Lauren Cross

"I feel that the personality types match me quite well. With reference to the personality type “Coach”, I would agree I am good at working with a wide range of people, as I have developed these skills through various life experiences such as working in teams in University, working with international students on an Erasmus program in Sweden and travelling personally and through work. I am trustworthy, honest and I like to help others solve problems. I am also very driven and always try to exceed expectations of myself and the team I’m working in.With reference to developer, I would agree that I have a keen interest in trying to improve processes and products around me, I enjoy working on my own and in a team and I am inquisitive and strong willed.With reference to quality controller, I am driven to keep people safe. I am proactive and like to set out things correctly at the beginning and I am curious about other products and processes within the company I work for, I like to find out how things work. I would say I am fair, honest and ethical."

"I am a Senior Test and Development Engineer for a company that designs and manufactures materials handling products. My main focus is sound and vibration testing of 1-9T counterbalance forklift trucks.I am typically concerned with the design, analysis and control of sound and vibration. I would spend my day instrumenting trucks and recording data by testing to methods either outlined by European / British standards or through tests of the company's or my own design to develop solutions to improve noise or vibration problems. Once data is collected I can use it to identify noise and vibration sources of the truck or system and determine ways to improve the impact to the product.The part I most enjoy about my job is the variation it brings and the new methods and technologies I can use.Before focusing on sound and vibration testing, I carried out a number of test and development tasks, such as managing reliability driving teams, (reliability driving is completed to validate designs and calculate product reliability figures), brake testing, fuel consumption, energy consumption, truck servicing etc.Typically in Northern Ireland, starting salary for an engineer would be around 25k-35k, a senior engineer would hopefully have the capacity to earn more. "

"I started my career in 2012 in a quality role in Hyster-Yale Ltd, the company I work for now. I remember coming to the company for an interview thinking I didn't really want the job, and had previously turned down other quality jobs I had been offered. In University I had completed some Quality modules and really dislike them, but as part of the interview process, the QA superintendent, that would end up being my boss for over 3 years, took me for a tour around the factory. From then, I wanted to work at Hyster-Yale and happily as was able to accept a graduate position in the company. I accepted a salary of only £15,000, within 8 months I was able to increase that salary to £21,000, but ended up taking a different graduate position in another company for £24,000. This graduate position was as a supplier quality engineer. This company offered a magnificent graduate program, however I never really felt the company or the role suited me, although I did have a wonderful female role model during my time there. In this company, I felt people resisted giving me work because I was new or in the graduate program, versus at Hyster-Yale I had as much work as any other engineer in the plant. I love to keep busy and achieve targets, so I found myself back at Hyster-Yale within six months as a Quality engineer.In this position I provided solutions to our dealers for early truck problems and worked with manufacturing, assembly, design and supplier quality teams to implement corrective actions. It was a reactive position, it allowed me to gain knowledge on most areas of the business. In 2017, I interviewed and achieved a position in the Test and Development team. This meant I was going from a position at the end of the process, dealing with warranty issues after delivery, to testing and developing prototypes and offering recommendations on how we can improve the product. This role allowed me to develop my technical knowledge through technical standards, test methods, installing instruments and parts, and identifying test equipment to complete a task. I have alos had some great opportunities to travel to countries including Denmark, USA, Holland and Italy. In 2018 I was able to become a senior test engineer and focused mainly on project management type work with a team of nine reporting to me, completing noise and vibration as part of larger projects. In January 2021, my role has now developed to specifically focus on noise and vibration test work and once again I am faced with new challenges that will help develop my skills further."

"I really enjoy cooking, baking, travelling and spending time with friends."

"My typical day could include the following:- Replying to emails.- Reviewing technical drawings.- Analyzing data.- Instrumenting equipment on trucks.- Sharing information with colleagues internationally over calls.- Resource planning for truck servicing and testing.- Reviewing technical standards.- Acquiring parts for testing.- Training myself and training others- Health and Safety Audits"

"A – levels – Maths, Physics, Technology. AS levels - PoliticsMasters in Engineering – Product Design and Development, School of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering, Queen’s University Belfast.Post-Grad Diploma in Management Practices from University of Ulster.Chartered Engineer – Professional Accreditation – Institute of Mechanical Engineers (iMechE)."