How did you get involved in the Institute of Corrosion?

The Institute of Corrosion does a lot of webinars and I often attend to keep on top of what is happening in industry, so it was great to hear from a colleague that they ran a Young Engineer Programme (YEP).

What appealed to you about their 2022 YEP programme? 

When looking at the programme as a whole, I really liked that it gave us the opportunity to solve a complex case study. When we signed up to the programme we didn’t know what the case study topic would be, I knew it wouldn’t be easy and that challenge, the idea of a difficult problem - only made me want to solve it more.

What does the programme offer young people in the industry?

It offers the chance to learn from people right across the industry with different levels of experience and backgrounds. Although you’re learning, you still get the chance to lead; something which is invaluable for young people in the industry. Your mentor keeps you right, but it’s up to you and your team to decide how to solve the problems put in front of you.

Can you tell us more about your group entry for the competition?

Our task was to propose a corrosion management strategy for a poorly managed mature offshore platform and develop a concept design for a pipeline for a new client. We were given many challenges to solve, including lack of inspection, severe corrosion of key assets and dealing with introduction of H₂S to a currently non-sour service processing stream.

Thinking about operating the asset with UK net zero targets in mind was key for our solution. We knew we had to come up with a technical, yet commercially viable, approach that would both benefit the client and allow them to operate with future targets in mind.

What would you say to someone thinking about becoming a member of the Institute of Corrosion and participating in the 2022 YEP programme?

I’d say absolutely go for it. The YEP was a great experience from start to finish. It was hard work, but I learned a lot, met some fantastic people and it has only led to even better opportunities already.

What’s next for you in the world of corrosion?

Firstly, find an even harder challenge than the YEP case study and try my best to solve it. Otherwise, just keep learning! Corrosion in the industry is such a diverse topic and understanding it requires knowledge from a wide variety of technical disciplines.

What was the biggest challenge of the programme?

The biggest challenge was condensing 6 months of work into one 20 minute presentation. We went into a lot of detail on some of our solutions to ensure they were the right fit. Figuring out which details were the most valuable to show in the final presentation required a lot of practice.

How has the programme helped your day job?

It exposed me to a lot of technical systems that I wouldn’t otherwise have come across in my day job. Learning about these really gave me an extra layer of knowledge, which I can apply to the rest of my work. It really helped me to see what’s going on outside the boundaries of my job, it gave me an appreciation of the bigger picture.