Meet Terry!

Let us introduce Terry - our principal engineer, director and the main presenter of Topo’s range of ESC training courses. Terry is recognised as a specialist in the field of soil and water management, specifically erosion and sediment control. We asked Terry a few questions to get to know him a bit more - keep reading to find out how Terry became a trainer and what is his number one travel bucket list destination.

Terry, tell us how does your regular day at Topo look like?

One of the things I really enjoy about working at Topo is no one day is like another. We have great clients and get to work on interesting projects, each with varying challenges, providing a very rewarding (and busy) work day. A regular day may involve working onsite with Contractors to develop a plan to address current and upcoming works, preparing reports in the office, presenting ESC training across the country or possibly catching up with people for a coffee or beer in the name of business development.

What is your favourite part of your job? Why?

I am fortunate that within my role I get to see some great projects being constructed and as part of that, I get to visit some very interesting places throughout Queensland and beyond. I also enjoy that our industry is relatively dynamic and changes can happen quite quickly (both planning and construction phases), meaning you get to see the results of your efforts. The other aspect which I really enjoy about work is the people I work with, in particular my colleagues at Topo, who each make for a interesting work day, each in their own strange way.

You present a range of ESC training courses throughout the year. How/why did you became a trainer at first place?

Presenting training is something that I really enjoy and it has taught me a lot, both technically and personally. Like most people (especially us introverted engineers) the idea of standing up in front of people you have never met before and talking about a topic they may or may not have any interest in, is very daunting and challenging and not something that I immediately jumped at. The main driver for me to move outside of my comfort zone and start presenting training was out of pure frustration. I found I was going from site to site and observing poor practices (generally very similar issues) which after talking with the guys onsite was clearly not due to them deliberately trying to fail, but as a result of never having the basic principles explained to them. I found that after spending a few minutes and simplifying the basic principles of sediment, drainage and erosion control that not only could they see what was wrong with the current measures onsite, but would start to identify solutions and take a more active role in managing ESC onsite as they could see the benefits to being proactive (both environmentally and financially through reduced maintenance, rework and potentially avoiding fines).

How do you keep up to date with industry changes yourself? Any tips for interested readers?

It is a challenge, but fortunately working at the pointy end of a relatively niche industry means you may have some involvement in industry changes. One tip is to sign up to a couple of relevant industry groups as they will typically send regular snippets of information regarding upcoming changes to legislation, practices or focus. Obviously my best suggestion is to read the Topo newsletter as we will look to inform readers about industry changes and hopefully provide some interesting content. In terms of the Topo newsletter, if you have any suggestions, feel free to drop me a line as I am secretly the one spamming you. We put a lot of effort into hopefully providing some useful content to benefit readers as opposed to any direct marketing.

What do you enjoy doing outside of work?

Anything to do with spending time on or near the water. Whether it’s a day at the beach with the family, fishing or diving with mates or just having a coffee by the water. I also really like to travel and hope one day to visit Antarctica.