Paul Nation – Bridge Assets Team Leader
County Bridge Team, Highways Group
What does your job involve?
My role involves managing a variety of activities within the County Bridges Team. These include assessing existing bridges to ensure they're capable of taking the weight that they're used for, prioritising bridges that need to be worked on, dealing with queries and monitoring bridges' structures.
A significant part of the job involves teamwork and liaison with others, both inside and outside of the Council.
What skills and qualifications do you need to do your job?
As important as formal qualifications is the ability to be able to communicate and empathise with people, whilst still being firm when you need to be. Computer literacy is also an important skill but can often be honed on the job.
How long have you been doing your job?
I first joined Somerset County Council in 1986.
What did you do before this?
I started at Somerset County Council as a trainee technician, obtaining an ONC in Building studies, a HNC in Civil Engineering and some additional HNC units in reinforced concrete and steel design. I am also an Incorporated Engineer and a Member of the Institution of Civil Engineers.
What's the best thing about your job?
As well as being part of our local and historic heritage, Somerset's bridges bring people together. They are diverse in construction techniques, materials and age – helping keep them well looked after is rewarding and challenging on many fronts.
My role involves a mixture of activities – office, site, technical, innovative and people related – diverse it most definitely is.
Which aspects of your job do you find the most challenging?
The sheer diversity of the job makes it challenging. The specific areas of scoping, records and assets are particularly challenging as we try to develop processes that are robust and reasonable to employ.
Do you have any career aspirations for the future?
I have never sat down and worked out a career path. I have been lucky enough for my career to have naturally developed from trainee to team leader as situations have changed around me.
Flexible working has been very important to me and with the assistance of time off in lieu and flexi time (working for both the County's consultant and the County directly) I have been able to study for, achieve and collect a BSc (Open) through the Open University.
What would you say to someone who was considering working for the County Council?
I believe that there is an exciting future within Somerset County Council. Within my particular section, scope exists for colleagues to see jobs through from start to end. Working for the Bridges Team requires a basketful of skills to challenge and reward - consultation, design, contractor interaction, project management and team working are found in many schemes. Job satisfaction is there for all of them.
