PSC has more than 200 global employees all contributing to helping power a more sustainable world. Our employee spotlight segment offers a look at what our hardworking people are all about when they’re not serving our clients and each other at work. This spotlight is on Hamish Allan, Graduate Power Systems Engineer in our Christchurch, New Zealand office.

PSC: How would you describe your role at PSC?

Hamish: I’m a graduate power systems engineer in PSC’s Genassure team. This role means that I support the senior engineers in going to various types of generation sites, testing how the generators respond to various inputs and once enough data has been collected, we compile reports for clients to send to the system operator. I get involved in a lot of various areas in a minor capacity such as business development and developing hardware.

What’s the most interesting or most gratifying part of your job?

Hamish: Being able to learn new things every day; finding new holes in my knowledge.

What is something your co-workers would be surprised to learn about you?

Hamish: I left school early because I didn’t like academic work, which is inconsistent with the engineering degree I have just finished. Now I enjoy constantly learning.

Where did you grow up and where do you live now?

Hamish: I grew up in Johnsonville, Wellington (New Zealand) and now I am based in Christchurch (New Zealand).

What are your hobbies?

Lake Louise, Alberta, Canada

Hamish:

• Snowboarding: I spent a year in Lake Louise, working at the ski hill. I would love to return once Covid calms down for a holiday and to explore the Rockies further.
• Tinkering: In a previous career, I was responsible for maintaining a variety of equipment in a variety of non-ideal environments. So I now enjoy pulling stuff apart, figuring out how it works and putting it together with hopefully the same number of components. Recently I fixed a coffee machine, despite my answer further on.

What’s the most valuable advice you’ve ever received?

Hamish: “The wood remembers but the ax forgets.” If you do something negative or positive towards someone, they will remember, where you won’t place the same significance upon it. Conversely, a negative event in your life that you obsess over, is likely forgotten by others.

What is the quality you admire most in other people?

Hamish: Emotional intelligence; the ability to sense how people are feeling and to respond appropriately to get the best out and create a more positive environment.

What are you most looking forward to in the next five years?

Hamish: Attaining CPeng and traveling again. New Zealand is a great place but I want to explore new places.

What is your biggest indulgence?

Hamish: Travel. Now that I have a full-time job again following university, I would love to go to places such as Morocco, Egypt and Brazil to get off the beaten track.

What’s a smell or sound you love? Why?

Mt. Ruapehu, New Zealand

Hamish: Clear, cold mountain air in the morning. It brings back memories of my teenage years of physical exercise in the central plateau of the North Island.

What’s a smell or sound you hate? Why?

Hamish: Coffee’s taste and smell are repulsive to me. If there is a hint of it in ice cream or a drink, I can’t consume it. I think it’s the bitterness. My sister – a self-admitted coffee snob – has failed to convert me despite many years of trying. I can’t exactly ask people to go out for coffee.