My alarm goes off at …
“5:45am. Work on sites starts at 8am and to beat the M25 traffic, I’m usually out the door by 6:30. The teams I work with usually live further away from the site than me and have to set off much earlier, so I always like to show up before or at the same time as them.”
The first thing I do each day is …
“I check my emails. We have various installations at different stages of completion throughout Europe, and I have to respond quickly to questions or get new information to customers and installers. Their questions are urgent most of the time, as onsite costs our installers each day. I answer them as soon as I can.”
I prepare for the day ahead by…
“Making sure that all scheduled orders are in the process of being picked, packed or collected from our warehouse. As our revenue comes from the direct sale of our products, it’s important that we get the product delivered asap and that I’m not sitting on an order.
I also ensure I’m available for any customer, engineer and installer requests. They might have questions about site works, the product, controls methodologies, or how to connect a Virtu installation to our proprietary monitoring platform Clarity24-7. Clarity24-7 can be used to monitor the performance of our systems remotely, and usually, customers need guidance on how to integrate this into their existing Building Management Systems.”
I can’t leave the house without …
“My work phone! On most days, I’m on-site for installations, so I’m only contactable on my phone.”
My typical day…
“It depends on what stage we’re at with an installation process. At the beginning of a project, I carry out a health and safety briefing in which I explain the correct way of handling our product.
“The Virtu products consist of a PV panel and/or a heat absorber plate inside a long glass tube. The product is extremely robust, and we make sure to provide effective protective packaging. There are still inherent risks, so I meet with the installers at the beginning of each project to ensure they are aware of those risks and know the correct means of handling and PPE, and I advise them on the safest and quickest means of lifting the tubes onto the roof.
“At Naked Energy, the safety of our installers and delivery partners is always our highest priority. Throughout each installation process, I train people on how to install the Virtu products as per our design guidelines.”
My most memorable work moment …
“Getting the installation onto the roof of the Westgate Leisure Centre in Chichester. We were only a small team of three people, and we worked together to lift and install over 400 VirtuHOT collectors. We managed to do this all in one day.
“One of our main difficulties was getting access to the roof. We were very careful in the planning process to not exceed the weight limit of the roof, and in order to safely mitigate this, we created a lifting platform which dissipated the weight of each pallet across a wide area so the tubes could be unloaded and distributed. We also had to work as efficiently as possible to cause minimal disruptions to the leisure centre.”
The worst part of my job …
“Absolutely nothing.”
The best part of my job …
“I love the diversity of projects I get to work on. I don’t like being fixed in one place, and I’m glad to constantly travel, meet our customers, and evaluate each site’s unique installation challenges. I also enjoy being around people, and at Naked Energy, I’m fortunate to work with an incredibly talented and enthusiastic team.”
I relax after work by …
“You’ll find me after work either at the gym, reading or tinkering on my Triumph motorcycle. I love my Triumph, but everyone knows they require constant attention!”
On my bedside table is …
“The Naked Energy VirtuHOT and VirtuPVT installations manual. I lull myself to sleep each night by converting maximum flow rates into DN pipe sizes.”
The last thing I do each day is …
“I’m constantly travelling and on-site for installation projects, so it’s not often I’m returning to my own home after a day of work. Wherever I am, I’ll usually unwind from the day by reading or going to the gym. Then before bed, I respond to any emails or questions from installers or customers I didn’t have the opportunity to respond to during the day.
“I also prepare for the next day because I will probably have another installation to go to.”
I’m normally in bed by …
“11pm.”