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ADVERTORIAL
Daniel Finnigan, project manager at SEP Culant talks to Rail Director about transitioning from working in petrochemicals to rail and how the company is investing in upskilling its rope access team to help them reach new heights
Learning the ropes at SEP Culant B
ack in 2021, Daniel Finnigan was working as a rope access technician for a company in the petrochemical industry. It was here that he met Andrew Oliver, who had recently launched SEP Culant, bringing a unique rope access and vegetation management offering to the rail industry. “Andy offered me a role as a supervisor at SEP Culant, working on a project for Murphy Group, delivering 50km of vegetation clearance as part of a major project for the Commonwealth Games.” He explained. “I worked as a supervisor for about eight months and then began taking courses to develop my skillset before eventually, I started to take on the running of projects myself.” One of Daniel’s first assignments as a project manager was to oversee SEP Culant’s NonDestructive Testing (NDT) inspections at King Edwards Bridge, a 350m bridge spanning the River Tyne between Newcastle and Gateshead. The project, delivered on behalf of BAM Nuttall, had many safety considerations to take into account, with Daniel’s team positioning safety boats under the bridge to ensure the technicians remained safe throughout the rope access works.
Vegetation management and access specialists Boasting decades of experience, SEP Culant’s timeserved and fully qualified arborists, vegetation management and rope access operatives support some of the leading names in rail, undertaking an extensive range of specialist services across the UK rail infrastructure. The business has grown quickly and at an impressive rate. Managing director Andrew harbours ambitions of a 50 per cent growth this year aloneand the firm is now branching out into civils and construction works including retaining walls, access roads and fencing. Daniel attributes much of SEP Culant’s success to its people-led approach. “I’ve never seen any company that invests as much into their staff as SEP Culant does”, he said. “I’ve already been put through multiple courses in my short career here. I did my IOSH Managing Safely
Course and my Controller of Site Safety (COSS) Course. Next, I’m looking at starting my PRINCE2 course to develop my project management skills further.” By developing talent internally, SEP Culant can
resource its projects more efficiently rather than relying on external labour. It’s a mutually beneficial arrangement for both the business and its employees, said Daniel.
September 2023
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