Supplied by Zutari www . refrigerationandaircon . co . za RACA Journal I October 2024 31
BOOK YOUR STAND NOW !
Personality Profile Sponsored by :
KENYA ’ S FLORIDA DEEPENS HER HVAC KNOWLEDGE ON SITE
By Eamonn Ryan
Florida Simiyu , mechanical engineer at Zutari , reflects on her budding career – in her own words .
pursued an undergraduate degree in mechanical engineering at the
I University of Nairobi and graduated with first class honours . My first job was as an assistant sales engineer at Davis and Shirtliff , then I moved to a new role at a geothermal development company as a reservoir engineer . The most exciting thing about my time in this role was that I was constantly learning and was exposed to a world of engineering that I had little knowledge about .
It was during this time that I got a scholarship from the New Zealand Aid programme to do a masters in energy at University of Auckland . The highlight during this period was exposure to different learning approaches that focused on research and promotion of innovation . I also enjoyed my time in a different country and culture , and along with the personal growth it brought .
I subsequently left reservoir and started a fresh career in the built environment at Atkins Consulting where I worked for seven years . One of the most challenging projects I worked on involved the construction of Olkaria 1 additional unit 6 .
I joined Zutari in 2021 and have done some exciting projects for Diageo and University of Cape Town .
I have faced several challenges and will highlight a couple :
• With every new role / project there is an aspect of being a novice and sometimes life / career demands do not give you room or time to learn , so what has worked for me is to always ask colleagues who have gone ahead of me or have a better understanding of the subject matter for guidance .
• I did not expect the construction industry to be rough , fast paced and with a bit of bullying . Unfortunately , I experienced this early on when I started out as a mechanical engineer in built environment . My personality is gentle and accommodating , and this did not work well for me , and I had to learn to be assertive and firm . I say ‘ firm ’ because as much as I wanted to be more aggressive and louder - it is not who I am . Therefore , ‘ firm ’ worked well in ensuring my voice was heard when working on projects with other teams .
As a young girl I enjoyed and performed well in sciences . I have defined my career as an engineer over a period of many years . I say this because my student years were focused on doing well in academics , while in my working life there was a time I didn ’ t know why I was doing what I was doing . But in the last seven years I have come to understand my path and why I like this profession . My work on HVAC projects and deeper learning and contribution on the subject happened while I was working on Olkaria 1 additional unit 6 .
My advice is to be your authentic self and find your way as you remain true to that . Engineering requires that you keep learning , even when you are more familiar with the field and work effortlessly , there is always something new to learn . There are either new products in the market , new software , or a better way of implementing your project .
Engineering keeps my mind active and alive ; I find it exciting . I like learning - that is what I enjoy most about my career in engineering and I especially like projects because they always offer a unique environment to execute something that has not been done before . I do not like the mental load that the work involves . It is not something I experience all the time , but there are moments that life feels like it is at a complete stop because of deliverables . I believe in having a balanced life .
I could write a lot about HVAC & R evolving over the next ten years and the role of R & D in this , but I will mention a couple :
• There will be a lot more focus on providing proper ventilation in building projects just as much as structural integrity of buildings is important
• It is going to be tougher to provide clean air in spaces due to increase in pollution , more work will be done on HVAC equipment . RACA
Supplied by Zutari www . refrigerationandaircon . co . za RACA Journal I October 2024 31