Name: Soe Moe
Job Title: Engineers’ Representative
Two years ago, Soe moved from Newcastle to join us as the Engineer’s Representative at our long running project, Kilnwood Vale, near Crawley in West Sussex. Come rain or shine, Soe is there as our eyes and ears helping deliver this huge earthworks scheme which, by the time its finished, will have lifted, sorted, treated and engineered 1.2m m3 of landfill and natural soils. All of this work is allowing the construction of 2750 houses, a school and other amenities and a culverted brook.
With Soe’s 2nd anniversary at CampbellReith approaching, we wanted to celebrate his contribution to this project and asked him a few questions:
What inspired you into this profession?
Since I was small, I have had a keen interest in rocks and minerals and their use in construction. I studied Geology at Durham University and then went on to gain a Post Graduate Certificate in Engineering Geology from Newcastle University. As a student I was particularly inspired by the design earth retaining structures which led me to seek employment in this profession.
What are the most significant milestones in your career to date?
April 2024 will be 2 years since I joined CampbellReith. Working on site full time has been an eye opener for me as so many things are happening at the same time. I have to manage my time to be able to supervise the soil being processed for placement, the compaction of the engineering fill, the surcharging, the material movement management on site and the construction of reinforced slopes.
What do you enjoy most about working at CampbellReith/Kilnwood?
Being independent and responsible for myself (and others). I enjoy working with various stakeholders, local council, Environment Agency, contractors and being able to build rapport with all employees on site.
I also enjoy seeing how I make a difference to the quality of the work.
What can you take away from your time at Kilnwood?
There are technical skills I have gained such as visual inspection and skills in earthworks construction – whether the engineered fill has been processed according to the specification and received at optimum moisture content, whether it is being compacted sufficiently etc. as well as skills in managing so many site activities, streams of information and stakeholders.
I have also learned how cooperation is so important and how many threads have to come together to produce the end product.
Do you have a favourite famous engineer?
The U.K is blessed with many engineers. However, the first engineer who comes to my mind is Carl Terzaghi, from Prague in the Czech Republic who is known as the father of soil mechanics.
