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Alumni Inspiration Showcase - David Woodhouse

Since graduating from NTU in 1970 with a degree in Civil Engineering, David has had a long career and worked on several notable projects. This project has been his most iconic.

Inspiring project: UK Terminal of the Channel Tunnel

The project involved taking two lanes of traffic from the M20, passing toll booths, separating commercial and passenger vehicles, services (a commercial necessity), security, UK Border control, French border control, entering a holding area, and then, when the shuttle train was ready, driving to the train and boarding it. The project included trackwork and a tunnel so that arriving trains looped around and drew up alongside one of several platforms ready to re-enter the tunnel and return to France. All this on a site constrained by the North Downs escarpment on one side and the M20 motorway on the other.

Impact

Building Design Partnership (BDP) was engaged by Transmanche Link (TML) the contractor responsible for the Channel Tunnel works on the UK side. I was BDP's Project Manager, answerable to the Lead Partner for the commercial aspects of the contract with TML which included control of the hours expended, production of drawings to meet TML's requirements, and dealing with TML which included regular site visits.

Challenges

The work was carried out when computer-aided design (CAD) and formal quality assurance were in their infancy; before email and ubiquitous mobile phones. The work involved state-of-the-art computer analysis of queuing for the various controls on the terminal and considering exceptional events, such as an emergency in the tunnel, peak summer flows and peak commercial vehicle flows.

Reflecting on NTU

How did your studies at NTU enable you to input into this project?

My Civil Engineering degree is the foundation on which I have built my career. It has enabled me to be considered and appointed for numerous posts in the construction industry in many countries which, but for the degree, I may never have visited let alone had the privilege of living and working in them.

What words would you share to inspire current and future students at NTU?

Get your degree. Keep an open mind. Be ready to question your preconceived ideas.

Why did you choose NTU and your course?

NTU accepted me. By pure chance, but I have never regretted it.

What have you done since leaving NTU?

I have become a construction industry manager. I specialise in construction contract dispute avoidance and resolution. I am a Construction Contract Adjudicator; Member of the Institution of Civil Engineers (ICE), UK, Dispute Resolution Register. I am qualified and experienced in preparing decisions in construction disputes under the HGCR Act in the UK.
I have set up and managed profitable multi-disciplinary projects. I have managed multilingual and multicultural engineering and quantity surveying teams and prepared successful contractual claims
I have advised leading French companies on the administration of English language contracts and lectured on International Contract Management in France.

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