A day in the life… with Gaël Montaubin, Engineering Manager

4th April 2022

Engineering Manager Gaël Montaubin oversees a team of mechanical and electrical design engineers, who design and build Selwood pumps for hire and sale.

“My team and I look after all new and existing products. we design them using 3D modelling software and make sure they are compliant and safe to use, using stress and fluid calculations.”

On a typical day you’ll find Gaël in the workshop, he says. “I spend a lot of time with my team and the production team, checking that pump manufacturing is running smoothly.”

“If pump parts are not quite to the drawings or have been manufactured by the supplier incorrectly, we will assess them and see if we can change the parts or determine if the design needs to be re-worked.”

Gaël manages the pump design process and will decide what the pump parts are going to look like and monitor the standard his team are working to.

“In engineering, we support many departments, from the sales team to external suppliers and our customers.”

From design to reality

“The process of design is where things get exciting! Shaping the parts, designing the layout and working with the engine supplier to work out the technicalities. Once the design is done, we will do the drawings – all parts have individual detailed drawings.

“When the design has been agreed, two technicians will build a prototype. Nothing is ever right the first time, so we make tweaks!

“We get the engine manufacturer to come and do a final audit to test it, and then we release the pump into production. At this point, we work with production to determine how the parts will be assembled. Once we are confident we can build the pump in our assembly lines, we can start thinking about getting the first batches produced.”

Gaël says one of the biggest challenges of his role is to “make sure everything happens on time”.

Emissions project

Gaël has worked on many large-scale projects as an Engineering Manager, including the recent redesign of pump engines in line with the emissions regulations changes, that came into force at the end of last year.

“The regulations are stricter than before, so we needed to update the engine exhaust system in our pumps.

“We had to replace the engines and redesign the electronic systems along with adding in some new features following feedback from Pump Rental.”

Before any pump is ready for sale, Gaël needs to make sure it has gone through Selwood’s extensive safety procedures.

“We risk assess, ensuring the pump is built meeting standards and regulations that make it safe. We measure the temperature, vibrations and performance. We even tilt the pump to make sure it won’t fall apart.”

When all of this is complete, Gaël says the most rewarding part is “to see the pump we’ve designed being used by our customers and them enjoying its durability and performance.“

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