Mihali Kakulas

Graduate Electrical Engineer at UGL

6.30 AM

I currently work as a Graduate Electrical Engineer at CIMIC Group’s UGL. This morning, I arrive at work a bit early to get changed into PPE before the 6.45 AM pre-start meeting. The site Superintendent explains the tasks for the shift, critical risks and mitigating controls.

Today’s major tasks include survey work on the upline, consist concrete pour of the downline and general mechanical and electrical (M&E) bracket and anchor installs.

7.00 AM

After the pre-start meeting, I settle into my desk and spend 15 minutes writing down my daily objectives. As a Site Engineer, given the variety of tasks I’m responsible for, I find my journal the most important document in tracking my thoughts and achieving my targets. After journaling, I spend 15 minutes going through any emails from nightshift. Before I start my daily tasks, I quickly ask the M&E Team if they need any help on their critical activities, otherwise I get straight into business.

7.30 AM

This week I’ve been tasked with creating a user-friendly tracker for monitoring progress, cost and resources for the ongoing M&E tunnel fit out. The tracker will require supervisors to report on daily manning, resource usage and progress as per the project schedule. This will not only involve me creating an excel spreadsheet, but it will also involve me talking to supervisors and managers to try and make the tracker as user friendly and effective to the project team. It is for this reason that I love being a contractor, you not only develop your technical skills, but you are also given real time feedback on your work by the very team you’re a part of.

10.00 AM

It’s time for the weekly meeting between the M&E team. The Lead Engineer goes through the agenda topics such as procurement, technical issues, construction progress, upcoming milestones, team workload and any general concerns.

It is raised by the team that the procurement of materials to site is becoming the biggest obstacle to the project.

Consequently, each of the engineers is assigned a materials package to ensure that all materials arrive on-site before works commence. I have been made responsible for the timely delivery of all cables to site.

12.30 PM

After lunch I’ve been rostered on to complete the ventilation and gas monitoring Inspections within the tunnels. Given how easy it is to get stuck at your desk all day, I always jump at the opportunity to visit site. This particular inspection involves sampling air quality at 250m intervals throughout the tunnel to ensure the work environment is safe for people to work in.

2.00 PM

One of the mechanical engineers needs a hand tracking down some critical cable ladder brackets. I am tasked in calling the supplier for an update.

3.30 PM

I get a call from one of the electrical supervisors requesting that I sign off an inspection test plan (ITP) hold point for the crossover cable containment install. By doing so, this will enable the electricians to commence cable pulls throughout the tunnel crossover. This requires me to go to site and inspect the cable ladder install for conformance to the design, taking special note of any sharp edges or damaged equipment. Upon inspection, it is evident the installation is conforming, meaning I can sign off the ITP and works can resume.

Sharon Chia

Graduate Process Engineer at Sedgman

8:00 AM

I am currently working as a Graduate Process Engineer at CIMIC Group’s Sedgman. After arriving at the office today, I will firstly need to check my temperature and sign in to record my attendance in the office. This is part of COVID protocols and ensures everyone in the office is accounted for.

I arrive at my desk to unpack and look around and notice my team isn’t in the office however I know I can reach people through Teams’ chat if required. I start off by checking my calendar to make ensure there are no new meetings.

8:30 AM

I join a Team’s meeting with my colleagues. This meeting is a chance to catch up on everyone’s progress so far for the project that I am working on. From this meeting I also find out that there are a couple of urgent priorities required by the end of the week and early next week that we must meet to provide deliverables to our client for the project.

9:00 AM

Now I have finished my meeting, I begin to review my unread emails. For the project that I am currently working on, I’ve been handling equipment packages that are sent out to vendors to get price quotes and information. A couple of packages are due by the end of this week, so I am expecting a couple of emails from vendors to come through. With impending deadlines, we often receive queries about vendors to obtain clarification about the requests for quotation we have distributed. I check that I have actioned these emails and respond to them as required. If the email relates to a technical question outside of my knowledge, I forward this to the relevant lead engineer for action and response.

9:45 AM

As a graduate, I tend to help where I can which is a good way to pick up new skills and knowledge. Tasks are assigned to me either by my manager or another team member who may require additional help. I write up a to-do list for the day to get organised.

9:50 AM

My priority today is to backdraft a set of process flow diagrams which have been redlined by the senior process engineers in the team. Using AutoCAD, I start updating the drawings accordingly.

12:45 PM

After lunch, I head back to my desk to finish up drafting the process flow diagrams to get them ready to be reviewed.

2:30 PM

I’ve finally finished drafting up the process flow diagram and I notify the lead process engineer of the project that they are ready for review.

I move on to the next task which requires me to redline stream numbers from mass balances on the next set of process flow diagram drawings.

4:00 PM

The day is slowly wrapping up. Before finishing up for the day, I go back to my emails and work through the unread emails. There are emails about quotes from vendors which I have been expecting and I work my way through completing administrative tasks.

5:00 PM

Before I finish up my day, I look through my to-do list to cross of all completed tasks and plan out my new to-do list for the next day. This helps with easy prioritisation of any new task that may get slotted in for the next day. Now I finally head off.

Serena Barsby

Communications Graduate at CPB Contractors

6:30 am

As a Communications Graduate at CIMIC Group’s CPB Contractors, I have been working on-site once a week to get exposure to the community and stakeholder side of the business. Today, however, I’m based in the North Sydney head office. I live a fair distance from the city, which means I get to settle in for a long train ride. I greatly appreciate my commute to and from work. I often use this time to read, a passion of mine, and I get through about a book a week.

8:00 am

When I arrive, I go through my emails and create a daily ‘to do’ list to plan out my day. Next, I get to work on a few priority items that need to be actioned this morning. One of these items involves reworking a memo celebrating recent environmental achievements on our projects to be sent out by our General Managers. After making some final changes, I send the copy off for approval and distribution amongst our business unit and projects.

9:00 am

I start to work on upcoming memos and newsletters. This involves writing, editing, and formatting the copy into templates. In seeking out information for the copy, I get to talk with many people within the business about their job roles. This is one of my favourite parts about my job because of how much I learn about the intricate work that goes at our construction projects, as well as talking to people about the things they’re truly passionate about.

Working in corporate communications often involves collaborating with a range of departments to ensure the information we distribute is accurate, including HR, Safety, Environment and more. Today I reached out to our Graphic Designer for photos of our employees on-site to include in an upcoming memo.

11:00 am

I’m on the NAIDOC Working Party and I have a few responsibilities to work on for our upcoming NAIDOC Week celebrations. I spend some time researching details and emailing external business contacts to coordinate the event.

We have some recent good news stories from our projects that we want to publish on our company Intranet and social media. Time slips by as I write up a handful of articles and spend some time editing them before I send the stories for review. These articles will need to go through an approval process, including seeking client approval, before they can be published. This is another highlight of my role; I love learning about project milestones, and I enjoy the challenge that comes with writing these stories to ensure they have a clear message that underpins our organisational principles.

12:45 am

Realising the time, I throw on my coat and head outside for a walk to the park. I prioritise getting outside every day during my lunch to spend some time in the sun and reading. The city looks especially lovely during autumn. I love going to the local park as people always walk their dogs through the area (sorry, no dogs pictured).

1:30 pm

When I get back from my walk, I have some time to eat my lunch before my next meeting. My meeting is with one of our General Managers to film a fun video for our company Intranet. These one-minute videos involve rapid-fire questions about the employee’s personal and professional life. These videos aim to give our people a greater insight into their co-workers. Our Graphic Designer filmed the General Manager while I asked the questions. This video will then be edited for publishing.

2:00 pm

I jump onto an online meeting with my Graduate Committee members. I have been on the Graduate Committee since I joined the CPB Graduate Program in 2020 and was promoted to the Diversity and Inclusion Lead in 2021. The Committee creates content and events for graduates to support their networking opportunities and professional development. Today we are doing a cold run-though of our online Pride Month event that I’m hosting tomorrow. The meeting goes well, and we are all nervous but excited for the event.

3:30 pm

I rush over to my next meeting with two co-workers, one who is based in the office and another who has joined online from a project. The nature of my work means I’m often collaborating with people from around the state (or country), so online meetings are typical. Leaders in our business unit have recently shown an interest in supporting a Young Professionals group, so today we are discussing an upcoming engineering event we are planning with an external construction consultancy company.

4:30 pm

I get back to my desk in time for a call with my manager. As my manager works out of three different locations, we aren’t always working in the same office. We often have phone conversations to touch base. This afternoon we talk about a few tasks that we need to complete and future projects to work on. I make sure to take notes and update our team calendar.

5:00 pm

I collect my things and say my goodbyes to my co-workers. I enjoy the brisk walk to the train station and start my commute home.