Flower’s engineering career started early
As a child Flower’s toy box was a little different to most children’s. Her father was an electrical engineer and would bring home unwanted and broken pieces of equipment, which sparked Flower’s curiosity.
Flower now manages industrial-scale equipment, as the Senior Mechanical Plant Engineer at CleanCo’s Swanbank Power Station.
Combined interest
“As a school student I loved maths and chemistry but I also loved drawing and designing, so mechanical engineering was a good way to bring all those interests together,” Flower said.
After graduating from university in China, Flower joined the energy sector, designing pressure equipment for a Siemens/Shanghai Electric Group joint venture, and ultimately leading a team of 14.
Flower emigrated to New Zealand in 2001 and completed a Masters degree in mechanical engineering. She worked in the oil and gas sector in Auckland for a few years before receiving a job offer from an Australian firm to relocate to Adelaide.
Where’s Adelaide?
“I didn’t even know where Adelaide was!” she said. That didn’t stop Flower packing up and moving. Since arriving in Australia in 2006, she has worked at some of our country’s most remote oil and gas sites, such as the Moomba and Bellara gas fields.
Flower has gained an incredible depth of experience over many years working overseas and in Australia but she had not worked in an operations function in the power generation sector until joining CleanCo in January 2021.
“After many years working in design and project management, I am seeing the energy sector from the other side in this role,” she said.
Fast problem solving
“I like the variety of the work, as I never know what each day will bring. This job involves a lot of fast problem solving to ensure the gas-fired station runs safely and efficiently.
“When I arrive at work in the morning the first thing I do is read the report about how the power station ran overnight. If there have been any equipment faults, it’s a case of working to identify and resolve the issues as quickly as possible, in time for the next start-up later that day.
“Safety is at the forefront of everything we do.
“It’s great to work in an organisation that values my judgement and skills. I enjoy sharing my knowledge with others and learning from the team. We are a close-knit group at Swanbank and this role has been a really great learning opportunity for me.”