Every day really is a school day – so when starting in a new industry, don’t be afraid to ask lots of questions, and reach out to experienced colleagues for guidance. This approach will enable you to build up your own knowledge and expertise within your role – as well as your confidence and capabilities. Having recently graduated, one of my first projects on site was a coaster vessel loadout, where my role was to supervise the loading of cargo to the vessel, ensuring it was completed as per our engineering package. a short sea coaster move.  This provided an opportunity to ask lots of questions, expand my experience and pick up some top tips for this type of project, namely:

• Have on hand multiple copies of each drawing – ideally printed, when on site as these are very helpful to reference when you are on the vessel. They allow you to quickly and easily check that you are on track at each stage of the project schedule.
• Ensure you have multiple copies of the documents from any other parties involved, such as lift plans from the crane operator. This is essential so that all aspects are completed safely and to plan, as you are responsible for overseeing the operation.
• Take any problems that arise in your stride and view them as a challenge as the there will always be a solution. Pause the operation and take 5 minutes to have a conversation with the parties involved, come to an agreed solution for everyone and move forward.
• From your first job on site as a graduate, to your current project – you are not expected to know everything and should always ask questions, double check things and be open to new solutions.