Spotlight on Graduates: Andrew Hodge
In our ongoing series of case studies, we spoke with Andrew Hodge, Gas Responsible Person (GRP) in Network Engineering Compliance at DNV and a Graduate member at IGEM.
Andrew began his studies in 2012 at Northumbria University where he studied Mechanical Engineering (MEng), graduating in 2017 with a First.
During his time studying, he completed various stints of work experience, the first working at Nissan as an engineer, injecting moulding into car bumpers for 11 months.
Whilst working there, he acquainted himself with A-tech Fabrications who later offered him an internship as a design engineer for three months in the summer before his final year of university.
Once he graduated, he was offered a full-time role which involved designing forklift truck battery storage. A year later, in July of 2018, Andrew moved to DNV where he kick-started his career in the industry.
His role as a Mechanical Design Engineer in the repair and intervention team involved designing and drawing high pressure grouted tees in 3D CAD and producing 2D drawings of MOD gas networks. He also produced service laying systems and line diagrams for natural gas and hydrogen installations.
In the three years that Andrew worked in the team, he got involved with exciting projects which included designing the modified Engineering Research Station (ERS) regulator module. This led to an extensive testing process and involved conducting subsequent field trials at Bishop Auckland Flow Centre.
Further trials were completed but Andrew chose to change direction and move over to Network Engineering Compliance (NEC) within DNV in 2021.
His current role involves working as the Gas Responsible Person for the North East Reserve Forces’ & Cadets’ Association (RFCA), looking after 40+ sites in the north east to ensure they are compliant with the MOD gas safety case.
Some of his responsibilities include producing reports of conditions of above and below ground pipework, gas appliances and recommendations for remediation.
He also maintains gas safety management plans and records, updates management information systems (MIS) and assesses the competence of the gas skilled persons, working on MOD sites.
Andrew provides professional and technical support and advice to maintenance teams, end users and coordinates any planned maintenance requiring work on the gas installations including emergency works.
Andrew explains that his skills set vastly increased after moving to the team. He said: “Since joining the NEC team, I have been developing my technical competencies outside of my comfort zone and becoming more face on with conducting site surveys for clients.”
In 2022, Andrew became Gas Safe registered and received a promotion, only adding to his repertoire. Explaining that he was unsure of his path at first, Andrew said: “I was never quite sure what discipline of engineering I was going to end up in but with five years already working in the gas industry, it’s been a fantastic journey so far with a great team supporting me along the way.”
His next steps are to push the boundaries even further with his technical competencies and apply to become a Chartered Engineer (CEng). After a brief period of Student membership with IGEM whilst studying, Andrew joined IGEM as a Graduate member when he joined the NEC team at DNV.
He explained that he re-joined IGEM to expand his skills further: “As part of my new role as a Gas responsible Person, I had to develop my competencies which encouraged me to join IGEM and begin my journey to Chartership.”
Since joining, Andrew has also attended events across his regional Section where he has began broadening his network and meeting new people, which, he believes, will open doors for him.
He said: “I hope by continuing my attendance at these events it will help with networking with other like-minded engineers and open further opportunities.
“Attending events helps me keep up with the latest technologies and news which may come in handy for future projects, particularly with hydrogen on the horizon.”
Andrew values his IGEM membership as it “provides the opportunity to reflect and showcase your professional achievements as well as appreciating others.”
Looking forward to the future, Andrew is excited to learn more about how hydrogen can play a part in the future with a particular focus on water being a product of hydrogen combustion.
As a Graduate member, Andrew’s advice for anyone just starting out in the industry is to: “Join IGEM as soon as you can, don’t hesitate or wait.
“Make sure you ask questions, if a situation you’re working on doesn’t feel safe then mention it to a peer, everyone in the industry is willing to listen and has a sensible head on their shoulders.”