Millcroft is taking its design capabilities to new heights with a talented and rapidly growing team of design engineers. At the forefront of this expansion are senior design engineers Ravindu Edirisinghe and Michael Egan, along with assistant pre-commencement specialist Ahmet Ulusoy.
Ravindu (Ravi), who joined Millcroft four months ago, brings a wealth of experience working for scaffolding and construction support companies after earning a BEng in Civil and Structural Engineering. Drawn to design by a love of problem-solving maths, physics and art, he takes immense pride in seeing his designs come to life through complex projects such as HS2, and various commercial and residential developments in busy central London.
For Ravi, complex projects and dangerous structures are particularly interesting: "These are usually emergency situations working with structures close to collapse; there are so many unknowns and a very tight deadline. There is a lot of risk involved," he explains.
Michael's path began on the tools in the petrochemical industry in Scotland, before he pursued further education. Training has included an HNC in Computer-Aided Drafting and Design, an HNC in construction, and two years studying architecture.
After spending time abroad, Michael decided to relocate to London and follow a career in scaffold design. Since then, he has undertaken additional studies while working, completing an HNC in Civil Engineering and, more recently, a BEng (Hons) in Civil Engineering. Michael has quickly become a respected team member in his eight months with Millcroft, overseeing all input/output design work, carrying out 2D & 3D structural modelling and performing CATII checks on all our HS2 designs. So far, his stand-out project has been Whitechapel Station, which has multiple facade access and temporary roof structures. Michael has designed most of the structures for this, and undertaken intensive third-party checking to ensure compliance.
Ahmet Ulusoy joined Millcroft in April 2021 through the Government's Kickstart Scheme, an opportunity he says was great for gaining invaluable experience in the scaffolding industry. As a junior estimator and 3D/4D visualiser, Ahmet plays a crucial role in creating detailed simulations that impress clients and guide the estimation process from the earliest stages. He was instrumental in Millcroft being named the preferred contractor for a significant scaffolding framework by creating 3D and 4D designs as part of the priced tender.
The trio of experts is driving our business towards increasingly sophisticated and immersive design practices. The team recently attended a professional development day at our partner, Layher's, headquarters, learning about new products such as Flex and Twix beams, Layer's 3D design, and virtual reality software offerings.
"We are always looking to improve our engineering processes and expand our skills and knowledge," says Ravi. "Eventually, I want to see our designs become more involved with BIM (Building Information Modelling)."
All three individuals are ambitious, and want to continue to introduce new techniques, and develop the team by mentoring trainee/graduate engineers to transfer the knowledge they have gained. Michael aims to elevate the team's expertise through his final-year research project, developing code to automate the 3D modelling of a scaffold around the perimeter of any building shape with user inputs for bay lengths, light heights, boarded platform widths, etc. The code will also include a vertical load structural analysis and automatically calculate leg loads based on self-weight. "I hope this is the start of something bigger that we can develop further in-house and use to speed up the design process considerably," he explains.
The design team appreciates Millcroft's support and growth opportunities. All three praise the 'warm and welcoming' environment, the company's openness to new ideas, and its willingness to support career progression. "Millcroft continuously rewards staff for their efforts, and it's good to know that our hard work is not going unnoticed," concludes Michael.
As Millcroft continues to take on ambitious and complex projects across its scaffolding and construction divisions, our innovative and enthusiastic design team is ready to tackle any challenges with a cutting-edge combination of technical prowess and creative vision.
