Donna Harkin

"My role as a process engineer is to make sure that the plant operates at it's best, and if not, then how?The personality types that match me suit process engineering well. The \"Quality Controller\" role involves being dependable, trust-worthy, pro-active and open minded. The \"Influencer\" and \"Co-ordinator\" roles involves clear communication, understanding what people want and providing a service that can deliver, while being thorough, reliable and polite. Within my role as a process engineer I am constantly looking for ways to optimise the cement manufacturing process. I enjoy reading and listening to podcasts and webinars on new technologies within the industry, which I can adapt to help optimise the cement manufacturing operation. Process engineering involves taking measurements of various areas of the process, and improving the procedure; this allows me to work with different members of the company in various roles helping to bring projects to life."

"My role within the plant is to optimise the process of manufacturing cement, from the raw materials right through to the final product created. I love that my role is very \"hands-on\" and that I can create a difference. I'm usually out on site taking measurements and samples, then recording these to try and find improvements. I also lead the sustainability team within the company, developing the sustainable development strategy for our site. There is always opportunities to be involved with different teams and I enjoy the wide variety of roles that a process engineer can undertake. No day is the same on the plant and there is always learning opportunities which is fantastic, my job is never boring! Starting salary for a process engineer is usually around £28,000, although this can vary depending on the industry and location you are working in."

"At school I really loved science and was involved with an after-school science club. This allowed me to explore areas of science that I really liked and I could create experiments that I wanted to do (supervised by my teacher of course!). One project that I really liked was investigating wind turbines and their structure. Why did they only have three blades? Why did their blades have that strange shape? Why did they have to have the same height? I created small model wind turbines that had different number of blades, different lengths of wind turbines and different blade shapes, then tried each of them in front of a fan and measured the speed that the wind turbine moved at, which would determine which produced the most electricity. This gave reason to all my questions and was the start of my engineering journey. Engineering allows you to answer questions and to think outside the box. For me, this meant a career in chemical engineering as I wanted to be involved in the entire process from starting as an idea through creating the material to finally seeing the material used in a final product."

"After spending a day at work I like to unwind by taking my dog, Ellie, for a walk or going farming - it's something completely different to my work so I find it enjoying. I'm passionate about getting more females involved in STEM, and I share my love for engineering through being involved with STEM ambassadors and societies such as Women in Science and Engineering (WISE), Women's Engineering Society (WES) and the Institute of Chemical Engineers (IChemE). Throughout these groups I can chat to engineers and women in STEM from many different roles and disciplines, learning about methods and ideas I otherwise might not have heard about."

"I begin my mornings at the plant by reviewing the activities from during the night, since the plant runs 24/7 it's important to check in at the start of each day and see if anything has changed that needs to be corrected. In the morning the team and I have a virtual morning meeting, where we discuss plant issues and the plans for the day. Within the cement plant, everyday is different so it's good to have a quick review meeting to make sure that everyone from each department is on the same page. Even though every department plans out their work week activities the previous week, things can change and \"break in\" work may be required at short notice, changing your daily tasks. Within process there is usually a set routine with tasks that I need to complete on either a weekly, monthly, quarterly or annual basis. I try to plan my week so that I have visited and measured at least one section of every part of the plant at least once during the week, as I want to ensure that I'm familiar with the noises, smells, and appearance so that if anything changes I can tell quickly, allowing me to find a solution or reason for the change. After taking samples and measurements out on site, it's important to record the results so that we can build a picture of what usual running looks like, then if we get a result that looks different - we can tell if there's a problem and get help from other departments to fix it."

"I really enjoyed science subjects at school, so I completed A-levels in Chemistry, Maths and Physics, with an AS level in Biology. After this I attended the University of Hull where I completed an integrated Master's degree in Chemical Engineering. I graduated in July 2020 with first class honours."