Applying engineering design to keep people safe
Helen Fowler is a Process Safety Engineer at Chemring Countermeasures UK (CCM UK) in Salisbury. We met with Helen to find out what attracted her to a career in engineering. Here she shares her thoughts on how the mix of creativity and logic makes engineering an ideal role for women, as well as how she applies her engineering know-how to help keep colleagues safe every day.
What is your current role at Chemring and what does it entail?
My current role at CCM UK is a Process Safety Engineer, working in the Health, Safety, Security & Environment (HSS&E) department. Each day is different due to the reactive nature of my work, but overall, I’m involved in areas such as explosive licencing, Process Safety (PSRA) and general risk assessments. I also give engineering and safety advice on changes across the site, such as what tooling can be used in a bay, how a manufacturing process can be improved upon or explosive inventory limits in a bay.
In addition, I investigate incidents and accidents on-site and work with production engineers on remedial actions to prevent the reoccurrence of incidents or accidents. One of the big projects I’ve just started working on with the Quality department is a review of the Management of Change processes on-site and how they can be made more effective.
What attracted you to a career in engineering?
I’ve always been interested in how things work and finding solutions to problems, but I also had a keen interest in art and design. Engineering is a blend of logic and creativity, something I think is unique, so it was the natural career path for me. It’s something I’ve always wanted to do since I started my GCSEs.
What qualifications do you have and what was the gender diversity on your course(s)?
I gained my Masters of Engineering in Product Design and Manufacture at the University of Nottingham. The course had a blend of logical design and engineering, with the creative flair of design, so it was perfect for me. About a third of the students on the course were women. I think something that helped boost the diversity compared to other courses was the focus on design as well as engineering. I think that a common misconception about engineering being a purely mathematical based topic might put some women off. So, emphasising that it’s also about creativity will open up engineering to a lot more women.
During my time in the safety department, Chemring has encouraged me to achieve the ‘National General Certificate’ in Occupational Health and Safety. This has greatly increased my knowledge of day-to-day health and safety. Chemring has also supported my decision to pursue the ‘National Diploma’ in Occupational Health and Safety, which I’ll be starting in the coming months. I’m also currently working on my Chartership in Engineering and hope to have achieved it by this time next year.
What do you find most rewarding about your job?
The most rewarding part of the job is being able to influence positive change on site, with the end goal of improving the safety of my colleagues. Having the technical knowledge of engineering and the experience of working with explosives means I can contribute to various projects in a meaningful way and see the results of my input physically on site.
What's your proudest career moment so far?
Recently, I completed and submitted my first explosive building licence application to the Health and Safety Executive (HSE). For two years now I’ve been in the safety department, learning about explosive licencing and creating a good working relationship with the HSE. Drafting and sending a licence application off myself was a big achievement.
Do you have any words of advice for other women considering a career in engineering?
When I first said to my friends at school that I wanted to be an engineer, they thought I would be working in a mechanics shop fixing cars. Engineering is so much more than that! Don’t be put off by preconceptions of what engineering involves. If you like solving problems, you’ll like engineering, so go for it!