“They look at me and gooh, ok, she means business.”
In today’s team spotlight we talk to SHEQ & Project Supervisor Chloe Shepherd about realising her potential, working in a male-dominated world and the power of Mario Mondays…
Hi Chloe, what do you do at Trust?
I work across two different areas: SHEQ – which is safety, health, environment and quality – and projects, so officially I’m a SHEQ & Project Supervisor.
Can you tell us a bit about your background?
I’ve got a bit of a strange background, to be honest. I’ve sort of done everything you can do! I went to university to do maths, then I worked in a pub, a bingo hall and a shop – and before I worked here, I was over at Network Plus, which is a similar kind of business to this.
Everyone says once you get into utilities, you don’t leave. At Network Plus I was doing traffic management, and when I came here I was initially in the plant and transport team. I spent about a year doing that and then Dan Bailey, our Project Director, saw the potential in me and asked me to move into his team to help on his projects.
When I moved across, I started out on the operational side of things, working on connections projects, like EV charging. But recently I’ve shifted more towards SHEQ, which involves health and safety, compliance and quality.
What does a typical day look like for you?
It’s nice to be doing a mix of roles because it keeps things different every day. At the moment, I’m doing more on the health and safety side of things, so the first thing I tend to do when I come in is check the weighbridge.
We bring waste in from our sites to recycle as much as we can, so I check what’s been brought in over the last day. We use an app called Reflow, where our grab drivers raise tickets saying how much waste they’ve brought in, and from which site. I marry up the weighbridge data with the tickets to make sure we’re assigning the right costs to the right jobs.
The rest of the day is so varied. Today I’ve been sorting out training, booking sessions for the team on manual handling, abrasive wheels and emergency first aid – they’re the big three that all of our Trust team have to have. But tomorrow I’ll be going out to two sites to do audits, making sure everything’s up to code and compliant. If I notice anything wrong, I’ll raise it on the audit and send that through to the supervisor to get actioned and sorted.
I like the mix of office and site work. Just looking at your computer all week can make you a little stir-crazy, so it’s nice to get out on site and get a sense of the routines there.
I also feel like I’m putting myself into another world. Utilities and civil engineering as a whole is quite male-dominated and I feel like I’m a small female trying to have a big voice in a male-oriented industry. Sometimes people underestimate me and then I do an audit and pick up all of these things and they look at me and go oh, ok, she means business.
Would you say Trust is supportive of women in the industry?
Yes. I think when I first started I was pushing them a bit more, but they’ve been right behind me. Especially Dan – he’s the best boss I could ask for. I’ve come to him saying I want to train as a supervisor, I want to do this, do that, get out on sites, and he’s given me everything.
He started me off in the office so I could see how everything worked before I went out on site and that’s actually been great training for the audits I do now. It’s like Karate Kid – you’re doing all this stuff and you don’t realise how much it’s preparing you for what’s next.
“It’s like Karate Kid – you’re doing all this stuff and you don’t realise how much it’s preparing you for what’s next.”
What might people find surprising about your job?
I don’t think people realise just how much planning we put into each project. A job might be on site for, say, five days and then be done. But what you don’t see is what Dan and I have done to get it there – there might be six months of planning to make sure everything’s in place before we get to that site. And then it’s over in five days!
What do you love about your job and working at Trust?
I love that everything’s different, that I’m getting out on site and that I can feel I’m making an impact – especially from a health and safety point of view. I’m making sure everything’s compliant and if I see anything that’s not up to standard, I’m sending emails to make sure it gets sorted out.
And then from an operations point of view, I’m really enjoying seeing projects through from start to finish. I’m involved right from the second Liam sends a job over that he wants us to tender for, when I’ll be helping to gather those initial costs. And then when we win a job, I’m involved in getting the designs sorted out, getting work booked in and getting the permits. Then I go out on site and see those jobs as they’re coming to an end – and that’s really rewarding.
What’s been a real highlight in your career?
I think making the move to Dan’s team. Knowing someone saw the potential in me makes me feel so happy. I knew I could do more, and he saw that, and he gave me more. Being given that responsibility, and that chance to make an impact, has definitely been a highlight for me.
What are your ambitions for the future?
I like the idea of being with a company and sticking it out to the end, working my way as high up as possible. I just want to make my way up the ladder, prove myself again and again and be the best at what I am. That’s what I’ve always wanted to do.
“It’s like a family here, it’s so friendly. We’re a very close-knit team. ”
What would you say to someone thinking of joining the Trust team?
It’s like a family here, it’s so friendly. We’re a very close-knit team. Everyone knows everyone, and everyone wants everyone to be happy. We ask about each other’s lives. So sometimes it doesn’t feel like work because we’re such good friends.
I also like how much you’re trusted to do your job. As long as Dan can see I’ve finished everything, he’s not micromanaging me, or watching over my shoulder. He just trusts that I’m going to get it done. I feel like that allows you to work with a lot more ease and comfort – but it also means you get your job done faster. If you’re constantly being watched, that can actually be what makes you stumble, make mistakes and take longer.
When you’re not at work, how do you like to spend your time?
I’m really into my tattoos. I got a new one on Sunday! I love going to tattoo conventions as well because I think it’s such a beautiful art. It can be really under appreciated because people don’t realise how talented some of these tattooists are. I just love that whole world.
I’m also a big cinephile, so I love watching movies and TV shows. I’m a big gamer as well and I think that’s a really good way of getting reality out of your mind and going into a whole new world. I get quite immersed!
My all-time favourite is Dragon Age: Inquisition but I’m currently playing the new Resident Evil game – I love horror, it’s my favourite genre. But I do love the more kid-friendly games too. Me and my partner do a thing called Mario Mondays where every Monday we either play Mario Kart or Mario Party together. It’s just a chilled, fun thing to do after that first day back at work.
If you’ve been inspired by Chloe’s story, find out how you can join us here.
