Tritech, the innovative underwater technology company has an number of opportunities available, including an Engineering Business Development Manager (Westhill) and a Software Engineer (Lake District or Westhill), to join our World-Class Team.
For minimum requirements and job descriptions, please visit: http://www.tritech.co.uk/contact/contact-vacancies.htm.
Tritech, for wind, wave and tidal applications.
As a trusted industry leader in innovative underwater technologies, Tritech International also has a range of technologies for renewables projects:
As part of its commitment to the renewables industry, Tritech has joined the pioneering private-public partnership renewables body, Aberdeen Renewables Energy Group (AREG).
For more information please contact Malcolm Johnston, malcolm-johnston@tritech.co.uk.
Malcolm wishing Chris good luck!
Having been training most weekends since February, I have now seen more of the Lake District in the last few months than in the previous 25 years of my life. What originally sounded to me as a boring challenge, has proved really enjoyable and who knows, I may have found a new hobby to carry on after the event!
Along with my team, I can now boast of having completed Coniston Old Man 5 or 6 times, Scafell Pike twice, Snowdon, The Langdale Pikes, Latter Barrow and Black Combe, all mountains/hills I had never reached the summit of before. Although we no longer get the same adrenaline rush as on our first few climbs – worrying about poor visability on Black Combe, scrambling up Jack’s Rake with some old doddering professionals and thinking my Dad had been blown off the top of Coniston Old Man with the dog, I think we can safely say we were as ready as we ever would be to take on the 3 Peaks…
The 3 Peaks Challenge started in Glen Nevis Valley on the afternoon of Friday 16 July. After a nice pre-walk meal in the Ben Nevis Inn I was pleasantly surprised that our Sales Manager Malcolm had managed to track me down before I set off. After a quick photograph, a man hug and wishing us the best of luck Malcolm left us to the ‘gorgeous’ Ben Nevis weather. Even after 6 months training, we had very little experience walking in the rain. It was soon apparent that none of my waterproofs were 100% waterproof and despite walking through ponds, streams and rivers to test my boots out, it wasn’t long before my socks were drenched and my boots were squelching; it was not a pleasant experience putting them on for the next 2 peaks!
We managed to get up and down Ben Nevis in 5.5 hours. The horizontal rain, high winds and poor visibility meant we weren’t hanging around for long on the top and photo opportunities were minimal.
We arrived at Wasdale at 4am Saturday morning and were given an hour to have a sausage butty and tea before starting the 2nd Peak – Scafell Pike. Unfortunately the awful weather seemed to be following us and again the waterproofs were tested to the limit. Having already completed Scafell and Snowdon in our training sessions we knew what to expect and this was a huge advantage. Having had experience with this mountain, other members of the group often turned to us to ask about difficulty and how far was left. Although we thought we knew what we were talking about, the poor visibilty played tricks on our minds and what we thought was the last 15 minutes continued on and on for a good 45. Our popularity in the group was waning, but we assured them that we were merely acting as motivators by giving them a shorter time… The end of Scafell was the biggest struggle for me, and reaching the summit I was exhausted. Scafell took just over 4 hours to get up and down and coming down is definitely my favourite route.
On route to Snowdon we stopped off for some pasta lunch and carried on to Snowdon. I was pretty confident the sunshine was hiding in Wales and on arrival I seemed to be right. For the first time, we had views to enjoy going up Snowdon. However, this luxury was short lived and halfway up we entered another cloud, the rain set in and the waterproofs were back on. The ascent took us 2 hours 15 minutes and on reaching the summit our clock stopped and the 3 Peaks Challenge was technically over…
We clocked a time of 22 hours 40 minutes!
We hit the cafe on top of Snowdon and enjoyed the best cup of tea and cream scone imaginable. To my disappointment the train had stopped running by this time and we still had to walk back down!
Thank you to everyone who has supported me over this challenge. We are close to breaking the £5,000 barrier all raised for the Christie – a charity close to my family’s heart. Tritech and my colleagues have contributed a massive amount through the sponsorship of our flag, taking part in football scratchcards, and sponsoring me individually. You have all been great!
Chris
There’s still time to boost Chris’s total for the Martin Pears’ Fundraising Fund for the Young Oncology Unit (Y.O.U) at the Christie. The Christie is one of Europe’s leading cancer centers:
www.justgiving.com/chrispears3
www.justgiving.com/martinpears3peaks
www.justgiving.com/james-irvine
Chris and team on a very misty and wet Ben Nevis
Chris and team on a very misty and wet Ben Nevis
Chris and fellow team member on Scafell Peak
Chris and fellow team member on Scafell Peak
Chris and fellow team member on Snowdon Peak
Chris and fellow team member on Snowdon Peak
Tritech, the innovative underwater technology company, continues to harness the skills of the next generation of subsea engineers.
Across Tritech’s two sites in Ulverston, Cumbria and Westhill, Aberdeenshire, the company has been nurturing the potential of five student apprentices.
At Westhill, a student and a graduate from Aberdeen University have been employed as Student Engineers. Gregor Will and Ben Bird are working under the guidance of the Customer Support Team and will be on placement until mid-September. The students are obtaining hands on experience in quality control and design as well as gaining an appreciation of the various subsea applications that Tritech products are used for.
Tritech’s Ulverston site has three Electronic Technician Apprentices; in conjunction with apprentice engineering and technology training provider GEN II, who are at various stages of the four year placement. Chris Ronson has recently just completed a work-based portfolio as part of his final year to achieve an NVQ level 3+ alongside completing his HNC in Electrical & Electronic Engineering. Whilst two apprentices are nearing the end of their second year, Sam Simpson and Jake Holmes have been receiving onsite training, spending the last year working towards their NVQ level 3 and completing their ONC in Electrical & Electronic Engineering in preparation for starting their HNC this year.
Working together. Technical Team Leader Chris Stebbens (middle) and apprentices Sam Simpson (left) and Jake Holmes.
Knowledge and competency undoubtedly go hand-in-hand with selecting the right individual to work at Tritech. As Bill Jaffray, Process and Improvements Manager comments, skills, commitment and teamwork are at the heart of Tritech:
“Establishing student placements within Tritech has allowed us to attract the best calibre of individuals. The programme we offer allows the students to interact with their peers as we create a learning environment which necessitates teamwork.”
Craig Thorburn, Customer Support Engineer comments on the placement opportunities Tritech provides:
“We are able to provide industry leading products for the subsea market as a direct result of our dedicated world-class team. Part of this success comes from our ability to take in student graduates, apprentices as well as placement students and give them their first chance of working in an industrial environment. We aim to help them develop key personal skills, such as teamwork and communication, which they will come to rely on in their future careers.”
Ben Bird, Tritech Student Engineer, describes his experience:
“Working for Tritech has enabled me to put my knowledge and skills into practice, providing me with an exciting insight into the world of subsea engineering and technology.”
To read about another Tritech employee’s success through learning, visit the Tritech blog: http://halmapr.com/news/tritech/2010/06/24/success-through-learning-by-tom-reap/.
GEN II courses are designed with close employer engagement to meet specific skill requirements and are fully accredited by appropriate professional bodies. Courses range from Entry level through to Foundation Degrees, to Masters Level. Courses are delivered from various GEN II training centres throughout Cumbria, depending on the programme; they may be attended on a full-time, part-time, day or block-release basis. For more information on GEN II, visit: http://www.gen2training.co.uk.
Seamor Marine Ltd recently provided two ROVS to help in the underwater survey work of Project Cornerstone, part of Canada’s important Northern Watch Arctic surveillance program. Fitted with Tritech Micron DST Sonars, the ROVS were able to navigate through the isolated Arctic waters.
Click here to read more on this expedition.
Tritech's Micron DST Sonar
Tritech’s Micron DST Sonar
Tritech, the innovative underwater technology company, has recently supplied a significant number of its Merlin subsea pumps to South America.
This follows local orders for Tritech’s Boost Pumps, a higher capacity pump from Tritech’s ZipJet family, specially designed for a global upstream technologies company.
The Merlin pump has been efficiently designed to avoid blockages or jams, as there are no moving parts in the suction flow path. Compact yet powerful, it is ideal for ROV use. A flow reversal valve can be operated to back flush the suction nozzle, should there be an obstruction. This allows the operator to break up heavy and cohesive seabed mud and sand prior to excavation. Power is derived from a stream of high-velocity fluid creating a low-pressure region behind the suction nozzle. With three modes of operation, Merlin may be rapidly switched from suction to jetting or be configured to allow jetting and excavation to be carried out simultaneously.
The Merlin pumps, named after the famous Lochs of Scotland, are hand built to an exacting standard at Tritech’s Aberdeen site.
Sam Barrett, Technician, Tritech International, comments on Tritech’s hydraulic range:
“We take pride in the efficiency and reliability of our pumps. Merlin is just one of a very successful family of ZipJet pumps, all of which are built and tested to the highest possible standards.”
Tritech, the innovative underwater technology company has an number of opportunities including a Software Engineer, to join our team in either Ulverston, Cumbria, England or Westhill, Aberdeen-shire, Scotland.
For minimum requirements and job descriptions, please visit: http://www.tritech.co.uk/contact/contact-vacancies.htm.
Recent trials at Vobster Quay, Somerset, proved successful with some excellent data captured. The trials were carried out with Tritech’s English Distributor, Atlantas Marine.
Hammerhead Vobster Quay 360 scan
Vobster Quay floor, captured by SeaKing Hammerhead, 20m
We have been extremely busy the last month training and fundraising.
We attempted Scafell again, and thankfully it went a lot better the second time, after struggling with it the previous month bringing doubts as to whether the 3 Peaks was actually a good idea. However, we succeeded in reaching the summit with less breaks and with more life left in our legs.
The following weekend we held a charity 5aside tournament to raise money towards our 3 Peaks total and the Christie.
Chris Pears' Orange Team
Chris Pears’ Orange Team
I’m pleased to say the whole day was a complete success, beautiful weather (which always helps), an enjoyable day for all with plenty of money raised. We raised a whopping £645 and I’m grateful to all the Tritechians who came along to support us – in particular Louis Wall and Mike Doherty who brought their own teams to compete and also John Rattigan who played in my team. My team and Mike’s team topped our respective groups and fought out a well contested final, which was eventually won 2-1 by MounTINBO United (my team 
) to bring home the Martin Pears World Cup.
Mike Doherty’s Red Team
Mike Doherty’s Red Team
I also joined in with the annual Tritech hike in the Lakes, up Coniston Old Man, with Andy Smith, Anthony English, Ben Towers and Mike Baines. I have climbed Coniston Old Man 3 or 4 times already now for my own training, so I was confident of getting up and down in 2-3 hours max. Little did I know we were doing a mammoth trek around the Old Man, up Dow Crag and then on to Coniston Old Man. This took a good 4-5 hours and was a great training session for the challenge!
Yesterday we climbed Snowdon, the final of the 3 Peaks, and again the confidence has been boosted by the ease we reached the top. However, with only 3 weeks to go we have still yet to experience a back-to-back climb. This and with the traveling in between are my biggest concerns for the day. I just want to get it over and done with now!
There is only 3 weeks left till the challenge! If you would like to sponsor me please do so at: www.justgiving.com/chrispears3.
I started with Tritech Ulverston, (formally Systems Technologies) in June 2007, to complete a modern apprenticeship.
During this time I began studying for an HNC in Electrical Engineering at Furness College, Barrow in Furness, Cumbria. As part of the course I had to complete a work-based project. I decided to design and produce an Acoustic Altimeter, capable of transmitting up to 5m. To support this, I wrote a software application capable of effecting the calculation to achieve the depth rating. I received distinction for the project which I was very pleased with.
Having completed both the modern apprenticeship and HNC with Tritech, I felt that I wanted to continue my studies, to position myself better for potential career opportunities within the company.
After weighing up all my options and thinking about my interests, I decided that my next qualification should be based around leading people and the elements of managing a business. I researched the local institutes and found an ideal course at my local college.
The course itself is a three year programme, leading towards an fdA Business Management Degree. One of the main attractions of this course is with an extra year’s study, a ‘top-up year’; the qualification is raised to BA (Hons) level. Overall, there are over twenty modules to complete, including Financial Management, Marketing, and Supply-Chain Management.
During the course, there are a number of small practical and work-based modules. These modules include working and leading small teams; to complete projects, analysing businesses performance against KPIs and reviewing financial statements. This helps me to understand the different levels of a business and also provides benefits back to the company as I am able to apply my knowledge where I feel an improvement could be made.
I am currently coming to the end of my 1st Year. Over the summer I have a work-based portfolio to complete. This looks at situations that can happen everyday and analyses areas for improvement in both my skills and the company’s practices. For example, this could be based on communication, low moral or lack of training. The report compiles all my work-based learning modules into one 5000 word personal development portfolio.
Tom Reap
Studying alongside work can be difficult, especially juggling the work load expected by the college. However, studying alongside work does help to keep the learning relative and keeps me on track with work-based assignments. I have also found it helpful to seek advice from fellow colleagues with help on particular modules. For example, I am currently working through the Managing Finance module and as we have two qualified accountants in the Finance Team, they have been fantastic with support and guidance.
For anyone looking to take on a similar path to study be prepared to put in a lot of effort but receive 10 times of that back!
Tom Reap, Electronic Test Technician, Tritech International, Ulverston
Tritech International is an industry leader in the production of high performance acoustic sensors, video cameras and mechanical tooling equipment for professional underwater markets.
Visit the Tritech International website at www.tritech.co.uk
Tritech International is a Halma Company. Halma makes products for hazard detection and life protection and is a market leader in specialist electronic, safety and environmental technologies. Visit the Halma website at www.halma.com
