Expert Water Quality Insights from Thomas Rees

Tom on…how he got into the field

“Science was always what I was both keen and best at. I went to university, did a Biology degree, and my dissertation was in water quality, which gave me the first taste of what it might be like to work in the space.

“I then did a year's medical research at Great Ormond St Hospital, which was very high end and fascinating science, but overall not the most thrilling. Then, I joined a company called Henley Water. They had a local office to me, which was located in some very pretty farm barns and I liked what I saw, and I've stayed there ever since. They were bought out by ESG, who were subsequently bought out by SOCOTEC a few years back.”

Tom on…his typical day

“A typical day is out on-site with clients, on a client’s site, I am assisting with their specific requirements for water hygiene, which could vary between boardroom meetings, discussing high-level topics, and the risks or health safety implications of what they're doing, right down to the hands-on remedial actions.

“Quite often that involves a bit of teaching as well, demonstrating to site engineers the actions they need to take with regularity in order to keep their workplace compliant.”

Tom on…his key roles and responsibilities

“We are fortunate that we’ve got office staff who directly manage the teams, but as part of my role, I'm organising their day-to-day workload. We're frequently writing risk assessments and method statements. Then there’s proof-checking worksheets and organising additional labour force, should it be required.”

Tom on…what he enjoys the most about his role

“I enjoy the sheer variety of the job to be honest. You're always on-site, meeting different people - no two days are the same. I love problem-solving too, so turning up, finding an issue and fixing it for a client always leaves you with a positive, good feeling at the end of the day.”

Tom on…the biggest challenges his team face

“Definitely legislation and understanding the requirements. Every area has its own different rules and regulations, and we need to be able to interpret that in order to meet safe site requirements.

“If legal requirements aren’t met, then there are some very large ramifications. Companies have been charged as much as £4.5 million for not meeting the requirements. So in taking time to fully understand what is being done, how we ourselves do everything right, while advising the client that everything is spot on and compliant is incredibly important.”

Tom on…the high-profile projects he has worked on

“Well, my claim to fame is that I’ve sung live at the Royal Albert Hall, Wembley Stadium and the Olympic Stadium in London! Obviously, no one was there at the time, but I've still sung live at those massive venues, so I'm up there with Bono and all the other big performing artists in the world!

“So, we’ve done the risk assessments and maintenance at Wembley Stadium, the maintenance and installation at the London Stadium, as it is now known, and first installed for the 2012 Olympic Games, and we’ve looked after the Royal Albert Hall as well.

“As well as this, there are several highly prestigious sites across London, which are great fun. We get to see behind the scenes and go to places where people don't often get to see, which is very enjoyable.”

Tom on…how his role fits into the broader business

“As part of my role, I bring in substantial figures of extra business each year. This is very much a team effort, though. That work is delivered by the teams and managed by the office support staff, which brings in a lot of income to the business.

“We feed into other business units that SOCOTEC has, too, primarily Asbestos, Air Quality and bit of Fire Safety as well - it's a nice place to be providing a lot of extra work and income to the different units we have here at SOCOTEC.”

Tom on…his advice for considering a similar career path

"The key bit of advice I always give is maintaining a positive attitude. It sounds silly, but when you're talking to clients or anyone else for that matter, if you're positive in yourself and positive to everyone else, that will only lead to good things.

“It just drives itself in such a way that everything else just follows from it. You also need to be extremely self-motivated. A lot of our work is solo, I sometimes only speak to or see my own colleagues once a month in-person. But yes, if you're a positive and self-motivated individual, it's a big win industry and a great place to be.”