好色先生TV

Phil Pamphilon, 26 - assistant project leader, BAA

What do you do?

I co-ordinate the design, commercial aspects and costing of Terminal 5鈥檚 signage.

What鈥檚 special about working on T5?

There鈥檚 a tremendous sense of achievement here. It hit me when I was talking to my designer, and he said 鈥渨e鈥檙e creating a piece of history鈥�. One day, I鈥檒l be able to take my grandchildren and say, 鈥淚 helped build this鈥�.

What have you learned?

How to develop contacts. One of the biggest challenges on a job like this is establishing the right person to speak to, and keeping in close contact with them. I have a large phone book on my mobile and it seems to grow by the day.

What do you want to do next?

My current project wraps up in June, but I鈥檇 like to stay at Heathrow in some capacity. Maybe T5c, if there are opportunities there. I鈥檒l be looking for a job with more responsibility. I want to be in charge of a big scheme by the time I鈥檓 40. I just need to find the route to get there.

David Harbage, 25 - automated people mover engineer, Bombardier

What do you do?

I鈥檓 working on the transit system between the main terminal and its satellites. It鈥檚 my first job after leaving university. I wanted to go backpacking, but this was too good an opportunity to turn down.

What鈥檚 special about working on T5?

It鈥檚 a bonus working on a site where the levels of safety and quality are of such a high standard. Working under the T5 Agreement, where companies are encouraged to work together as one team, is something you don鈥檛 get on other sites.

What have you learned?

The importance of gaining respect from everyone. The young starter takes time to earn trust. It鈥檚 a matter of trying to keep your head down and being eager and willing to help.

What do you want to do next?

My T5 project finishes in November and I鈥檒l stay with Bombardier. I hope I鈥檒l get the chance to work on European sites. It may not be backpacking, but at least it鈥檚 abroad.

Emeka Okorocha, 26 - electrical design engineer, Balfour Beatty

What do you do?

I鈥檓 working on the tracked transit system, which is the underground link between the A and B sections of the terminal.

What鈥檚 special about working on T5?

The sense of community. There are so many people from different companies. We come together and work to a common solution.

I鈥檝e definitely made good contacts here.

What have you learned?

How to work effectively under pressure.

When I started, I had to put two days of PowerPoint presentations together. It was nerve-racking, but I lined up all the slides and put the pictures together. At the last minute, someone came to me with a presentation on CD. I had to work quickly to incorporate those pictures. It was hard work, but it came out well.

What do you want to do next?

I鈥檒l be working on T5 until the end of the year, then moving on to another project, hopefully with BAA. I鈥檇 like to work on Stansted.

Ben Harris, 23 - assistant quantity surveyor, Amec

What do you do?

I鈥檝e been involved in module manufacturing. Services like pipes or ducting are put into a steel frame, then transported to site. The frame can be 6 脳 3m, and there were 2,000 of them so it was a big job.

What鈥檚 special about working on T5?

The size and the diversity of the project. You鈥檙e exposed to areas in commercial and engineering that you wouldn鈥檛 get on other sites. It鈥檚 a privilege to work here. You can put it on a CV and it鈥檒l set you up for life.

What have you learned?

Planning skills. With so much going on at once, your time management and prioritising need to be perfect. At the moment, I鈥檓 dealing with the end of the module manufacturing while working on my new project at the same time. It鈥檚 not something you learn at school.

What do you want to do next?

I鈥檝e just started working on the corporate lounges in the terminal. I鈥檓 still called an assistant but I鈥檓 doing a full surveying role.

Steven Turner, 24 - requirements manager for rails and tunnels, Mott MacDonald

What do you do?

I collate clients鈥� requirements for London Underground and Heathrow Express. I鈥檓 responsible for managing the database and co-ordinating requirements.

What鈥檚 special about working on T5?

It鈥檚 a pleasure to come to work. Morale is high and there鈥檚 a great camaraderie. Now construction is well on its way, you come in and see a staggeringly huge building every morning and think, part of me went into that.

What have you learned?

The importance of soft skills to engineering. It鈥檚 quite easy for engineers to not see what鈥檚 going on around them. Before, I would just turn up and get on with the job, but I鈥檝e learned you have to communicate.

What do you want to do next?

I don鈥檛 know. We鈥檙e handing over to London Underground in April and to Heathrow Express in September. I鈥檒l miss it. It will be strange going back to a little office after this.

Madeleine Sillence, 28 - senior surveyor, Faithful + Gould

What do you do?

I started cost planning on T5 just before Christmas. There are items for which planning is needed: fixtures, fittings and equipment. These change regularly, so the design team looks at that and I look at costs.

What鈥檚 special about working on T5?

It鈥檚 a prestigious job, and you feel privileged being asked to do it. There鈥檚 also a great sense of achievement because everything seems to have turned out so well and on budget. To be involved can鈥檛 harm your career prospects.

What have you learned?

You have to be so organised on a project of this scale. The co-ordination needed to get anything signed off on T5 is phenomenal. You have to show plans to BA and BAA, then any other companies involved, which could be up to 10 people. It was certainly a challenge.

What do you want to do next?

I鈥檝e begun work on an 拢80m pharmaceutical project. It does seem very small after working on T5.

Nick Pankhurst, 27 - supervisor, Framework Archaeology

What do you do?

I was a field technician to begin with, which meant I would excavate the site and then do all the paperwork. Now I鈥檓 co-ordinating an excavation team of about eight people making sure they don鈥檛 destroy anything important.

What鈥檚 special about working on T5?

When we鈥檝e had larger phases of work, we鈥檝e had 80-100 people on site, so it鈥檚 been very sociable. That isn鈥檛 normally what you get with archaeology. It was a fantastic opportunity to get to know lots of people.

What have you learned?

With a lot of sites, it鈥檚 keyhole stuff, but on T5 I had learn to get used to an entire prehistoric landscape. You have to keep in mind you鈥檙e not just digging a hole in a ditch, you have to relate everything you do across the whole of this ancient landscape.

What do you want to do next?

Who knows? I can be moved anywhere really 鈥� it鈥檚 in the nature of the job. I鈥檓 going to try to move into building archaeology. Having T5 on the CV can only help.

Jody O鈥橠ea, 27 - architectural technologist, Pascall + Watson

What do you do?

I was brought in to work on the planning side. I was given general work at first. Then, as my role developed, I was dealing with unresolved elements of the terminal鈥檚 interior.

What鈥檚 special about working on T5?

It鈥檚 just so exciting working on a high-profile project that everyone in the UK knows about and that has got great coverage. It is a big, beautiful building that I鈥檝e watched being raised from the ground up and I鈥檝e loved working on it.

What have you learned?

I鈥檝e learned a lot about communicating ideas and getting people to buy in on them. It鈥檚 a two-way thing. You learn you鈥檙e not always right, but you get much further if you communicate.

What do you want to do next?

I鈥檓 now working on the production design for the Stansted airport extension. I enjoy working on big projects so it鈥檚 great to be going on to another.

Adrian King, 25 - architectural technologist, Richard Rogers Partnership

What do you do?

I was employed for six months to do a design package and presentation for BAA.

What鈥檚 special about working on T5?

The infrastructure was a lot to take on board. For example, they had to divert two rivers as part of the project. To get experience on an international airport at this stage of my career is great and the drawings I鈥檝e done look impressive in my portfolio.

What have you learned?

My course didn鈥檛 concentrate on presentation, so I learned a lot about that. The final presentation was to two senior clients at BAA and was quite daunting. When the day came, I was very nervous 鈥� you think the client will be terrifying, but of course the reality is completely different.

What do you want to do next?

I still work at Rogers one day a week, but I鈥檓 currently working on my final presentation for my architecture course at London Metropolitan University.