

Complete this phrase: I’m a civil engineer, but I’m also…

A scientist, an explorer, a dreamer, a sister, a daughter, an adventurer, a sci-fi geek, a book worm, a foodie, and a down-to-earth normal person just like you.

What about being a civil engineer gets you out of bed each morning?

Helping people. For example, by building vital infrastructure such as a water treatment plant for clean water or a bridge to help someone cross an obstacle.

I like helping people reach their goals and site teams carry out temporary works safely.

What’s one great thing that you love about civil engineering that you didn’t know until you started working in the industry?

Temporary works. I’d never heard of the term until I started working onsite.

Temporary works is an ‘engineered solution’ used to:

• help support or protect a structure during its construction or demolition (such as propping of facade retention), or
• support an item of plant or equipment (such as crane platforms and welfare cabin foundations), or
• support the side of an excavation/ trench (such as trench boxes), or
• provide access (such as scaffolding or mobile elevating work platforms [MEWPS]).

It can be removed or left in place after the permanent works are completed. It can also be how we sequence the permanent works installation or demolition.

In essence, everything we do on a construction site is temporary works. Each item is like a mini project going through a full design cycle.

Coming up with a solution for how you build something can often be more complex than designing the actual permanent works item to begin with.

Name one civil engineering myth you’d like to bust.

That it’s just a bunch of sweaty, hairy, unintelligent, old men brick laying.

In fact, it’s a collection of people from all backgrounds, ages, genders, and races coming together to create vital infrastructure.

Has civil engineering helped you overcome any personal or professional challenges/difficulties?

I had real difficulties in English class when I was young, especially with reading and writing.

I had to have a scribe type some of my answers because my spelling and grammar were so bad.

When I started working, my senior engineers/bosses helped me practice and improve my writing by marking my emails and reports before they were submitted.

With encouragement and using word processors on the computer, I got better at it. Also, going through the ICE IEng and CEng route and writing reports every three months also helped.

I was also really shy and the people I worked with helped me come out of my shell.

Any personal causes or hobbies?

I’m a director of the Temporary Works Forum (TWf - a Specialist Knowledge Society of ICE). Our aim is to make our industry safer by training people on temporary works, writing technical guidance and hosting debates where people can discuss how we can make our industry safer.

In my spare time I play Dungeons and Dragons, which is a game where someone tells a story, and you play a character in that story. I enjoy it because I get to hang out with my friends and be creative. It also allows me to develop new skills such as negotiation and strategy.