Working Life: I love getting out to the plant. Once an engineer always an engineer 

Mary Dollard, engineering lead at global pharma company Viatris, Little Island, Cork

Mary Dollard, engineering lead at Viatris, Little Island, Cork. 

6.30am

Breakfast - yoghurt, homemade muesli, fruit, and a coffee for the drive to work.  Our active pharmaceutical ingredients site runs 24/7, so arriving early helps to find out what’s happened overnight and to plan accordingly.

8am

Meetings run through most of the morning.

We run a tiered meeting system, starting at ‘shop floor’ level. This structure allows any issues on the ground to be escalated through the tiers during the morning.

Once the shop floor meetings are finished, I meet with the direct reports from four of the site’s departments: maintenance, utilities, automation and projects.

I then attend daily site leadership meetings where any escalations are brought to the team’s attention.

The safety of our colleagues and the quality of the medicines we make are the core of what we do.

Noon

My favourite part of the day - getting out to the plant. Once an engineer always an engineer.  I love seeing newly installed equipment or maintenance strategies in action. It’s also a chance to speak with my team one-to-one.

1pm

Since Covid began, we have capacity limits in the canteen, with priority given to those who do not have a desk. As a result, I usually eat at my desk, making it even more important to get out and speak to people onsite every day.

2pm

Afternoon meetings focus on the progress of our engineering projects, schedules, costs, and risk management.

These projects range from continuous improvement ideas to more complex upgrades for new product introductions. High-standard execution of projects is fundamental to our ability to deliver quality medicines for patients.

3pm

Next, calls with our global engineering team to discuss upcoming projects and investment for the Cork site, in which we have invested significantly over the past two years.

4pm

Meetings with our site utilities team focus on plans for a net-zero carbon future for the site. I am particularly proud of the work the team does as part of our ISO50001 energy accreditation. No idea is too small or too big when it comes to improving our sustainability.

6pm

Home time, and straight out for a run or walk. Running has been my saviour throughout lockdowns. I love listening to a good podcast or audiobook when walking or gardening.