Next up in the Repair & Maintenance Player Profiles series, we have our Workshop Supervisor Shannon King. Shannon started her journey with WES as an apprentice back in 2017 and has so far progressed through a pathway of growth.
Read more in our latest Repair and Maintenance player profile below.
Tell us about yourself
My name is Shannon King– I started my apprenticeship with WES in 2017. Having spent most of my childhood helping my Dad fixing push bikes & tinkering with things, I‘d developed a real interest in how things operate and how they can be fixed – hence starting my career in engineering. I live in a village called Oakley just outside of Basingstoke, having grown up in the area also. Outside of work, I enjoy playing football for Basingstoke women’s team who I recently joined- although football is not new to me as I’ve been playing since I was 4 years old. I have a 1-year-old dog called Odin who is a Dogue De Bordeaux cross Rottweiler – he’s a big lad and needs a lot of training. On his hind legs he’s taller than me (but that’s not difficult being only 5’5).
What is your role in the WES R&M team?
My role with WES is as a workshop supervisor. This involves both mechanical & electrical work, including interpretation of drawings, plastic & metal welding, fabrication & assembly of pipework, installation of cables & controls and many other tasks associated with our workshop activity. I have recently been seconded into the role of workshop supervisor which is a whole new experience for me – that I am thoroughly enjoying. This involves work planning & scheduling, progress reporting, providing operational support to the wider business and participating in project design reviews.
What do you enjoy most about working at WES?
Being new to the supervisory role, I particularly enjoy learning new aspects of the job and find it exciting when new challenges hit me. As I’m the only female in the workshop I particularly like keeping the boys in check by “bossing” them around!! I enjoy being part of such a good team – this makes work so much more enjoyable when everyone gets along and are on the same page. I really enjoy the mix of “hands-on” work and the additional supervisory duties I am now undertaking. I particularly like being given the responsibility for building an exciting new project – this gets my brain ticking!
What does a typical day look like for you?
Whilst every day is different for me, the main aim is to maintain productivity & efficiency. A typical day is generally a “hands-on” activity – building dosing rigs. In addition, I might attend a design review, deliver a morning “huddle” with the workshop team, plan future workload & assign resources, train or coach members of the team on workshop techniques and engage with project managers and office staff.
What are your most & least favourite parts of working for WES?
My least favourite part of working for WES is the walk that needs to be done between the 2 units I personally think there should be a buggy parked outside to transport the team – after all 25 metres is quite a struggle!!
My favourite thing about working at WES is the problem-solving, I like being able to have the knowledge and to pass that on to the team when they need help. It gives me great pride that I have been seconded into a supervisory role only after 3 years of being fully qualified – I’m grateful for the support I’ve had from the WES management team and ongoing training opportunities.
