Tim Ward wins 2019 Baroness Platt of Writtle Award

01/10/2019

Tim Ward IEng MIMechE has won the 2019 Baroness Platt of Writtle Award for his outstanding work on submarine engineering. Presented by The Engineers Trust (the charitable trust fund of the Worshipful Company of Engineers), this prestigious annual award recognises the achievements of a newly registered Incorporated Engineer (IEng). Tim was presented with a medal, a certificate and prize money of £1000 at the Worshipful Company of Engineers’ annual awards event on 5 September 2019.

Tim was inspired to be an engineer as a GCSE student when he studied the splitting of the atom to generate energy.

He proceeded to achieve a first-class MEng from the University of Southampton in mechanical engineering, before joining the Royal Navy and undertaking leadership training at Britannia Royal Naval College and nuclear propulsion engineering at HMS Sultan. He has undertaken challenging engineering assignments on board HMS Triumph and HMS Torbay, with steadily increasing levels of responsibility, including working as Duty Officer with responsibility for all non-weapon platform systems aboard the submarine.

His current role is onshore as an Astute Class Manager for the Submarine Delivery Agency, in which he is responsible for the planning and managing of all maintenance needs and periods for all active Astute-class submarines, delivering overhauls ahead of schedule and within an annual budget of £5 million. He impressed the judges with his energy and enthusiasm for engineering, his problem-solving ability, innovation and leadership skills.

Of particular note were the examples he gave of using sincere empowerment of individual team members to maintain high standards of team performance and morale, as well as high safety standards during a period of unusually arduous on-board conditions. He is an active contributor to the South West Nuclear Hub and a science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) ambassador.

Tim Ward said: “I feel honoured to have won the Baroness Platt of Writtle Award. My career in the Royal Navy has been extremely challenging and it is very special to have my work recognised by the Institution of Mechanical Engineers (IMechE) and the Worshipful Company of Engineers. My success as an engineer has only been possible because of the brilliant members of the submarine service with whom I have had the privilege of working and my incredibly patient family. I am excited about my future in the profession and I hope I can continue to motivate those around me to pursue a rewarding engineering 
career.”

Over 28,000 talented engineers were professionally registered with IEng status as of the end of 2018. Tim was nominated for this award by IMechE and was judged against other very competitive candidates. Tim was one of six nominated candidates that were shortlisted and invited to interview.

Chaido Doulala-Rigby (Yuli), a Court Assistant of the Worshipful Company of Engineers, said: “The Engineers Trust makes many awards each year. This award is for Incorporated Engineers of all disciplines. This year the nominations came from a variety of industries that ranged from civil engineering, defence, utilities, aerospace, mechanical, submarine engineering, infrastructure in remote areas and humanitarian engineering. All nominees displayed high levels of engineering excellence, which made the search for the winner a tough choice. Tim impressed the judges with his exceptional leadership skills, his impeccable professionalism and his strong commitment to sharing of learning experiences at team and industry level.”

Alasdair Coates, CEO of the Engineering Council, added: “I would like to congratulate Tim Ward, this year’s worthy winner of this prestigious award and an outstanding IEng registrant. It is pleasing to see a high calibre of candidates nominated again this year and the valuable work done by Incorporated Engineers across all sectors of the engineering profession being recognised through this award. The Engineering Council would like to thank the Engineers Trust and its judging panel for their careful consideration of all those nominated for the Baroness Platt Award.”

Nominations for the 2020 Baroness Platt of Writtle Award will open early next year. Institutions will be able to nominate up to five members who achieved IEng status in 2019. Nominees should, in the view of their institution, have displayed outstanding commitment to the engineering profession, have excellent communication skills and have demonstrated management 
qualities.

www.engineerstrust.org.uk