Name: Neil Chadwick

Job Title: UK and Ireland representative for SoilCloud (marketing and technical).

What company do you work for and what areas do they specialise in?

SoilCloud, who provide web-based software and services for geotechnical data management, including the reporting and interpretation of ground investigation data, and its integration into design.

Where are your offices based?

SoilCloud are a French company with an office in Paris, but they serve clients from all over the world. As a provider of digital services, working remotely comes naturally. For example, I provide my input from the somewhat less cosmopolitan environs of Wokingham, Berkshire.

How many people does the company employ?

SoilCloud currently has about 10 staff, mainly working on software development. However, that does not include me as I am not technically a staff member. I provide my input on a consultancy basis, alongside other work that I take on under my Digital Geotechnical alter ego.

How long have you worked at the company, and what inspired you to join?

Officially, I have been working with SoilCloud for two years, although we have known each other for longer than that. Inspiration? As a long-time expert user of geotechnical database software I was often frustrated by what I had to work with. When the opportunity then arose to get involved with a new entrant to the UK market, with new technology and a fresh outlook, it was a no-brainer.

What does a typical day look like for you?

Variable and unpredictable! Communicating with and problem-solving for clients, demonstrations to potential new clients and providing technical advice to SoilCloud take up a good chunk of my time.

What project are you most proud to have been a part of?

Some of our client’s projects look very interesting but I am not at liberty to talk about those here. From a personal point of view, from my time at Arup, it would probably be the geotechnical work I led at Stratford City, a site with many unusual features. This project included large multi-phase ground investigations and design work for the Westfield shopping centre and London 2012 Athletes Village. It may have been a bit manic and stressful at the time, but I look back on it with a sense of pride. It also involved a lot of data management!

How important is sustainability within the company?

SoilCloud supports sustainability by providing a data management platform that will hopefully better inform our clients, so that they can make the best decisions for sustainability.

How does your company support graduates and early career professionals who are entering the industry?

Graduates and early career professionals are likely to encounter SoilCloud or similar very early in their career as data management is often delegated down (don’t get me started on that – to discuss another day perhaps). SoilCloud provides a modern technological platform which can be easily linked up with other digital processes. The new cohort of engineers and geologists are typically more IT-savvy than in the past and we would hope that they will be enthused by the digital opportunities presented, i.e. they see our industry as technologically forward-thinking.

What steps can companies make to improve the gender imbalance and diversity within their organisations?

From a personal point of view, for most of my career I was lucky enough to be part of a very diverse group, with a relatively healthy gender balance. However, I have had to deal with the reality of juggling career and raising a family. This may be easier than it was in the past, but it is still far from ideal. I think it would help a lot if we could all accept that it is perfectly ok for career progression to slow down a bit, for both for men and women, when other circumstances dictate. We should not be penalising each other for making the best life choices.

Why do you feel the work of the AGS is important to the industry?

Sharing of knowledge and the upholding of standards – both are critical – I shudder to think where our industry would be without the AGS.

With my data management hat on (I am a member of that working group), having spoken to many geotechnical data experts from around the world I can say with some confidence that the AGS data format can rightfully be described as ‘world leading’. Don’t take it for granted!