Mervyn

“For me, it’s the smell of wet concrete, of hot bitumen, and lime for stabilising roads. It’s where the shovel hits the ground; that excites me about my job.”

 Mervyn Bosworth Smith describes himself as an outdoorsman who gets his job satisfaction from taking what was in some engineer’s mind and seeing it being built. He’s been with Royal HaskoningDHV for 18 years and describes his main role as ‘getting the job done’. He’s been in Israel since 2018, working as a project manager on the Metro Red Line in Tel Aviv. The assignment finishes at the end of June.

 It’s easy to pick up that Mervyn is not the retiring type. “To me, 65 is still too young to be retiring. We’re living far longer now than we used to, and I still want to continue in the industry for another few years. I believe that I can still add value.” He adds that, hopefully, he’ll get to add this value with RHDHV.

What you see is what you get

 Mervyn fondly recalls what it was that attracted him to RHDHV. “I was working on a job as a Resident Engineer, which was a short-term appointment, so I was looking for employment. An old colleague of mine was working part-time for the former SSI and reckoned that there might be a place for me. I went to the interview straight from site – still dressed in shorts and safety boots. It was obvious that what you see is what you get. And they were open to that! Once I got in the door, I just seemed to fit in, and I really enjoyed it. And that’s the reason I've stuck around for the last 18 years!”

 The job that stands out for Mervyn is the upgrade of the Sani Pass, where he was involved in the planning for five years and construction for two. “That was a highlight for me. It was a very challenging job, and it was meaningful in the sense that we were contributing to changing the lives of not only all who travel the Pass but the surrounding communities. Safer roads benefit everyone.”

Appreciation for a job well done

 Mervyn’s proudest moment with RHDHV? He recently received feedback from the people who were working under him when he was manager of the Transport Advisory Group in KwaZulu-Natal. “It’s hearing people you are managing say, you know, you did a good job; we enjoyed working for you. The feedback helps because, at the time, you hope you’re doing the right thing, but you never actually know because, well, us engineers are not the best communicators; we’re not exactly forthcoming with our feelings,” he laughs.

 Engineers might not talk about their feelings, but that doesn’t mean there isn’t some emotion there. Mervyn is living proof. “When I first joined, there was much encouragement to go on courses, to broaden your horizons. And I hope that, in some of my latter years, I’ve been able to give back to the younger employees by training and mentoring them to do just that.”