Job title: Director and Head of Fire Engineering
Employer: AECOM
Please introduce yourself.
My name is Simon Dent. I am a Director at AECOM and am the head of AECOM’s Fire Engineering Practice.
Tell us about your career to date.
I am a Leeds University Fire Engineering graduate. After University I did some travelling before taking a position as a Graduate Fire Engineer at Inventures. Inventures provided consultancy services to the Department of Health, so much of my early career centred around Healthcare PFI schemes, policy production and working with steering groups authoring new Health Technical Memorandum guidance documents.
In 2004 I joined Ove Arup and Partners Limited as a Fire Engineer and stayed with them until 2015, having risen through their ranks to an Associate position. In 2015 I joined AECOM as a Regional Director.
Please describe your current role.
I am a Director within AECOM’s Building Engineering division and am the Operational Leader for AECOM’s Fire Engineering Practice across the UK and Europe. In my capacity as Fire Engineering Practice Leader, I take ultimate responsibility for the delivery of our Fire Engineering portfolio, in terms of both financial and technical success, and the development of our team.
Can you describe a typical working day?
A lot of my time is spent in meetings with our clients and design teams. In between meetings, I have design reports and technical notes to review and approve, or project inception/ healthy start sessions to sit in on. Time permitting, I’ll catch up directly with the various members of the Fire Leadership team and we will discuss problems arising and agree on how they will be resolved.
What contributed to your decision to become professionally registered?
When you leave university with a degree in fire engineering you understand (some) technical fire safety matters and can likely land employment with a firm providing fire engineering consultancy services. However, there is a lot you don’t know about operating in a commercial environment which you must learn as you develop. As you move along your career journey, there isn’t a ready means to demonstrate the progress of your skills and development. IFE membership and professional registration is a means by which you can show to clients and peers that you have both technical and commercial acumen to a level that is recognisable and measurable.
Are there any particular challenges or unusual aspects to your role?
Working as a fire engineer has always been challenging and no two days, or projects, are the same. Presently, the most challenging aspect of my role is staying on top of the changing landscape of the UK Regulatory system and ensuring AECOM and its clients are well positioned to respond to the changes.
What do you find most enjoyable about your job?
The most enjoyable part of my job is working closely with and supporting our graduates and young engineers by giving them early career opportunities which stretch them, but equally, help them to deliver on their potential. Seeing the team achieve things that they didn’t think they could, manage a difficult client or solve a technical challenge they felt was impossible, is extremely satisfying.
Is there a great professional achievement that you would like to tell us about?
My proudest professional achievement to date is my promotion to Director in 2018. I had always aspired to lead a fire engineering business for a large international multi-disciplinary firm.
In what ways has IFE membership and registration benefitted your career?
On a professional front, my professional registration enables AECOM to bid for projects that we would otherwise be excluded from. It is becoming more commonplace for clients to require MIFireE and CEng accreditation for fire engineers! I also enjoy reading the quarterly IFP Journal and attending the regular industry talks and CPD events. Keeping abreast of the latest technology and other industry changes is essential for everyone working in the field.
Would you recommend joining the IFE to others?
Yes. I strongly believe that consulting engineers need to have demonstrable competency and being registered with the IFE is one of the best ways of doing this.
Is there any advice you would pass on to someone considering joining the IFE?
Start the process as soon as you can! There is lots of support available (likely from your employer but also the IFE directly) and though it can appear daunting at first, it isn’t as difficult as it seems. There are steps to go through, and ultimately interviews to sit, but it’s worth it in the end!