International Women in Engineering Day 2023

The theme for INWED 2023 is #MakeSafetySeen, which is all about celebrating the great work female engineers across the globe do in safety and security, whether that be making work places safer or protecting their colleagues and the wider society.

In our world of civil and structural engineering, we are constantly assessing the safety of buildings in our designs.  Our role as Designers means we have a responsibility to meet the requirements of the Construction (Design and Management) Regulations 2015 and control, reduce or eliminate foreseeable health and safety risks that may occur during construction of the building and once it is occupied.  This also involves fully cooperating with others working on the project, and communicating any risks to ensure they are managed effectively. The CDM Regulations are applicable for all building and construction projects, including demolition works, refurbishment, renovations and new build schemes so all of our teams at MNP undertake design with compliance in mind, regardless of whether they are working on a large scale residential development, or a listed building conservation project.

We consider the health and safety implications of our designs by carrying out risk assessments for each site to determine potential hazards, their risk level, and control measures.

One of our projects involved inspecting a statue which sits atop of Wimbledon Theatre in London. Due to the height of the statue, Senior Engineer Jenna Sewell had to access the location via a cherry picker and was required to wear a harness attached to the platform lift on the cherry picker at all times.

Today on International Women in Engineering Day we reiterate our full support for female engineers in our industry, encouraging personal development and celebrating their achievements.  With an engineering skills shortage, it is now more important than ever that girls consider engineering as a career opportunity, helping to shape the world around them.