World Hydrography Day 2019 – Catch up with Tim Workman

1. Why did you decide to pursue a career in the hydrographic survey industry?

I didn’t decide to go into it actually, it chose me! I didn’t study hydrography or oceanology at university – I did Mapping Science and by chance, the first company I came across through a ‘milk round’, offered me a job. I didn’t realise what I was going into – in fact, I didn’t even know it was to do with maps of the seabed!

So, I’d never done any study of hydrography or ocean science, but the very first thing I was put into at Racal Survey was an intensive 8-week course. This helped us specialise in the disciplines we’d been employed for.

2. What is the biggest technological change you’ve encountered in the offshore industry since you’ve been working in it?

Without a doubt, it’s the level of precision and accuracy we now work to. The equipment and software we use means we’re now talking millimetres. If you actually think about it, it’s strange – you’re installing something in a seabed which could be few thousand metres deep and you can ensure that it is as precise as possible. The water depth we work these days has increased significantly over the years. When I started, we’d have been working at hundreds of meters and now it’s in the thousands.  

We’re also now working with state of the art acquisition systems which create huge amounts of data, and this is a big change. The first computer I used in the business had a total hard drive space of 200mb and now we are acquiring data files bigger than this in minutes! A standard job these days can end up amassing terabytes of data very easily! With all this data coming through, what I’m keen to underline is that you can’t rely on AI to understand exactly what is being acquired. There’s obviously been a big technological change in the volume of information we can collect but it still needs a human eye to fully comprehend what we’re acquiring. A consequence of just leaving it to an automated system is that it could delete something which could be there – for example the ordinance of bombs, or it could leave something in which doesn’t exist – in the form of residual noise which looks like a real feature.

The other significant change – though not a technological one – is the length of trips away. It used to be that you could be away for three months at a time, and that’s when you’d find out exactly how understanding your partner was! But thankfully that doesn’t really exist anymore for the majority of us. Ease of travel and the reduced cost has played a big part, but also the increased appreciation for the impact it has on people’s lives, something that wasn’t really considered before.

3. Has the rise of the renewables industry had a significant impact on the nature of survey work – are things being done differently in offshore wind compared to Oil & Gas?

A survey is a survey whether you’re installing a pipeline or a wind turbine, but there are changes in things like water depth which are playing a factor. In renewables a common issue is a shifting seabed. It’s been noted turbines can effect sediment movement which in turn demands an increased volume of work in remedial surveys.

When currents go around an object that’s been installed on the seabed this can cause a hole to form or a for a mass of sediment to develop elsewhere. With pipelines it seems that most of them are left to their own devices, and unless something significant changes with the condition of the pipeline all is fine. However, as the majority of turbines get pinned to the seabed there is the worry that if the seabed becomes too eroded, they could become unstable.

4. What is more important to someone working in the hydrographic survey industry these days – a grounding in hydrographic theory or IT skills (networking, troubleshooting, etc)

It’s got a be a grounding in hydrography. Knowledge of IT is useful, and these days I suspect new students will know a lot about computers. In the past is was advantageous to have a sound knowledge of both. You were expected to set up networks, but most things now are plug and play, and most companies have an IT dept who will assist with these sorts of issues.

So, anyone coming from uni with knowledge of laptops and phones will be fine. A hydro background isn’t 100% necessary – after all it’s not strictly what I had! But now if I had to choose between two people for a job, I’d go with the one with the hydrographic knowledge.

We do see people come into the industry with different backgrounds and they can adapt, but the way the industry is going, timelines are getting a lot shorter. Clients want stuff done now, or yesterday! If you join as a staff member – great, get training on the job and learn from scratch. Freelancers are expected to know what they’re doing from the moment they get on board. Unfortunately, some agencies send people straight from uni and you’re having to teach someone how to do your job – rest assured, it doesn’t go down well.  

5. What are some challenges you think the next generation will face in this industry?

Projects are getting bigger and bigger due to advances in technology. The amount of work going in has grown massively from planning right through to the execution.

We’ve also seen an explosion in the volume of results and reports that clients want. As we’re gathering more data, they want more products. That includes reports, charts, listings, videos, photos – anything we produce they want to see! That means that if you’re joining a job you may have to adapt to changing methods in data collection and the results given.

There has also been a huge increase in the different types of survey instruments on market. This then proves tricky to be able to stay on top of the latest gadgets. I thought I had a good understanding of what was out there, but my current client is using a system I haven’t heard of before! It’s clearly advantageous to know as many as possible and I’d warn people that they could get left behind if they only work with clients who use a single set up.

6. What would you say to graduates considering a career in the hydrographic survey industry?

Do it and enjoy it! It’s definitely not one for everyone, but if you get in with the right company, you can make of it what you want.

It’s a great way to see world and get paid – that’s what I did. There are options all over the globe; you don’t have to stay in home waters. Companies win work all over the world and need good people to staff these jobs.  

But I’d also say you don’t have to take the first job you come across. There are different disciplines within the industry, and I’d recommend trying to gain a good background in a variety of disciplines – not getting pigeon-holed. Think about it like a Swiss Army knife. It’s better to have one knife that does a million jobs, than a million knives doing one.

And you’ll also be amazed how often you bump into someone you’ve worked with before. It can truly feel like a small family, which is fantastic when you’re heading off to some remote place for six weeks.