We’ve all heard of Engineers – but what does an engineer do? There are engineers for all sorts of things – Mechanical Engineers, Civil Engineers… Here at Keystone Lintels, we have Technical Engineers. A technical engineer solves problems. They are trained to design and develop products. At Keystone Lintels, our technical engineers are trained in much more than just design and development. I followed Stephen Quinn, one of Keystone’s many Technical Engineers, throughout his work day.
9am: The morning is spent processing quotes and orders: This involves taking in project drawings, assessing and calculating the loads on the lintels from masonry loads, floor and roof loads and any other factors before specifying and/or designing the lintels to suit. These can be for straight openings, bespoke corner, arched, apex openings and so on. Then Stephen prices them as specified and sends the drawings and quotes back to the customer. When the bespoke lintels are ordered Stephen then has to draw each one individually for production and organise delivery times and locations.
11am: Stephen starts preparing to leave the office to do a CPD (Continuing Professional Development) presentation for group of architects.
12pm: We start packing the van with equipment – laptop, cameras, lintel samples, brochure packs, projector, rulers and other merchandise to leave with the company. Feedback sheets so that we know where we can improve in future.
1pm: We arrive at the architects’ office slightly early to set up the room for the presentation. We have to get the projector sitting in the right position, laptop up and running and all of the demonstration equipment set up – eg finding a socket for the electric-operated roof window etc. I set up recording equipment (just to make things a little easier…)
1:30pm: Stephen begins his presentation. He starts with explaining our current range of lintels before explaining new building regulations and what they mean for our industry (SEE ALSO: Understanding Part L Building Regulations). He then demonstrates our hi-therm lintel and how it can help architects and builders comply with new regulations, and passes around a sample of the lintel so they can get a closer look at the materials used. The architects are then presented with a number of case studies where the products have been used before and they are then asked some questions. Stephen then goes over other products available from the Group.
2:45pm: Stephen finishes his presentation and has an informal chat with the attendees about projects they are working on and how we can help them progress. They are also asked to fill in a CPD feedback form before being told that they will each receive a CPD certificate in the post.
3pm: Lunch time! We take a well-earned break to refuel before heading back to the office to process the day’s event.
4:00pm: Back in the office – the feedback forms are sent over to marketing to process the certificates and send them to the architects. Stephen then continues with his quotes from this morning as well as dealing with phone enquiries.
5:30pm: Our day ends here!
Interested in a career as a technical engineer? Get in touch with us for advice.
