Atkins Realis Interview Prep Flashcards
Tell me about yourself?
-University, enjoyed practical labs, group project rover
-During final year worked weekends as assistant plumber, leveraged into assistant electrician
-I’d describe myself as a self starter as I got my work experience in an unconventional way (as compared to internships)
-I like to video edit, work with computers (I built my own), cut hair and stay active with the gym, I hiked up scalfel pyke recently
Tell me why we shouldn’t hire you/you’re biggest weakness?
Situation:
-Biggest weakness is not having an internship as other candidates might have gotten, which would’ve made me a less desirable canditate as I lack the practical skills working in a professional environment.
Action:
However, I had the self-motivation to gain experience regardless, even if it was in an unconventional way by working part time as a plumber and leveraging that into a more relevant experience as an assistant electrician
Result:
-Through this experience I learnt how electrical power systems are designed such as radial and ring circuits, the electrical safety involved such as the use of MCB’s (circuit breakers) and RCD’s (residual current device), also how you split lighting and power onto different MCB’s (32A power 2.5mm T&E, 6-10A lighting 1-1.5 T&E depending on load draw)
-From a professional working environment standpoint I had to liaise with landlords and clients such as the time work had to be delayed as to mount a light fixture some plastering had to be pulled off the ceiling, I had the estate agent come in to see the issue and let it be known delays were required and the plasterer had to come one additional day, this ensured frustrations were minimal from the clients side as I was transparent with any additional works that were required.
Why are you interested in this role/rolling stock engineering?
Experience with power/lighting circuits, knowledge of train electric infrastructure:
-I really enjoyed my experience working with and learning about electrical systems such as lighting, power outlets and the design considerations for designing these circuits (MCB sizing, cable sizing, connection design) additionally train use screens, smoke detectors, AC-DC converters, pantographs, electric motors, transformers which I’m interested in learning more about.
Transformer FEA project:
-I did a Finite Element Analysis project on transformers, more specifically on how you can reduce the losses due to eddy currents, which causes heating losses, in the transformers core by laminating it, effectively increasing the core’s resistance. Through this technique the losses reduces by 4.7 % which was calculated by knowing the expected step down voltage of 250V and comparing the laminated vs unlaminated coil 2 values.
Industry improvements:
-While travelling to japan in 2024 I saw the quality difference with the trains there compared to most in London. For example, the communication effectiveness of the train journey I felt was much higher in Japan due to how informative and simple the screens conveyed information by having the information graphically animated, compared to the traditional train journey images on carriages or simple scrolling stop names.
-However I have seen the Elizabeth line trains have incorporated much clearer journey information on their on board and platform screens similar to that in Japan, also much safer as the platforms have doors which is also a feature I noticed was present in Japan and not so common in the UK. These improvements increase customer satisfaction by reducing frustration, increasing journey clarity and improving platform safety. Which can be included in the HS2 railway or as improvements/upgrades for existing rolling stock.
Why do you want to work for Atkins Realis?
(values, projects, consultancy)
Values (sustainability):
-Reduction in CO2 emission by 87%, which translates into 74 killotonnes, compared to Atkins Realis’ 2019 baseline.
-Combats climate change, benefits local communities (cleaner airand lower risk of natural disaster like flooding for towns near coasts).
-According to McKinsley (global consulting firm), companies with higher ESGconsistently outperform the market as stakeholders, investors and clients value working with sustainable companies as it is a growing concern globally. Increasing brand trust and public relations as the world becomes more environmentally aware, there is a growing market for sustainable goods and services.
-Important to me as on the graduate scheme I will help employ sustainable initiatives to help the company and our clients reach net zero status. Through things such as, powering locomotives with electric as it’s renewable; maximising natural light to minimise the use of lighting, perhaps harvesting rainwater for irrigation purposes such as flushing on-board toilets, upgrading legacy equipment such as gas water heaters and pumps into electric ones.
-My personal value for sustainability can be seen through my solar cell project where I optimised the power conversion of light to electricity by 12% through a technique called surface etching, effectively increasing the light trapping capabilities of the device by carving and depositing various structures on the surface to refract the incoming light.
Projects:
Why did you apply for this graduate scheme?
(structure, support, development)
How would you teach a complex concept to people who may not understand all the intricacies + example?
Understand audience:
What level of detail do they need to know? Cut out technical jargon and in-depth concepts if not required. Simplify the core idea Strip the concept down to its essential purpose Use analogies Compare it to something similar, ideally something commonly understood or from the world your audience understands Use visual aids Diagrams, simplae charts, flow charts can make abstract concepts more concrete and digestible Reinforce with examples Show how the concept applies to the real world problems they care about Encourage interaction and check understanding Ask questions like 'Does this make sense so far?' Let people pause and digest pieces, if you see them writing ect. At the end recap the main points and invite your audience to explain it back in their own words Example:
During sixth form, in year 12, I taught weekly A level math lessons to supplement our required classes as many of the students expressed it was hard to understand certain concepts from one of our teachers. As I was top of my class in this subject (I got an A*) I rain these weekly classes where I employed a lot of these strategies. For example, I’d use the analogy of a speeding car to express differentiation (position, speed, acceleration). I’d also use graphs, which is typical in mathematics, so my classmates could see a visual representation of the concepts I was explaining. This proved effective as the classes ran for 8 weeks leading up to our exams with around half the class frequently attending and having verbal confirmation that my efforts were appreciated by attendees and staff.
If you didn’t know how to do something at work? what would you do to try understand it + example?
If there was a conflict within your team, how would you go about resolving it + example?
Stay neutral
Don’t take sides right away and focus on understanding the situation, not on who’s right or wrong
Create a safe space to talk Bring the people involved into a private setting and set the tone of collaboratively solving the issue not on blaming Employ active listening, and don't interrupt This shows respect of each parties viewpoint and allows transparency and true feelings to show Identify the root cause Is it a miscommunication, a conflict of interest, competing priorities? Find common ground Reinforce we are a team and remind everyone of their shared goals, project outcomes Use the shared goals to frame the conversation around collaboration and not personal attacks Agree on clear next steps Outline specific actions and changes moving forward and confirm it is mutually understood Follow up Quietly check in after some time to see if the situation is improving If serious enough involve senior members of the team or HR Example: During one of my group projects it was said one of the members of the team was accused of not carrying their weight. I contacted them privately about the situation keeping the accuser anonymous and they said it was because of a multitude of deliverables they had due and they had trouble balancing it all. I gave them tips on how to better manage their time with things like pre-planning the following day with a to-do list, starting early when a deliverable is first placed and not procrastinating it and gave her a couple days to try recalibrate and fix her deadlines where I worked in the workshop extra and helped with the structural design team. The outcome of this was positive as I checked up on her and she said her time management has improved and I didn't hear of any more complaints from the initial team member proving the problem was solved.
What would you do if you presented a new idea to your team and it wasn’t received well by some members?
Stay calm and open minded
Don’t take it personally and remember criticism is of the idea and not of me personally
Highlight the benefits Clearly highlight the benefits of the idea with statistics, demos, simulations and examples Involve the team See if others in the team agree with the points of hesitation and get the whole group involved in the discussion Listen carefully to the concerns Ask was specifically doesn't sit right with them, or ask them to expound on their hesitation Clarify if needed Maybe something was misunderstood, maybe the idea needs a slight tweak to fit better with their needs/priorities Involve them in improving the idea When people help reshape the idea they are more likely to support it as it was a collaborative effort Know when the pause or pivot Revise the idea or pause and revisit it later with more support or evidence Example:
There was a time during a project where the weight carrying limits of some motors were not clearly understood. The torque was clear but due to complexities in the system such as tire friction, incline angles, power input and 4 motors being present the exact limits weren’t clear. I suggested that we just stay under the combined torque for the weight of the rover but the team wanted something more concrete. I then tested the max torque of the motors with a pulley design system with hanging weights and reported the rpm/torque characteristics of the motors to the team showing the max weight to stay under for effective functionality. This then allowed to project to progress with confidence as the team was happy with the results.
You’re close the finishing a project and the goals shift, what do you do?
Stay Calm and Flexible and React Quickly
Accept that change is a part of work life and adaptability is something I’ll need to have, reacting emotionally will will only make the situation worse and more than likely time will be tight to deliver the project within a reasonable time
Quickly seek clarity Meet with leadership and ask to clearly define the new goals and priorities Ask what the reason is for the change, understanding why the goals shifted will have plan intelligently Replan strategically Reprioratize tasks, adjust timelines and expectations, see what from the old project we can use for the new plan to reduce how much new work needs to be done Keep morale up by celebrating small wins as the team adjusts, which will help everyone move forwards and focus less on how unfair it may be perceived Example:
During my solar cell project the initial plan couldn’t be followed as initially I was going to do the optimisation of the simulation after running the initial simulations to get a base solution. However, it turned out that running the base simulation took much more computing time than I anticipated so I had to work on optimising the model first. I replanned my project timeline to fit this adjustment with my mentor to give clarity on expectations during milestone meetings which looked like adjusting the project Gantt Chart. This allowed me to still deliver the project within the specified time frame as I reacted quickly and planned strategically with my mentor to make the project more time efficient (optimisation before base runs).
How would you handle criticism from a superior?
How would you handle criticism from a superior?
Listen fully without getting defensive Accept they may have a point and not take it personally, focus on understanding Engage respectfully in dialogue See if the criticism genuinely applies to you and give clarity on the situation is there is a misunderstanding Acknowledge the feedback and make a plan for improvement Plan your next steps for improvement with your superior to show you care about changing for the better and not just brushing it off to get through the conversation Follow through and show progress Consistently act on the plan over time and keep your superior posted on your actionable steps Example:
During the initial phases of my solar project my mentor pointed out that although the idea of the project was good, it wasn’t based enough in reality, which is extremely important especially for simulation based projects as the results should be as useful as possible and applicable to real life. I instantly recognised the validity of his feedback and moved the conversation onto actionable steps I can do to ground my project in reality. I came up with two solutions: use structures that were already being researched on and created in real life for solar cells found in contemporary academic literature, but to still keep the project innovative I would research the limits of the techniques they used to fabricate these structures so I could intelligently adjust the dimensions within the scope of reality so I wasn’t just copying their structures. Secondly, I would use real life data from academic literature for the solar cells design to ensure it would behave as closely as possible to real life, this included using data for the refractive index for my materials found in literature and using real life data of the different intensities of wavelengths found in sunlight (AM1.5). I kept my mentor posted and showed the actions I was taking to honour his feedback during our biweekly meetings and this ensured my simulation was grounded in reality, which was confirmed by confirming the standing wave produced in my device for a given wavelength of light from my simulation with a separate method known as the Transfer Matrix Analytical Method, both delivering results with an accuracy of 98% for the expected amplitude of the wave being 10,000V/m in the second layer of the cell.
What is the biggest issue facing our industry?
What is the biggest issue facing our industry?
Sustainability I think the biggest issue in our industry is sustainability, and keep a key focus on the impact of the companies project on the environment measured by its carbon emissions. This is important for two main reasons, financially and socially Clients and investors want to work with companies that value sustainability as customers have a growing demand for products and services that are as environmentally neutral/beneficial as possible. Due to this if your company disregards sustainable working practices in their projects they are less likely to partner with you to work on their projects. Leaving a lot of money on the table for competing companies to take that are more environmentally aware. Furthermore, the negative public perception a company can have by betraying customer trust can be seen with movements such as Just Stop Oil and Tesla, although Tesla is more for Elon Musk's divisive political opinions and affiliations it still shows the impact a negative public perception can have on a company as Teslas stock price dropped. Example:
One way I can contribute to the company being more sustainabile is by leveraging my skills from my rover group project. Where I had to make design choices to maximise sustainability as per the spec requirements. This was achieved in two ways; firstly, I chose to use rechargeable lithium batteries as this would negate the requirement to buy new batteries every time it ran out of charge, making the batteries reusable in this way meant less waste of materials as we wouldn’t need contribute to new batteries being manufactured and the old ones being discarded. Secondly, I chose to use tires made of a recyclable rubber and the main body out of ABS (3d printed) as opposed to PLC which isnt as easily recycleable although it is renewable as it is made of corn starch. This maximised the amount of components that wouldn’t go to waste and could be recycled minimising the carbon footprint of producing the rover.
How would you go about implementing a new innovative technique/procedure? + example
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Why is safety important at Atkins Realis? + example
How do you handle time management for multiple projects?
Plan effectively with Gantt Charts and conduct risk assessment to be well prepared for potential pitfalls along the project journey and have adequate responses to common risks that may occur. For example in my dissertation I planned the entire project on a Gantt chart breaking down responsibilities into manageable sizes letting me know each day/week what tasks had to be completed such as report writing, research, design and performing the simulation. Some risk assessments, although trivial as it was a simulation based project, included if my laptop broke or if it wasn’t powerful enough to run the simulations which I had responses for such as using the universities computational power and having enough money saved on the side for laptop repairs. I also planned to have around 2 weeks free which could be allocated throughout the project where necessary if unforseen delays occured giving me a good cushion to still deliver the project on its assigned date.
Also setting regular checkpoints for deadlines and booking biweekly meetings with my supervisor helped me stay on track and held me responsible each fortnight for the work I had to do.
How do ac/dc converters work (rectifiers and inverters)?
AC-DC
recitfier, for a full wave rectifier a network of 4 diodes are used to guide the signal to the same side of the load for each positive and negative phase of the AC signal. To reduce the ‘bumps’ present in the AC signal a capcitor is placed in parallel with the load allowing it to discharge and charge where appropriate. The bigger the capacitor the lower each ‘dip’ will be effectively making it a uniform DC signal.
How is power fed to a train?
(overhead transmission line, pantograph, earthed in the tracks)?
Differences between AC and DC?
What power quantities are used throughout the rail?
What are passive and active circuit components?
Active components convert, amplify or rectify electrical signals into something ‘useful’ such as rectifiers and inverters, leds
passive components consume/release and store electricity. Such as resistors, capacitors and inductors
What do you expect your daily activities to look like?
(role knowledge)?
Factors to consider when sizing cables?
Be able to withstand a short circuit:
Depends on fault current amount, insulation of the cable, the time duration of the fault
Current carrying capacity:
Must be able to deliver the expected load current
Voltage drop across cable:
Cable has some resistances and reactances causing a voltage drop, should remain within an acceptable limit to ensure connected equipment function properly (i.e motor)
Insulation material:
Air cables require UV and mechanical protection, also protection against heat and moisture
Where do you see yourself in 5 years?
