Spotlight on Chartered Engineer: Daniel Mee

In our ongoing series of case studies, this time we take a look at Chartered Engineer Daniel Mee’s journey in the sector so far.

“Professional registration is a journey, not a destination…” is one key point that Principal Integrity Engineer Daniel Mee would like to share to any individual in the industry.

He continued: “There is real value in progressing through the levels from Engineering Technician to Incorporated Engineer and, finally, Chartered Engineer.

“Obtaining professional registration provides external recognition of your commitment to engineering and your competence against those standards; I’ve found it particularly helpful when dealing with people outside the industry who may not know me. The post-nominals provide that recognition that people can rely on.”

Daniel’s journey to Chartership began back in 2011 when he left education and worked as a trainee construction engineer at National Grid, dealing with mains replacement on the M1 corridor gas alliance.

Transitioning to RIIO-GD1 brought new opportunities for Daniel where he then joined the network integrity team and got the chance to delve deeper into technical aspects of engineering.

During this time, he gained a NVQ Level 3 in Engineering Leadership, a BTEC and a HNC in Mechanical Engineering.

In 2016, the network integrity and engineering policy teams merged which offered a period of change and growth, leading to further opportunities.

Daniel now works at Cadent as Principal Integrity Engineer after steadily climbing the ranks from a trainee.

Some of his career standouts include his professional registration; achieving Incorporated Engineer status in 2021 with IGEM and more recently becoming a Chartered Engineer in 2024.

He also has a number of industry accolades including being shortlisted as a finalist for the Gas Industry Awards in 2023 in the Young Persons Achievement Award category and winning the best safe working campaign Larry Award in 2024 for Cadent’s work on the always report damage campaign.

Throughout Daniel’s career, IGEM has provided him with support, guidance and a strong knowledge base. He said: “When I joined the construction engineer training programme at 18, IGEM was nothing more than another gas industry acronym to add to my ever-growing list.

“As part of our induction, representatives from IGEM painted a picture of a community full of opportunities for professional development and networking; at the time, I very much took it as a why not?’

“Since I’ve joined, the question has become, why wouldn’t you? Joining IGEM has been a fantastic decision, it has opened doors to new experiences and helped me grow professionally.”

His continuous involvement with IGEM has allowed him to be involved in Technical Panels, Scholarships, Grants and Awards panels, compete at the YPPC, and attend various events and webinars.

Daniel continued: “These experiences have broadened my understanding of the industry and I have built a network beyond my day-to-day role.”

Looking ahead, he hopes to progress his learning and development further by becoming a mentor, supporting others in achieving professional registration and specifically guide those who are great engineers but don’t necessarily have an academic background.

“I'm excited to sit on the other side of the table and develop this skill and competence over the next 12-18 months,” he added.

Daniel notes a few pointers for anyone in the industry wanting to gain Chartership status:

• Be patient: Becoming a Chartered Engineer is a marathon, not a sprint. Even if you can demonstrate your academic ability through qualifications, it can take time to build your portfolio of evidence and demonstrate competence against the UK-SPEC. Being a professionally registered engineer is about applying academic theory in the real world to real-life challenges.
• Start early: Start the journey as soon as possible, register with the Institution, and start building that solid foundation and portfolio of evidence.
• Create a habit: Part of the professional registration is demonstrating a commitment to lifelong learning and Continuous Professional Development (CPD). Create a development plan, track your achievements and make CPD a habit.
• Get a mentor: Find a mentor, either formally through IGEM or from within the industry, to help shape your development pathway, challenging you to ensure that you receive exposure and experience in the various areas of the UK-SPEC.
• Step by step: Recognise your progress and step through the various levels of professional registration as you build your engineering competence.

What does the future look like for Daniel? He has recently chaired his first IGEM Technical Panel to review and update IGEM/SR/18 - Safe working practices to ensure the integrity of gas assets and associated installations and wishes to continue his involvement further.

He also continues to drive continuous improvement across Cadent and to the wider industry.

Looking longer term, Daniel would like to expand his expertise in incident investigation and control, gaining a deeper understanding of asset-related incidents and near misses, how to conduct thorough investigations, identify appropriate follow-up actions, and analyse trends to proactively address emerging issues to enhance safety, reliability, and operational efficiencies.