Daniela Cardoso

"Daniela inspects railway embankments and slopes to determine their condition and keep them safe for rail traffic and users. Daniela is a self-motivated, conscientious and reliable individual. She has been successful in her job because she has the ability to organise her work and meet time scales. Daniela’s ability to time manage and organise shows why she fits well with the ‘Manager’ and ‘Coordinator’ type, whereby she can organise people effectively to get the job done. Daniela is also a co-operative individual, which is important when working amongst a multidisciplinary team – sharing and combining ideas. Naturally Daniela also fits well with the ‘Investigator’ type as her day to day job involves filtering through and reviewing information so that she can make the most informed decision about the safety of the section of the rail network she is responsible for. "

"As a Senior Asset Engineer, Daniela inspects railway embankments and slopes to determine their condition and issue repairs if required. Trains will travel across these slopes and embankments which time, weather and natural erosion may have weakened. Daniela loves being able to identify an issue and have an active role in the repair – by issuing a remit for works and narrowing the engineering solution. She loves being out on the railways doing earthwork inspections, identifying issues and cautioning trains. She is pleased her work directly contributes to safety on the rail network."

"Daniela’s first job as an engineer was as a geotechnical designer where she worked on infrastructure projects. This role gave her the best professional experience to apply what she learned at University, as well as giving her insight into the practical side of engineering. The experience provided Daniela with the best knowledge to identify problems with earthworks, root causes and solutions for these issues. Daniela would advise choosing maths and physics at school. She would also say that in order to be successful, don’t be afraid to make mistakes as you can learn a lot from them. People will not look down on you if you acknowledge your mistakes and correct them. We all have to learn!"

"Daniela’s keeps busy in her spare time. She volunteers at weekends for a local Animal Shelter to help take care of the cats, rabbits and guinea pigs. To keep herself active Daniela will go to the gym. She also makes sure to participate in a 10-kilometre run once a year to raise money for different charities. Aside from being active and volunteering Daniela likes to challenge herself by learning different languages! In the future Daniela would like to see herself having an active role as professional head of earthworks engineering. "

"Daniela splits her time at work between the office and going to site. When Daniela works on site she will need to prepare a safe system of work pack – with her access point and relevant contacts as rail tracks are a dangerous place to work. Once on site, she will wear her personal protective equipment (PPE) and walk the railway to the sites she needs to visit. If she needs to attend a meeting, she will review the project information and make notes on points that need to be discussed. She needs to read plans, look at technical and structural designs, and analyse data to identify problems and to find and communicate solutions to them."

"Degree in Civil Engineering, with an MSc in Geotechnical Engineering."