Ailie MacAdam and the Biggest Construction Project in Europe

“When you have such a big infrastructure project, you have the opportunity, certainly, but I’d say more the responsibility to invest those public funds in a way that lifts the sector up, and really move the dial on the diversity of engineering teams,” stated Bechtel’s Ailie MacAdam on the reasoning behind creating a more diverse team for London’s Crossrail project.

Recently called Britain’s most successful female engineer by The Telegraph, as well as an inspiring role model by Construction News, MacAdam’s career includes major projects all over the globe, including Boston’s Central Artery highway and Sydney’s Metro City and Southwest Project.

In a recent interview with BBC’s The Life Scientific, MacAdam discusses her latest work on St. Pancras Station. Throughout the interview, MacAdam touches on the challenges of the project, from preventing 690 cast iron pillars that supported the platform from breaking like carrots to overcoming the unconscious bias that stands in the way of deserved promotions.

Listen to the full interview here or below (this audio file is provided by BBC Life Scientific), and learn more about Ailie here.

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