Profile
Michael Walford
My CV
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Education:
Greenfield St Mary’s C.E (A) Primary School
The Blue Coat School, Oldham
Took triple science, and German, History, Geography and Drama as my options
The Blue Coat 6th Form, Oldham
Took Maths, Chemistry, Biology and German all to full A-level
Also Further Maths A/S level
Durham University – Chemistry degree -
Qualifications:
GCSE’S 8 A* and 3 A’s
A level – Maths A, Chemistry A, Biology B and German B
These results allowed me to go to Durham University
Chemistry BSc 2:2
I was originally on a masters course, but due to health problems, had to stop after just 3 years
However, these results were enough to get my current job at BRE
At BRE, i have a qualification in IOSH Managing Safely, which gave me more experience for writing risk assessments, something which is key in fire testing. -
Work History:
First job – paper round i guess
First proper job – part time kitchen assistant in local pub. Mainly washing pots and cleaning up. Did this up until University, when i stopped as i was unable to do all my studies and work at the same time
Next job after University – Current job
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About Me:
I’m an animal-loving, science fiction-reading Northerner living in St Albans.
I watch a lot of tv and movies, play video games and am trying to visit every zoo in the country -
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I live in St Albans with my fiancee. We have 2 gerbils, Koko and Moka, and pretty much our own private library. I love pretty much all sweet foods, particularly chocolate orange. I would normally play badminton regularly (Curse you, Coronavirus!) and try to spend my weekends out visiting nature reserves or wildlife parks as much as I can.
I spend most of my time outside of work, watching tv, reading or playing on my PS3. My fiancee and I play board games together and are both big fans of Dr Who.
I like graphic novels and manga and metal music
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Basic description – I set fire to all kinds of materials, in order to determine either how much they burn, how far the flame spreads, or whether any toxic gases are released in the smoke
When I started, I helped set up and FTIR system, that allows us to test for specific gases that may be present in smoke from burning materials. This is because materials have to pass specific fire standards, basically a list of rules and results from tests that the material must achieve, when they are used in buildings and public transport, and this includes how much toxic gases can be present in the smoke. I also have tests that determine the heat release of a material and their flame spread, which is all calculated together, to determine whether the material is safe for use.
A lot of the materials I test are used in the rail industry, so things like train seats, flooring, wall coverings etc. I have done this for just over 8 and a half years, and I have tested a lot of products in that time. Some are really good, some are awful, so health and safety are a large priority. A lot of the time, we are able to test the material in a sealed enclosure, so we are not exposed to any smoke, but we also have hoods, that are used to give us a continuous supply of clean fresh air.
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My Typical Day:
I get up, get dressed in my scruffy clothes. Head to work, turn on the equipment to allow the furnaces to warm up. Test any materials booked for that day, then import the results to the computer, ready to be reported. Turn off the equipment before I go home, for a nice long sit down.
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6:30am – Wake up. Avoid temptation to snooze
7:00am – Set off for work in car
7:30am – Arrive at work. Turn on equipment if needed to warm up, ready for testing
8:00am – Check emails, make sure nothing important has happened since the day before, confirm lab bookings are still current, so I know what testing I`m doing
8:30am – Head down to lab. I run multiple tests in the lab, so depending on what test I am doing, can change my day significantly. Larger scale fire tests tend to be an all day test, and may require more calibration of the equipment, whereas some of the smaller scale tests are only an hour, and aside from preparing the test sample, are pretty much ready to go
12:00am – Head back to office for lunch. Unfortunately I’m a creature of habit, so my lunch is rarely exciting, unless I’m very lucky and my fiancee made it for me. I will usually watch videos on YouTube or Netflix while I eat. Due to the different test lengths for my colleagues and myself, we rarely have lunch together
13:00pm Head back to lab to complete testing, or if it was a shorter test, I may stay in the office to write up reports. I’m also responsible for checking other peoples reports before they can be released to the customer
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What I'd do with the prize money:
At work I am in charge of the Fire Safety STEM Scheme. Due to lack of interest from the company I work for, it has basically become a team of one. I would like to use the money to be able to do more with the scheme.
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My Interview
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How would you describe yourself in 3 words?
animal loving pyromaniac
What did you want to be after you left school?
Some kind of scientist.
Were you ever in trouble at school?
No. I was a right goody two shoes
Who is your favourite singer or band?
Rammstein
What's your favourite food?
Chocolate orange
If you had 3 wishes for yourself what would they be? - be honest!
I would wish to always have enough money to be comfortable for myself and family, don't need to be rich, just enough to not have any problems. I would wish for a self cleaning and tidying house. And i would wish to be able to understand animals when needed, to give me peace of mind that those in zoo's are being kept well and are happy
Tell us a joke.
Why is the dieting advice to 'eat light' so dangerous? Thats how you become a black hole
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