Wilco Harwig

Before my time on site begins, it’s important to note that my Mondays usually start off with a flight into the site from Perth as I’m on a 5-2 (5 days on-site, 2 days off-site), 4-3 fortnightly roster.

This includes a 4.30 am wake-up and a drive into the long-term car park at the airport to catch my 7.00 am flight. When on-site, my days start at a brisk 5.00 am.

5.00 AM

Alarm goes off. I very slowly rise to greet the new day. I don’t shower in the mornings, so I’m packed and out the door in 15 minutes.

5.30 AM

I hop onto a packed bus as we move from camp to site. Music tends to wake me up from my slumber – a little bit of Taylor Swift never hurt anybody.

6.00 AM

Off the bus and set up at my desk. Typically, I give my desk a quick clean (the dust at MAC is on another level).

Then I get to prioritising my tasks for the day (fancy name for a to-do list).

7.00 AM

Team Pre-Start. This is where we bring to light safety, celebrate success, and get informed of important upcoming events.

7.30 AM

As a Project Engineer, I like to start my mornings by checking the golden triangle of scope, cost, and schedule on all my current projects.

This helps me assess which projects are on track, and which need more attention.

8.00 AM

Time to show the day who’s boss. With my plan of attack laid out, I typically do my field time in the mornings as the Pilbara tries it’s best to hit 40°C+ on a regular basis (especially in summer). My field time consists of the following:

1. Weekly Field Leadership – where we conduct role confirmations on people completing various tasks across the business. I like to keep this as informal as possible, to make the people I’m observing feel as comfortable as possible.
2. Daily Project Visits – if even one of my projects are in execution (i.e. construction phase), I make a conscious effort to visit the site works every day. Not only to ensure there is a high safety standard, but to listen to any concerns my contractors and supervisors may be having at the time.

Today, I was lucky enough to explore the outback in search of some heritage sites that I’m demarcating as part of my project. I feel very privileged to engage in this meaningful work, not only because I get to experience the heart of the outback, but also because we get to preserve and protect culturally significant sites for the Banjima people.

12.30 PM

With my belly full, I kick on to the beefy part of the day – and by beefy, I mean lots of talking and even more writing (but the good kind of writing). Each day has its own unique challenges and tasks, but I am usually involved in the following:

1. Stakeholder Engagement – either through meetings, emails, or calls, one of my top priorities a project engineer (PE) is to make sure my stakeholders (both internal and external to BHP) are up to date and happy with the state of project.
2. Documentation – as a project engineer at BHP, we follow the Small Project Management Framework (SPMF) which is a combination of industry leading and BHP specific standards. SPMF helps me stay on top of my project and protect me from potential risks that may derail the project.
3. Tollgating – this is what we call transitioning from one phase of a project to the next (i.e. from design to execution. This work consists of reporting to executives in the business and receiving their approval to move to the next phase, very scary stuff.
4. Team – we tend to have weekly or monthly team meetings to discuss the performance of the team relative to our expected team KPIs. Additionally, I have 1-on-1 meetings with my line leader to discuss my individual performance, and to address any challenges I may be facing.

Today, I’ll be raising a work notification to the Mobile Equipment Maintenance (MEM) workshop for one of my projects. We are installing payload monitoring systems onto our mining loaders so that we can measure exactly how much ore we are putting onto the haul trucks. This will help us assess how much ore we are processing through the Ore Handling Plant (OHP) and determine if we’re utilising our loaders effectively from a maintenance perspective.

6.05 PM

Day done, mission completed, time to catch the bus back to camp!

6.45 PM

Exercise! I’ve always been a fitness nut and the facilities are nothing to gloss over. I like to organise something with friends as I enjoy the exercise more this way.

Whether it’s basketball, volleyball, soccer, squash, running or gym – there is something for everyone, and considering I sit for many hours of the day, the benefits on physical and mental health from exercising cannot be overstated.

7.30 PM

Dinnertime – believe me when I tell you that site food is truly amazing. Not only is it free, but there is plenty of it and it tastes better than anything I can cook at home.

While I’m here I usually pack my lunch for the next day – this means I can get an extra 10 minutes of sleep in the mornings (and that makes a huge difference).

8:00 PM

Considering the hustle and bustle of the day, it’s refreshing to arrive at my very own room. Although it may seem small, it’s a warm and cosy place to relax and unwind.

I usually fill this time with a warm shower (followed by a cold burst at the end – good for the heart apparently), and either a nice book or a binge of my new favourite show.

9:00 PM

My how the day has flown! This is my ideal bedtime, and I am very passionate about it. One, because I like sleep. Two, because my next day will be much less productive and effective without the full 8 hours.

Get your sleep, before your sleep gets you!

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