60 seconds in the hot seat with Joseph Sharpe, Senior Design Engineer for Guttridge
Friday 20 May, 2022
1. How long have you worked here at Guttridge?
I’ve been employed by Guttridge for about 7 ½ years.
2. Is Senior Design Engineer the only role you have filled here at Guttridge? If not, what was your very first position/ job role when you joined Guttridge?
No, I was first hired by Guttridge as a Design Engineer, having experience in other industries in various draughting and design roles, as well as experience in creating technical documents. I was in this role for around 6 years; completing the design and draughting of machines, some research and development, and creating technical documents. After this time, I managed to gather sufficient knowledge to successfully blackmail the right people and found myself in a senior position.
3. What excites you about your role?
I’ve always been driven by the joy of seeing designs go from concept to full operational equipment. I also never grew out of the ‘why’ phase and have a need to always understand the engineering principles behind designs; there’s always something to be learned.
Also, input from the wife and kids is my unhealthy affinity with Microsoft Excel.
4. What do you do on a day-to-day basis?
- Design conveying equipment and produce drawings for manufacture,
- Research and development for continuous improvement of existing designs,
- Complete engineering calculations to ensure the performance and life of machinery,
- Assist and guide other designers within the engineering department,
- At least one tea round,
- Compile technical documentation such as manuals, machine risk assessments, and technical files,
- Liaise with other departments as required
- Then Tuesday through Friday I try to put my feet up
5. What is the most challenging part of your job?
Making mistakes - no one’s exempt from human error and unfortunately there are always mistakes to be made; on the other hand, I’ve also always found there is more respect to be earned in facing up to one’s mistakes, resolving the issue to the best of one’s ability, and being able to face the inevitable teasing from sympathetic colleagues!
6. What is the most valuable lesson that you have learned whilst working here at Guttridge?
You can’t please everyone all the time, but delivering the right confectionary bribes to the office can buy you a little redemption.
Not everything is a joke, but I will still try to make it one!
7. What was your dream job when you were little?
Can’t recall ever having one; throughout school, I struggled to identify a career to pursue and hadn’t generally considered further education – it was only when studying A-levels that friends suggested I continue to university and try engineering. Out of university I was notified of and offered an engineering role – I essentially wandered into it by pure luck and some accrued debt!
8. A random fact about yourself?
In my youth, I’m told I had an affinity for sockets and switches, to the extent my father had the bright idea to glue 49 various switches and buttons to a lump of wood with a solitary LED in the center. He proceeded to tell me that the right combination of flicked switches/ buttons/ toggles would turn the light on… I still remember losing weeks of my life to his 5-minute craft project!
About Guttridge
With a foundation of 50 years of experience, Guttridge is a flourishing company, globally respected for delivering well-engineered, reliable materials handling solutions that continue to anticipate dramatically changing industrial needs.