Michael Grace

Said the following about Stephen Tidmarsh:

“Stephen is an excellent candidate for Rail Engineer of the Year because he regularly demonstrates his passion for the rail industry, both across his own projects and the projects of others.

After joining SNC-Lavalin in July 2015 as a Principal Engineer, Stephen quickly and enthusiastically integrated into the Assurance team. He optimises the “Railway Professional”, having worked in the railway for the whole of his working career, and therefore has a wealth of experience across the industry. Starting in 1987 as a Technical Apprentice with British Rail, Stephen can draw upon his depth and breadth of expertise and apply this to complex projects for a wide variety of clients.

Nevertheless, Stephen’s vast experience is not just reserved for his own projects and his positive, pragmatic attitude has been recognised at all levels within the business.

His friendly and approachable demeanour means he is often the “go-to person” in the team for advice and support, and he always takes time out to coach and mentor the younger engineers within the team, who are in-turn then able to support him in the delivery of his projects. By encouraging the younger engineers in his own work Stephen allows others the opportunity to gain priceless experience and exposure to the rail industry, which would be impossible unless someone such as Stephen took a chance and saw their potential.

Colleagues also benefit from his focus and calm in stressful situations, with Stephen easily coping with critical timeframes in large projects. His relaxed nature quickly diffuses any difficult situation meaning the team can instead work to get the job done, with Alex McCristal, Team Leader Engineering Vehicle Certification, stating that: “I often seek out Stephen’s considered view on project-related issues, as I find his ability to cut through to the nub of the issue very helpful. This then works to speed up the timeliness of a response back to our clients, and having that experienced peer review is invaluable”.

Stephen’s talents are therefore not just recognised internally, with many clients appreciating his flexibility in projects, and Stephen has regularly shown his dedication to providing client service excellence by working extra hours and going above and beyond in everything he does. Clients at Network Rail admired his “can-do approach” in recent work which enabled them to reach a major milestone with HOPS, and other clients have recognised his ability to quickly understand an issue’s needs and requirements to establish a solution.

Ultimately, Stephen is a great all-rounder, drawing on past experience to concentrate on the present job at hand, whilst also working tirelessly to help the engineers of the future develop and move forward in their careers.“