The Advanced Leader Award for STEM supported by WISE
Ms Kamlah Kew, a Principal Traffic Control Engineer from Transport for London was interviewed by Supriya Gopinath from Newstead Wood School for Girls. Supriya also videoed her interview, this can be found at the end of her written interview below.
"Having a keen curiosity in understanding how things work, Ms Kew chose to pursue Physics, Chemistry, Maths and Art for her A-levels, realizing that her passion for creativity and interest in the fundamentals of physics directed her to a career in Engineering. “I wanted to make a contribution to the betterment of society. Every invention comes out of people having a need and Engineers solve this need.”
Ms Kamlah Kew, a Principal Traffic Control Engineer from Transport for London was interviewed by Supriya Gopinath from Newstead Wood School for Girls
London – the capital of UK - possesses a road network of approximately 14,000 kilometres. 21 million journeys are made on these roads every day yet we hardly think about the 6000 traffic signals that help regulate this quantum of traffic. When one considers how a traffic signal works, it is astounding to note the multitude of complex conditions that need to be accounted for.
As part of the WISE Leaders Award program, I had the opportunity to meet with Ms Kamlah Kew, a Traffic Control Engineer from Transport for London, to discuss various aspects of her career and to consider why a career in Engineering can be so rewarding.
As a Traffic Control Engineer, she works with local authorities to come up with schemes for their roads and helps to manage traffic by installing junction controllers and pedestrian crossings. There is no doubt that her job brings challenges; catering to the needs of the 7 million Londoners whilst keeping within time, space and budget constraints is easier said than done.
Having a keen curiosity in understanding how things work, Ms Kew chose to pursue Physics, Chemistry, Maths and Art for her A-levels, realizing that her passion for creativity and interest in the fundamentals of physics directed her to a career in Engineering. “I wanted to make a contribution to the betterment of society. Every invention comes out of people having a need and Engineers solve this need.” Inspired by an A-level module in Communications and Systems, she decided to follow this interest by completing a degree in Electronic Engineering at UCL and also completed a Masters in Physics at Imperial College, London.
During her degree, she spent a year out working in an Agilent Technologies Research and Development laboratory. “I enjoyed it greatly but I discovered that working in a lab my whole life was not for me. I wanted to be out there implementing my designs and building something more tangible.” For Ms Kew, the thought of being able to see your efforts realized and say with pride, “That’s my work over there!” was the greatest satisfaction in being an Engineer.
She then joined Transport for London’s Graduate Recruitment Scheme for Electrical Engineers, which focused on providing a practical experience and technical, commercial and management training. The two-year placement offered her experiences in various departments of TfL and provided the training and knowledge needed to work in traffic control. “Yes, it was different from University. But if you’ve got a good training scheme, they help you as it is more about the transferable skills you gain, such as analysis, problem solving and application of knowledge. Obviously you do have to look back on some of your engineering knowledge but they help you.”
After completing the scheme, Ms Kew now manages a team of engineers in the Traffic Signal Department. Each day is different - “there’s no such thing as a typical day - from working on site to checking the progress of work, doing design work in the office or meeting members of the borough to discuss any questions or complaints. Projects are generally long term, lasting from 6 months to 2 years, as they involve extensive audits to meet safety standards, and design and implementation can be time-consuming.
Her role requires a proficiency in traffic signal control. Each traffic signal needs to be programmed with exact controller specifications that manage the various timings so that traffic flow is optimised and collisions are prevented. From the initial project research, Ms Kew uses the expected traffic flow patterns to regard any special conditioning or changes on certain days or certain times, “for example, on Saturdays, there may be more shoppers and we have to adjust the timings to cope with the heavier traffic flow”. Around a third of the signals are operated in “real-time” according to traffic demands whilst others are under central computer control in the main office. It is crucial to also regard all possible circumstances, e.g. if phone lines are down and communication between the central computer and the signal is interrupted, it is important to set the signal to revert to following a pre-installed plan. Also, if ever two red lamps have blown on the same approach, pedestrian crossings would be stopped and would display only the ‘red man’ so as to avoid possible accidents.
With 28,000 employees, Transport for London is a vast organisation. Dealing with all aspects of Surface Transport, Ms Kew laughs as she considers the necessity of communication. “There’s a lot of liasing. From talking to the local authorities, the public, various other departments, people who manage procurements, those who deal with specialist modelling, traffic signal operations, emergency works, sometimes even the police if we need to close a junction to carry out road works. We need to make sure our projects are suitable for all users: from disabled users and visually impaired users to schoolchildren, it’s imperative to regard everyone’s requirements.” Even as she describes her work, it is clear to see that resolute determination, teamwork and organisation skills are vital. “I definitely feel even my creativity through art can help me because it’s all about seeing something in a different way”. “It’s a well rounded discipline – there are lots of transferable skills”.
One of Ms Kew’s greatest achievements is developing a Signal Timings Review Programme to help improve the timings of signals across all of London that are not under central computer control. Although in many areas no complaints have been registered, due to a growing population and a changing city, traffic patterns are likely to have changed. The project involves visiting all the systems to review the timings to ensure that they are up-to-date. Ideally timings should be reviewed every 3 years “It was given to me to start off. I mean, it literally didn’t exist before and I was responsible right from design to implementation. That was definitely one of the most exciting projects that I am proud of.”
She also speaks of the Merit Prize she received at from the IET at the Young Woman Engineer of the Year awards in 2007. Having been encouraged by her employer, she was honoured to be a role model for young woman who aspired to be engineers. “It’s all about spreading awareness about the options. So many people don’t know what’s available to them.” For Ms Kew, she is eager to educate, share knowledge and take part in career talks in order to display the full potential and options of Engineering through active promotions. She consistently makes the point that being a woman has never been a disadvantage in the work that she is doing. “The number of men and women engineers is currently disproportionate in our department but it’s about looking past this stereotype as women engineers are just as good.”
It’s apparent to see the rewards that she gains from her job. It’s about doing something that she enjoys and takes an interest in, so much so that she is passionate about being an example for the younger generation. “No-one really thinks about where items such as traffic signals come from, they just always seem to be there. But it’s the work of engineers under all that.”
As I leave the interview, I reflect on some of the key points mentioned about her career choices and her strong views about being able to make a difference. It was encouraging to hear how being an engineer gives you the opportunity of creating something that really does make an impact on society as well as the fact that being a woman in itself does not represent a barrier to becoming a successful Engineer.
