Flight Sergeant Steve Williams MSc IEng MIMechE MIET RAF was yesterday announced as the recipient of the Baroness Platt of Writtle Award 2013, presented by the Worshipful Company of Engineers.  This is a prestigious annual national award that recognises the achievements of a newly registered Incorporated Engineer (IEng).  Steve was presented with a prize of £1000, a medal and certificate at the Annual Awards Dinner of the Worshipful Company of Engineers which took place last night. 

Nominated by the Institution of Mechanical Engineers (IMechE), Steve was judged against 30 other candidates from 15 Professional Engineering Institutions, who had nominated some outstanding engineers from the 1,632 individuals who achieved IEng in 2012. 

The judges were impressed by Steve’s energy and enthusiasm for engineering, problem solving and innovation, diversity of work, work for professional institutions as a role model for younger people, and tenacity in pursuit of Incorporated Engineer status.

Steve has served in the RAF for 28 years and has worked on the maintenance of the Harrier, Sea King and Merlin; managed the Typhoon Avionics Regional Centre and now supervises engineering and generic training at the Air Warfare Centre. He is well acquainted with the human factors and safety issues in the maintenance of aircraft and components, devising and developing processes and equipment or ensuring the provision of tooling to reduce safety risks, for example while testing aircraft electro-mechanical actuators and operating automated test equipment. He also achieved savings on the replacement of underwater locator beacon batteries, and reduced financial expenditure across the avionic and electro-mechanical equipment on the Typhoon fleet. He has interfaced aircraft components from three suppliers in three different countries, and has led a team of 32 personnel through a period of airworthiness governance change. He spends time developing other engineers, is a Professional Review Interviewer for the IMechE and supports the engineering profession as a STEM ambassador, mentoring school teams in, for example, the design, build, test and flight of model aircraft.

Steve said, “I am delighted to have received this award. The recognition enhances my credibility as an engineer and helps me build my future career goals. I think my skills as a professional review interviewer have helped me to encourage others to add robustness to their careers through professional registration, whether they are at EngTech or IEng level, and looking also to CEng.” 

Jon Prichard, CEO of the Engineering Council says: “On behalf of the Engineering Council I would like to congratulate Flight Sergeant Steve Williams, who is clearly an outstanding IEng registrant.  We would also like to thank the Worshipful Company of Engineers and Baroness Platt for recognising newly registered Incorporated Engineers through this award, which helps to highlight the essential contribution that Incorporated Engineers make to all sectors of the engineering profession.” 

Nominations for the Baroness Platt of Writtle Award 2014 will be invited early in the New Year.  Professional Engineering Institutions (PEIs) can nominate up to five candidates who have achieved IEng status during 2013. Nominees should, in the view of the PEI, have displayed outstanding commitment to the engineering profession, have excellent communication skills and have demonstrated management qualities.

History of the award
This year is the first time that the Baroness Platt Award has recognised an outstanding newly registered Incorporated Engineer. The Award was originally established by the Worshipful Company of Engineers to recognise engineering excellence amongst those pursuing final year studies leading to the academic qualifications needed for Incorporated Engineer status.  It was awarded in this form from 2002 to 2012, with the assistance of the Institution of Incorporated Engineers and later the Institution of Engineering and Technology in selecting the Award winner. The award is limited to British citizens or those who have resided in the UK for at least five years and whose principal residence is in the UK

Candidates Interviewed
Flight Sergeant Williams is a member of both the Institution of Mechanical Engineers and the Institution of Engineering and Technology. Those interviewed also included engineers nominated by the Institution of Civil Engineers, the Institution of Fire Engineers, the Institution of Gas Engineers and Managers, the Society of Operations Engineers, and the Institution of Structural Engineers.

About Baroness Platt of Writtle CBE
Baroness Platt studied engineering at Cambridge University, and worked on the testing and production of fighter aircraft during the second world war. After the war, she worked on air safety in the research department of British European Airways. Later, she chaired the educational committee of Essex County Council and the Equal Opportunities Commission, was chancellor of Middlesex University and a non-executive director of British Gas. She was instrumental in setting up WISE – Women In Science and Engineering, and a champion of the role of Incorporated Engineers. Baroness Platt is a Fellow of the Royal Academy of Engineering, an Honorary Fellow of both the Royal Aeronautical Society and the Institution of Mechanical Engineers, and an Assistant Emeritus of the Worshipful Company of Engineers.  

About the Worshipful Company of Engineers
The Worshipful Company of Engineers (www.engineerscompany.org.uk) is one of the ‘modern’ livery companies of the City of London. Established in 1983, its Liverymen are all Chartered Engineers and Fellows of an appropriate professional engineering body, or Fellows of the Royal Academy of Engineering. This award is funded by the Charitable Trust Fund of the Worshipful Company of Engineers, with a contribution from the Dulverton Trust.