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Kingsnorth is a 2,000 megawatt, coal-fired power station based on solid engineering principles. "I head up a team of Electrical and Controller Instrumentation Engineers. Essentially, we look after the electrical and computer systems that control the plant. It's not engineering in the purest sense, it's a lot of project management and making sure we're compliant with legislation. And since legislation is constantly evolving, we work hard to keep pace. The potential risks to the plant in the future are also something we're very focused on."

Commercial concerns are on the agenda. "We have teams of contractors that can really present some challenges. We need to ensure they're in line with our commercial goals. At the same time, there are technical and design issues that have to be fully understood."

An international background brings professional confidence. "After I graduated from Huddersfield in Systems Computing, I went to work for a company in Manchester. Following a period of training and development, I worked on projects across the globe and got involved in commissioning and design testing. I worked for a number of large companies before coming to E.ON. When I started in the field, personal computers were very new, now they're everywhere. And that means I've had to keep up with plenty of changes – something that I've really enjoyed. I like the idea of taking on new challenges all the time."

Taking systems in the right direction takes dedication. Kingsnorth has been around since the sixties – it's quite old for a power station. When I first arrived, I was surprised at how old some of the equipment was. So much of that has now been moved on. Attitudes are changing, too, and people don't just do things the way they've always been done. Now our teams pull together and there's a real sense of dedication and progress. It's a commercially astute organisation with incredible aspirations."

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