Johnston Sweepers Ltd design and manufacture chassis mounted, and self-propelled road sweeping machines for the world market.I have worked for Johnston Sweepers at both their principal UK manufacturing centers. Starting out at Dorking (Surrey) and moving to Sittingbourne (Kent) in 1995.As a Senior Design Engineer I am involved in conceptual work, designing and producing detailed drawings, testing, sourcing bought-out components, manufacturing engineering, and structuring.The majority of the component that I design are steel sheet metal parts which will be laser cut and folded at our plant in Dorking. I also have experience in the design of plastic parts including glass reinforced plastic (GRP), vacuum-formed ABS, and rotation mouldings.For the past five years I have been working largely on complete cab design, from the basic steel framework, to the control layout, and the hard and soft interior trim.In 2005 Johnston Sweepers was sold to the Swiss company Bucher Industries. Soon after this I was selected to work with the Swiss engineering team on the first collaborative project which was to become the CN101 sub-compact urban sweeper. I have become something of a cab design specialist so this was the area of the machine in which I specialized. I am currently working on another, much larger, cab which will be the replacement for the current C400 mid-sized machine.My work is very much hands-on, an element of the job that I enjoy.I took on the CAD Administration role when I moved from Dorking to Sittingbourne. Until that time the Kent operation had functioned without computers. Initially we had three seats of AutoCAD R13. I administer nine licenses of Solidworks 3D solid modeling software, and have responsibility for training, maintenance, support, and data management. Because the Sittingbourne site does not have its own dedicated IT department I am also first point of contact for all other IT issues there.

Rayproof (UK) Ltd manufacture all manner of devises for electromagnetic pulse protection (EMPP). During my time there I was involved in the design of all manner of devices from small fibre optic modems to complete shielded room systems. Most of my work over the last eighteen months I spent with the company was designing modular rooms.It was whilst working at Rayproof that I got my first taste of computer aided design. I was selected from the staff in the drawing office to be fully trained to use AutoCAD R9.I left Rayproof in November 1990 to tour Australia returning home in June 1991. After a short spell doing contract work I joined my present employer Johnston Sweepers Ltd in November 1991.